DAWN, a decentralized protocol designed to provide user-owned and operated multi-gigabit broadband service, said it has raised $13 million in a Series B funding round led by Polychain Capital.
The money will be used to expand the Solana-based protocol’s network coverage across the United States and roll out international deployments, according to an announcement shared with CoinDesk on Thursday.
The New York-based project allows individuals and organizations to act as network hosts, deploying wireless nodes providing access to the Internet. Hosts earn rewards based on coverage quality and demand. The model aims to circumvent the centralized ownership structures that dominate traditional broadband, instead distributing infrastructure ownership to the edge of the network.
The funding highlights investor interest in introducing decentralization to real-world services, an approach known as decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN).
DAWN is not alone in identifying communication as a DePIN application. Another important project, Helium, allows users to act as small mobile sites by installing hot spots. The platform, also built on Solana, expanded to the Brazilian market this month through a partnership with local WiFi provider Mambo.
DAWN reaches more than 4 million homes in the United States, while an initial international rollout in Accra, Ghana, targets underserved districts where fiber deployment has proven slow and costly.
The project also introduced consumer hardware, including its Black Box device, which doubles as a router and decentralized infrastructure node. The device supports multiple blockchain ecosystems and allows households to directly participate in broadband provision while earning rewards.
