Category Labs
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
Category Labs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Category Labs
- Legal name
- Category Labs, Inc.
- Website
- https://category.xyz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Category Labs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Layer 1 Blockchain Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients) (FSAPAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing) (FSAPAAAH)
Keywords
Where Category Labs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Category Labs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Blockchain Transaction Fees (Gas Fees): As a Layer 1 blockchain, Monad generates revenue through transaction fees (gas). Users pay fees denominated in MON tokens for transaction inclusion, with a base fee mechanism using a variance-aware update rule targeting 80% block gas utilization. Fees are charged based on declared gas_limit upfront. Priority fees provide additional incentive for faster inclusion.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Category Labs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Category Labs builds the Monad blockchain, a 100% EVM-compatible Layer 1 protocol that delivers 10,000 transactions per second with 1-second block times and single-slot finality. The stack combines parallel execution, superscalar pipelining, and asynchronous execution, supported by proprietary infrastructure including the MonadBFT consensus protocol, RaptorCast block-propagation layer, and a variance-aware base-fee mechanism. Category Labs also publishes open-source developer tooling (monad-bft, monad-debugger/monad-viz) and operates Devnets and a public testnet for builders.
Product overview
Category Labs builds high-performance decentralized systems, primarily developing the Monad blockchain protocol and its core technologies. The product portfolio centers on Monad, a 100% EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain, complemented by specialized subsystems including MonadBFT (the consensus protocol providing tail-forking resistance and fast recovery), RaptorCast (the messaging layer for efficient block propagation using R10 encoding and structured broadcast), and monad-viz (a visualization tool for debugging and simulating consensus behavior). The company also provides Devnets for developer testing. These components work together as an integrated blockchain infrastructure stack optimized for 10,000 tx/s throughput with sub-second finality.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Monad A 100% EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed for high-performance decentralized applications, delivering 10,000 transactions per second, 1-second block times, single-slot finality, and low hardware requirements. It introduces parallel execution and superscalar pipelining to the EVM ecosystem and serves blockchain developers and DeFi protocols building dApps, DEXs, lending markets, NFT platforms, gaming, and other Web3 applications.
- monad-viz A standalone visualization and debugging tool for MonadBFT consensus that displays the steps of consensus simulations, highlighting validator node states and the consensus messages being exchanged. Built as part of the monad-debugger toolset, it is intended for blockchain developers, researchers, and engineers inspecting protocol behavior under varying network parameters.
- Monad Devnet
Quantifiable outcome
- 10,000 TPS throughput vs ~10 TPS on Ethereum and <50 TPS on EVM rollups
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Category Labs
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Category Labs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Category Labs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- UniswapcoreDecentralized exchange protocol that has deployed on the Monad blockchain. Uniswap V3 deployed on Monad contributes to the $400M TVL on the chain as of June 2026.
- Curve FinancecoreStablecoin automated market maker (AMM) deployed on the Monad blockchain, part of the $400M TVL ecosystem.
- PancakeSwapcoreMulti-chain DEX that has deployed on the Monad blockchain, contributing to the $400M TVL ecosystem.
- Monad FoundationcoreIndependent organization launched alongside Category Labs rebrand in December 2024. Dedicated to encouraging development and adoption of the Monad protocol. Handles validator-led governance, community-led improvement proposals (MIPs), developer documentation, ecosystem development, marketing, and advisory services. Led by Keone Hon and Eunice Giarta, with portions of the former Monad Labs workforce (Business Development, Ecosystem, Community, Marketing, Developer Relations, Operations) joining the Foundation.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Category Labs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Avalanche Foundation: Steward of the Avalanche network, an EVM-compatible multi-chain Layer 1 platform with sub-second finality. Comparable as an established high-performance EVM-compatible L1 competing for the same DeFi and dApp developer audience.
- NEAR Foundation: Steward of the NEAR Protocol, a sharded Layer 1 with EVM compatibility and focus on usability. Comparable as an EVM-compatible L1 with sharding/parallel execution ambitions and similar institutional backing competing for developer mindshare.
- Ethereum Foundation: Steward of the Ethereum protocol, the dominant EVM-compatible Layer 1 hosting the majority of DeFi TVL. Comparable as the incumbent EVM L1 whose throughput limitations Monad directly addresses, and whose ecosystem (smart contracts, tooling, users) Monad leverages for adoption.
Others
- Polygon Labs: Developer of Polygon, an EVM-compatible scaling ecosystem including PoS sidechain and AggLayer/Polygon zkEVM. Comparable as an EVM-compatible scaling solution offering cheaper transaction costs than Ethereum L1, though primarily positioned as sidechain/L2 infrastructure rather than a competing L1.
Direct peers
- Mysten Labs (Sui): Developer of the Sui blockchain, a Move-based high-throughput Layer 1. Directly comparable to Monad as a venture-backed L1 with parallel execution, sub-second finality goals, and substantial institutional backing competing for the same high-performance dApp market.
- Solana Labs: Developer of the Solana blockchain, the largest non-EVM high-performance Layer 1. Directly comparable to Monad as a high-throughput L1 targeting global-scale decentralized applications and DeFi, with similar focus on sub-second finality and parallel execution, but using a different VM (non-EVM).
- Aptos Labs: Developer of the Aptos blockchain, a high-performance Layer 1 using the Move programming language. Directly comparable as a venture-backed L1 with similar funding profile, parallel execution architecture, and goal of capturing developer mindshare for performant dApps.
- Sei Labs: Developer of the Sei blockchain, a high-performance Layer 1 optimized for trading and DeFi with parallel execution. Comparable to Monad in targeting high-throughput DeFi use cases with EVM-compatible features, though at smaller scale.
Emerging players
- Hyperliquid: Developer of Hyperliquid L1, an emerging high-performance Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for perpetual futures trading. Comparable as a newer high-throughput L1 with custom consensus achieving sub-second finality and competing for performance-sensitive DeFi workloads.
- Mega Labs (Megaeth): Developer of Megaeth, an emerging real-time EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain. Comparable as a newer entrant combining EVM compatibility with high throughput and low latency, directly overlapping Monad's positioning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Category Labs social profiles
Digital presenceCategory Labs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Category Labs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Category Labs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Category Labs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Category Labs
What does Category Labs do?
Category Labs builds the Monad blockchain, a 100% EVM-compatible Layer 1 protocol that delivers 10,000 transactions per second with 1-second block times and single-slot finality. The stack combines parallel execution, superscalar pipelining, and asynchronous execution, supported by proprietary infrastructure including the MonadBFT consensus protocol, RaptorCast block-propagation layer, and a variance-aware base-fee mechanism. Category Labs also publishes open-source developer tooling (monad-bft, monad-debugger/monad-viz) and operates Devnets and a public testnet for builders.
Is Category Labs a public or private company?
Category Labs is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Category Labs founded?
Category Labs was founded in 2022. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Category Labs based?
Category Labs is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Category Labs make money?
One revenue line is on record: blockchain Transaction Fees (Gas Fees).
Who are Category Labs's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Avalanche Foundation, NEAR Foundation and Ethereum Foundation. Polygon Labs is listed as an others. Direct peers are Mysten Labs (Sui), Solana Labs, Aptos Labs and Sei Labs. Emerging players are Hyperliquid and Mega Labs (Megaeth).
Does Category Labs have an API?
No public API is recorded for Category Labs.
What industry is Category Labs in?
Category Labs's product category is Layer 1 Blockchain Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAPAAAA, Layer 1 Base Protocols & Consensus (execution, consensus, security, clients), with a secondary code of FSAPAAAH, Smart Contract Developer Platforms & Tooling (SDKs, APIs, frameworks, indexing). Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7370.