Sommelier
Sommelier is a decentralized asset management protocol built on Cosmos SDK that powers automated DeFi vault strategies through its Cellars V2 smart contract architecture. It serves retail DeFi users, institutional investors, and quantitative strategy providers with self-custodial, multi-protocol yield and trading strategies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersTallinn, Estonia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Sommelier does
Sommelier is a decentralized asset management protocol built on its own Cosmos SDK blockchain with Tendermint-based consensus and a bi-directional Ethereum bridge (Gravity Bridge). The protocol provides automated DeFi vault strategies through its Cellars V2 smart contract architecture, which uses an adapter system enabling a single strategy to execute across multiple DeFi protocols — including Aave, Compound, Uniswap V3, Morpho, Fraxlend, Balancer, Curve, Convex, and Aura — within one vault. Unlike conventional vault UIs, Sommelier positions itself as a protocol logic layer where execution is managed by a Validator Set rather than a multi-sig, and all vault onboarding requires community governance approval. Vaults follow deterministic rules or AI-driven agent models, with users retaining self-custody of assets at all times; Strategy Tokens (ERC-4626) are tradable on Uniswap V3 and Injective.
The platform serves four segments: retail DeFi users seeking automated yield optimization, institutional investors requiring auditable and deterministic execution, quantitative strategy providers (Seven Seas Capital, ClearGate Capital, Patache Digital, Algolab, Define Logic Labs) deploying proprietary trading algorithms through Sommelier's infrastructure, and DeFi protocols/DAOs using vault tokens as collateral or LP. The deployed product surface spans 33+ active strategies across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism — including Real Yield ETH/BTC/USD, a Turbo series of leveraged liquid staking derivative strategies, Steady BTC/ETH breakout strategies, and ETH-BTC Momentum/Trend strategies — backed by independent audits from Macro and Least Authority and a self-hosted bug bounty.
Revenue mechanics include management and performance fees on vault activity (shared with strategy providers), SOMM token staking rewards funded by vault fees, validator commissions, and emerging white-label licensing opportunities for partner integrations. The protocol has secured investment from Polychain Capital, Standard Crypto, Multicoin Capital, and Cygni Labs. The legal operating entity is Bajanss OÜ, registered at Maakri 36-50, Tallinn, Estonia. The co-founding team includes Kristi Põldsam, Zaki Manian, Jack Zampolin, and Kevin Kennis, with a core team of approximately 14 across engineering, protocol development, frontend, growth, and product functions.
Sommelier firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sommelier
- Legal name
- Bajanss OÜ
- Website
- https://somm.finance
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sommelier is a decentralized asset management protocol built on Cosmos SDK that powers automated DeFi vault strategies through its Cellars V2 smart contract architecture. It serves retail DeFi users, institutional investors, and quantitative strategy providers with self-custodial, multi-protocol yield and trading strategies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sommelier industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Decentralized Finance Asset Management Protocol
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services (6200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Yield Aggregators & Strategy Vaults (FSADAMAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Yield, Vaults & Asset Management (vault strategies, robo-vaults, structured yield) (FSAPAEAG), Liquidity Provision & Market Making Protocols (AMMs, concentrated liquidity, LP tooling) (FSAPAEAF)
Keywords
Where Sommelier is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tallinn
- HQ country
- Estonia
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sommelier business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Strategy Provider Fees (Management & Performance): Strategy providers (cellar creators, data scientists, financial strategists, DeFi strategists) earn management fees and performance fees for executing strategies through the Sommelier protocol. Fees are generated by vault activity and distributed per the strategy's fee structure.
- SOMM Staking Rewards: SOMM token holders can stake to secure the protocol and earn staking rewards. These rewards are funded via the fees generated by vaults on the Somm platform. SOMM stakers earn a percentage of the fees generated from each strategy.
- Validator Commission: Validators operate Cosmos SDK-based nodes that allow the Sommelier chain to reach consensus and process transactions, earning commission for their services.
- White-Label / Enterprise Vault Licensing: Sommelier is exploring integrations with other DeFi applications as a white-labeled service, enabling vaults powered by the Sommelier network to exist beyond the Sommelier front end, potentially creating licensing or infrastructure revenue streams.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Strategy Provider Contribution |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | SOMM Token Staking |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Validator Operations |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Sommelier product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sommelier is a decentralized multi-chain execution protocol built on the Cosmos SDK that powers automated DeFi vault strategies (Cellars) with on-chain portfolio rebalancing. The protocol uses Cellars V2 adapter-based smart contracts to integrate with multiple DeFi protocols including Aave, Compound, Uniswap V3, Fraxlend, Morpho, Balancer, Curve, Convex, and Aura within a single vault strategy. Strategy execution is managed by a Validator Set rather than a multi-sig, and Strategy Tokens (ERC-4626) provide liquid access to managed portfolios via Uniswap V3 and Injective.
Product overview
Sommelier is a decentralized multi-chain execution platform built on Cosmos SDK, offering automated vault strategies (called Cellars) that dynamically rebalance to optimize DeFi yields. The platform consists of Cellars V2 smart contracts at its core, which use an adapter architecture enabling integration with multiple DeFi protocols (Aave, Compound, Uniswap V3, Morpho, Fraxlend, and others). Key vault products include Real Yield ETH/BTC/USD, Turbo Series strategies, Steady BTC/ETH trading strategies, and ETH-BTC Momentum/Trend strategies from external providers. Strategy Tokens (ERC-4626) enable easy access via DEX trading, while the Strategist Terminal provides a command interface for strategy providers to send rebalances. SOMM token holders can stake to secure the protocol and earn rewards from vault fees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Automated Vaults (Cellars) Market-adaptive DeFi vaults that automatically find best-in-class yields while mitigating risk. Vaults execute deterministic rules or agent models for portfolio rebalancing, with all actions verifiable and on-chain. Users retain sole control of deposits and withdrawals.
- Real Yield ETH Vault that maximizes ETH yield through Aave and Compound leveraged staking and Uniswap V3 liquidity provision of ETH liquid staking tokens (stETH, cbETH, rETH). Available on Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism.
- Real Yield BTC Vault that maximizes WBTC-denominated yields through a dynamic and evolving set of strategies using lending protocols and DEX liquidity provision.
- Real Yield USD Vault that maximizes USDC, USDT, and DAI yields across Aave, Compound, and Uniswap V3 simultaneously using numerical optimization for yield allocation.
- Turbo Series Collection of leveraged yield strategies including Turbo GHO, Turbo SOMM, Turbo stETH, Turbo eETH, Turbo divETH, Turbo swETH, Turbo-ETHx, Turbo-ezETH, Turbo-rsETH, and Turbo stETH (2), focusing on specific DeFi tokens and liquid staking derivatives.
- Strategy Tokens ERC-4626 vault standard tokens representing shares in actively managed strategies. Tradable on Uniswap V3 and Injective, enabling easy access to managed portfolios through standard token purchases.
- Steady BTC and Steady ETH Patache Digital's breakout trading strategies that capture ETH/BTC upside while managing downside through trailing stops. Uses a workhorse/racehorse approach with defined risk parameters (2.5% per trade).
- ETH-BTC Momentum and ETH-BTC Trend ClearGate Capital's machine learning-powered strategies tracking BTC-ETH portfolios. Trend following uses breakouts with full exit capability; Momentum maintains asset exposure while capturing price appreciation.
- Strategist Terminal Desktop application serving as a command center for strategy providers to send rebalances to strategies on the Sommelier platform. Lowers the barrier to entry for strategists without full-stack smart contract development expertise.
- Somm App User-facing web application for interacting with Sommelier vaults. Enables deposits, withdrawals, strategy management, and portfolio tracking via Keplr and other Cosmos-compatible wallets.
Quantifiable outcome
- Real Yield USD generated 7.7% APY in its first week, driven by LPing on the USDC-USDT pool on Uniswap V3
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Sommelier
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Sommelier technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration17 records
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Sommelier partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Seven Seas CapitalcoreFirst strategy provider on Sommelier. Seven Seas developed the inaugural Aave Cellar and Real Yield USD strategy. Worked closely with the protocol team on infrastructure design, fee structure, and security mechanisms. Submitted SIP-011 and SIP-012 governance proposals requesting SOMM funding for developing 8 new cellars and ecosystem tooling. Currently onboarding institutional partners.
- ClearGate CapitalcoreSecond strategy provider on Sommelier, bringing machine learning-powered BTC-ETH trend following and momentum strategies. Led by Tõnn Talpsepp (CFA, FRM, Ph.D.), former CIO and proprietary trader. Submitted SIP-013 governance proposal for funding. Focuses on extensive backtesting and quantitative analytics.
- Patache DigitalcoreStrategy provider with 120+ combined years of experience in risk, trading, programming, and research from Deutsche Bank, MetLife, Stanford Management Company, and Greenwich Capital Markets. Provides Steady BTC and Steady ETH breakout trading strategies with capital preservation focus. CEO Erik Mayo previously advised on Sommelier's Aave cellar.
- AlgolabminorListed as a strategy provider on the Sommelier platform.
- Define Logic LabsminorListed as a strategy provider on the Sommelier platform.
- AavecoreCore DeFi lending protocol integrated via audited Cellars V2 adapters. Real Yield strategies allocate to Aave lending pools alongside Compound and Uniswap V3. Aave2 strategy has been independently audited.
- CompoundcoreCore DeFi lending protocol integrated via Cellars V2 adapters. Used alongside Aave and Uniswap V3 in Real Yield USD strategy for dynamic allocation across lending pools.
- Uniswap V3coreDecentralized exchange integrated via Cellars V2 adapters. Uniswap V3 concentrated liquidity LP is a core component of Real Yield strategies. Strategy Tokens are also tradeable on Uniswap V3.
- Macro (0xMacro)coreIndependent smart contract auditing firm that has conducted multiple audits of Sommelier's cellar contracts, including the Aave2 cellar, CellarStaking, and numerous strategy contracts. All identified high and medium severity vulnerabilities were addressed. Multiple audit reports (Macro_Cellar_CellarStaking_07_2022.pdf and subsequent reports) are publicly referenced.
- AxelarcoreCross-chain messaging protocol enabling Sommelier users on alt-EVM networks (Arbitrum, etc.) to bridge back to Somm via Satellite (satellite.money) to stake SOMM and access vaults.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Sommelier competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sommelier social profiles
Digital presenceSommelier compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Sommelier financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sommelier leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
Sommelier funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sommelier 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 Sommelier
What does Sommelier do?
Sommelier is a decentralized multi-chain execution protocol built on the Cosmos SDK that powers automated DeFi vault strategies (Cellars) with on-chain portfolio rebalancing. The protocol uses Cellars V2 adapter-based smart contracts to integrate with multiple DeFi protocols including Aave, Compound, Uniswap V3, Fraxlend, Morpho, Balancer, Curve, Convex, and Aura within a single vault strategy. Strategy execution is managed by a Validator Set rather than a multi-sig, and Strategy Tokens (ERC-4626) provide liquid access to managed portfolios via Uniswap V3 and Injective.
Is Sommelier a public or private company?
Sommelier is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Sommelier founded?
Sommelier was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sommelier based?
Sommelier is headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia, in the Europe region.
How does Sommelier make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Strategy Provider Fees (Management & Performance) is the primary driver. The others are SOMM Staking Rewards, validator Commission and white-Label / Enterprise Vault Licensing.
Does Sommelier have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sommelier.
What industry is Sommelier in?
Sommelier's product category is Decentralized Finance Asset Management Protocol. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSADAMAF, Yield Aggregators & Strategy Vaults, with a secondary code of FSAPAEAG, Yield, Vaults & Asset Management (vault strategies, robo-vaults, structured yield). Its NAICS code is 522320 and its SIC code is 6200.