AuditOne closes €800k seed round to scale smart contract audits and other Web3 security services delivered by a decentralized workforce.

December 12, 2023

• Cybersecurity remains a strong market, while Web3 is a fast-growing sector becoming increasingly important.
• Cologne-based AuditOne, a smart contract security platform, has completed a seed round of more than €800k led by HTGF.
• Business angels, such as Sebastian Herzog, Florian von Bodman, and others, are also investing.
• The funding will be used to drive the development of AI SaaS solutions and to scale faster.
• There are now more than 400 security experts on the platform who receive orders through AuditOne and can work more efficiently thanks to the infrastructure provided.

Cologne, Germany, 12 December 2023 – AuditOne GmbH, an all-in-one smart contract security platform, has successfully completed a seed financing round of more than €800k. The funds will allow AuditOne to expand its staff and product range, accelerating the development of AI SaaS solutions and services for the Web3 community. The seed round was led by High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), a leading seed investor in Europe, and several business angels, including Florian von Bodman and Sebastian Herzog. The Cologne-based start-up was founded by Adrien Resch, Raja Sekhar Thota, and David Velek with the support of the venture builder Soonami.io.

More than 400 security experts on the platform receive orders through AuditOne’s app and can work more efficiently thanks to the infrastructure provided. The AuditOne platform offers a comprehensive range of security services and tools to ensure the reliability and security of smart contracts. These include the verification of auditors, an auditor aggregator, self-service audit tools, bug bounties, coverage pools, standardized audit reports, and AI auditing tools. The platform aims to promote transparency in the auditing process and enhance the security of smart contracts. Projects can request an audit from AuditOne, which will organize a team of skilled auditors to audit the project’s codebase for a fixed fee. Auditors receive a bonus for identifying any issues found during the audit process.

Secure and trusted Web3

Web3’s decentralized nature and smart contracts’ immutability make community-building promising. However, smart contracts can have built-in flaws that leave protocols vulnerable to hackers. News like “MEV bot on the Ethereum network was exploited for around $2 million due to the lack of access controls on its arbitrage function” are far too common. Efficient security measures are needed to increase security in DeFi.

Cyber-attacks continue to rise; according to Chainlink, 2022 was the biggest year ever for crypto hacking, with $3.8 billion stolen from cryptocurrency businesses. The demand for Web3 security is projected to grow until at least 2030. AuditOne provides services that help prevent expensive cyber-attacks and establish a secure Web3 ecosystem.

AuditOne will allocate the funds raised towards the research and development of AI tools. The team has recognized the significant role of AI tools in smart contract auditing. Their focus is on real-time Pattern Recognition, Natural Language Processing (NLP) for whitepaper companions, and Social Network Analysis tools for insights tracking.
AuditOne aims to enhance auditor capabilities by integrating AI tools, allowing for even greater precision and efficiency in the smart contract auditing processes.

We are grateful for the trust investors have placed in us. Our ultimate goal is a secure and trusted Web3. We want to offer their clients the highest level of security and peace of mind when engaging in transactions within the Web3 ecosystem.

Adrien Resch, Co-founder of AuditOne

AuditOne is perfectly positioned in a fast-growing Web3-market in which smart contracts will further play a decisive role. The business model, platform and especially the team have convinced me to support the next step and the expansion of AuditOne.

Florian von Bodman, CEO of Blue Lake Ventures

We are convinced that smart contracts will play a critical role in future business processes. The decentralized nature of such processes makes it necessary to have secured and audited smart contracts. The system that the three founders have established, convinced us that AuditOne can provide best-in-class security against cyber-attacks. We are excited to partner with the exceptional AuditOne team and see the company grow.

Tobias Schulz, Principal at HTGF

About AuditOne
AuditOne is an auditor pooling platform for smart contract audits, offering peer-reviewed smart contract audits and other security services in Web3. The company was founded in 2022 by Adrien Resch, Raja Sekhar Thota, and David Velek with the support of the venture builder Soonami.io.
We will match you with a pool of auditors tailored to your needs. With 400+ vetted auditors on our platform, we have experts for any request, while AuditOne handles all operations and oversees the process.

Contact
AuditOne GmbH
Adrien Resch, CEO
hello@auditone.io

About High-Tech Gründerfonds
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported more than 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected about 5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 170 companies. 
Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries. 

Media contact 
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH 
Tobias Jacob, Senior Marketing & Communications Manager  
T.: +49 228 – 82300 – 121
t.jacob@htgf.de