The blockchain industry continues to evolve, with enterprise-grade solutions gaining momentum. One of the latest milestones comes from Digital Asset, a leading blockchain startup that has secured $35 million in Series C funding**. This latest round brings the company’s total raised capital to **$150 million since its inception in 2014. The investment underscores growing confidence in enterprise blockchain applications—particularly in smart contract development and cross-platform interoperability.
Among the notable contributors is the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which committed an additional $10 million, bringing its total investment to $30.9 million. “We are encouraged by the support of existing and new investors in this fundraising,” said Peter Hiom, ASX’s Deputy CEO. “This confirms our own faith in the company and its future, and that’s why we have increased our stake.”
While Digital Asset did not disclose the identities of new investors or post-money valuation, it confirmed that most participants from its earlier funding rounds—Series A and B—participated again, signaling strong continuity and trust in the company’s strategic direction.
Shifting Focus to DAML: A Smart Contract Game-Changer
Under the leadership of CEO Yuval Rooz, who took over eight months ago, Digital Asset has repositioned itself around its flagship product: DAML (Digital Asset Modeling Language). Once tightly coupled with its proprietary ledger, DAML is now open-source and designed to operate across multiple distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and even traditional databases.
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DAML stands out for its workflow-centric design, enabling developers to focus exclusively on business logic rather than infrastructure complexity. According to Rooz:
“Ninety percent of development time is wasted on undifferentiated work. With this new funding we will go further on this mission to focus on the ten percent value-add by providing a world-class smart contract experience regardless of where your application runs.”
This flexibility allows DAML to run on platforms including:
- Hyperledger Fabric
- Corda
- VMware Blockchain
- Amazon QLDB
- Amazon Aurora (a relational database compatible with MySQL and PostgreSQL)
This blockchain-agnostic approach removes vendor lock-in and allows enterprises to adopt distributed systems incrementally—without rewriting core application logic.
The Rise of Cross-Platform Smart Contracts
One of DAML’s most compelling advantages is its ability to abstract away underlying infrastructure. Companies can begin building applications using centralized databases like Aurora and later migrate to a decentralized ledger—without changing their smart contract code.
This migration path was recently demonstrated when VMware Blockchain became a partner in the ASX’s CHESS replacement project. Originally built on Digital Asset’s native ledger, the system seamlessly transitioned to VMware Blockchain thanks to DAML’s modular architecture. The core logic remained unchanged—the only difference was the underlying infrastructure.
Such flexibility is rare in the blockchain space, where most smart contract languages (like Ethereum’s Solidity) are tightly bound to their native chains. DAML breaks this mold, offering enterprises a pragmatic entry point into distributed systems.
DABL: Accelerating Developer Adoption
To further lower the barrier to entry, Digital Asset launched DABL (Digital Asset Build & Launch)—a hosted platform that enables developers to deploy DAML applications instantly without managing servers or nodes.
Eric Saraniecki, Head of Product at Digital Asset, explained the vision:
“DAML takes care of abstracting away the complexities of all code that isn’t the logic of what your application does. Developers only write business flows and application behavior.”
DABL extends this philosophy by handling deployment, scaling, and management automatically. Unlike desktop testing tools such as Truffle’s Ganache, DABL runs on a live, production-grade ledger—making it ideal for rapid prototyping and real-world testing.
This developer-first strategy aligns with growing demand for SaaS-like blockchain experiences, where multi-party workflows—such as trade settlements, compliance checks, or supply chain coordination—can be modeled efficiently and securely.
Real-World Applications and Ecosystem Growth
DAML is already powering high-impact use cases across finance and capital markets:
- ISDA Common Domain Model (CDM): Digital Asset developed DAML templates to support derivatives trading under the new ISDA standard, streamlining compliance and interoperability across institutions.
- Repo Market Risk Reduction: Broadridge leveraged DAML to build a distributed solution that enhances transparency and reduces counterparty risk in repurchase agreements.
- KYC and Mortgage Securitization: Pre-built DAML "recipes" are available through an expanding marketplace, contributed by firms like Accenture, Nomura Research Institute, and Wipro.
These ready-to-use modules accelerate time-to-market for enterprises exploring blockchain-based automation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: What is DAML used for?
A: DAML is a smart contract language designed for building complex, multi-party workflows—especially in finance, insurance, and supply chain—where privacy, correctness, and interoperability are critical.
Q: Can DAML work without blockchain?
A: Yes. DAML can run on traditional databases like Amazon Aurora, allowing organizations to adopt the language before committing to full decentralization.
Q: Is DAML open source?
A: Yes. Since mid-2023, DAML has been fully open-sourced, encouraging community contributions and broader enterprise adoption.
Q: How does DABL benefit developers?
A: DABL eliminates server setup and maintenance, letting developers deploy DAML applications in minutes on a live network—ideal for prototyping and testing.
Q: Why did ASX invest more in Digital Asset?
A: ASX sees long-term value in DAML’s role in modernizing financial infrastructure, particularly in its CHESS replacement project, which relies heavily on DAML for settlement logic.
Q: What makes DAML different from Solidity?
A: Unlike Solidity (which is Ethereum-specific), DAML is blockchain-agnostic and emphasizes workflow modeling over low-level programming, reducing development time and errors.
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The Road Ahead: OEM Strategy and Enterprise Integration
Digital Asset has shifted toward an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) business model, where it licenses DAML as part of third-party enterprise solutions. This includes:
- Licensing fees when vendors embed DAML into their platforms
- Consulting services for integration with existing ledgers or databases
While the company’s proprietary ledger remains technically viable, revenue focus has clearly pivoted toward DAML as a platform, not just a protocol.
This strategy mirrors broader trends in enterprise tech—where success is measured not by owning infrastructure, but by enabling others to build on top of your tools.
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Conclusion
With $35 million in fresh funding and a sharpened focus on DAML, Digital Asset is positioning itself at the forefront of enterprise smart contract innovation. By decoupling business logic from infrastructure, supporting hybrid deployment models, and empowering developers through DABL, the company is addressing real-world adoption barriers.
As industries seek more efficient ways to manage complex workflows across organizational boundaries, DAML offers a compelling alternative to traditional development models—and a glimpse into the future of interoperable digital agreements.
The combination of strategic investment, ecosystem growth, and practical tooling suggests that Digital Asset is not just surviving the blockchain winter—but thriving in it.
Core Keywords:
smart contracts, DAML, blockchain agnostic, enterprise blockchain, digital asset, distributed ledger technology, developer platform, open-source blockchain