Neel Somani is a technologist, entrepreneur, and thought leader, widely recognized for his work in blockchain development, quantitative research, and academia. As the founder of Eclipse, Ethereum’s fastest Layer 2 platform powered by the Solana Virtual Machine, which has raised $50 million in Series A funding. A graduate of UC Berkeley with a triple major in computer science, mathematics, and business administration, Neel has combined his technical expertise with strategic acumen to tackle real-world challenges and drive innovation in the blockchain space.
Outside his professional pursuits, Neel is deeply committed to education and mentorship. He has supported over 20 students across various disciplines at UC Berkeley and beyond, offering scholarships while helping guide individuals toward academic and professional success. With an inclusive vision for societal progress, Neel leverages his influence to help others flourish while maintaining balance in his personal life, recently achieving significant health milestones. His passion for growth, innovation, and community building makes him a remarkable figure in both the technological and educational realms.
Eclipse is being recognized as Ethereum’s fastest Layer 2 platform. What inspired you to develop Eclipse, and what sets it apart from other blockchain solutions?
My former company Eclipse was motivated by looking at the existing options for scaling blockchains at that time. While many ecosystems could achieve scalability by compromising on decentralization or security, the invention of Layer 2 blockchains were able to overcome these constraints. Essentially every Layer 2 blockchain at that point used what’s called the “Ethereum Virtual Machine.” Eclipse takes a foundationally different approach, throwing away this tried-and-true piece of infrastructure in favor of a more performant alternative: the Solana Virtual Machine, also called the SVM.
With a background spanning blockchain development, quantitative research, and academia, how have these diverse experiences influenced your approach to building innovative solutions?
My diverse background has provided me with a unique ability to approach problems from multiple perspectives. Crypto is a unique field that rewards this kind of interdisciplinary perspective. Of course, the implementation of all blockchains involves code and theoretical computer science, called systems research, so my background in academic computer science and mathematics often comes in handy. Many problems in crypto can be reduced to economic problems, where my experience in optimization at Citadel is applicable. This blend of experiences has allowed me to merge theoretical knowledge with practical application, creating solutions that are not only technically sound but also impactful on an industry-wide scale.
Your dedication to education is evident through both your scholarship initiatives and hands-on mentorship. What drives your passion for fostering the next generation of talent, and what lessons do you hope to instill in your mentees?
Education has always been a driving force in my life, and I firmly believe in its power to transform individual lives and society. My passion stems from a desire to break down barriers to access and help others realize their full potential. Through my scholarship initiatives and mentorship, I aim to instill the value of persistence, curiosity, and a multidisciplinary approach to problem-solving. I want my mentees to see beyond their immediate challenges and recognize the broader impact they can have on their fields and communities.
Through your mentorship at UC Berkeley and beyond, you’ve worked with students across various disciplines. What do you think makes mentorship impactful, and how do you tailor your guidance to meet the needs of individuals from different fields?
Mentorship is impactful because it allows for a mix of guidance, encouragement, and sharing lived experiences. Understanding the unique goals and challenges of each mentee is crucial, so I tailor my approach by listening carefully and adapting advice to their specific needs. For example, working with math students may involve focusing on academic rigor and technical problem-solving, while business administration students might benefit more from insights on strategy and practical implementation. Many students are interested in entrepreneurship, which I can offer unique insight into. Building lasting relationships is also key—I try to mentor in a way that provides ongoing value as they progress in their careers.
What challenges have you encountered while bootstrapping blockchain and crypto projects from idea to execution, and how have you consistently managed to secure investor confidence in such a competitive and volatile space?
The biggest challenges often revolve around building something truly differentiated and making sure your positioning is intelligible to an outside audience. I’ve seen projects fail in either direction. The underlying problem with copy-and-paste projects is that they simply can’t capture attention. The market is always looking for something new, and while you can sometimes make an argument that your project is “beta” or correlated with an existing, larger project, the value of that positioning diminishes as other copy-and-paste competitors arise. On the other hand, there are countless projects that have sound implementations and token economics, but they fail to break through the noise. Monero comes to mind. To secure investor confidence, I emphasize clear articulation of a project’s value proposition and its tangible use cases. I have found that a deep understanding of the market, a transparent execution plan, and a demonstrated ability to deliver on promises is critical to attracting and retaining investor trust.
You’ve achieved remarkable personal growth, not only in your career but also in your personal life, such as losing 35 pounds in a few months. What principles or habits have allowed you to excel both professionally and personally?
The principles that guide me in my personal growth mirror those that drive my professional life—discipline, persistence, and balance. Losing 35 pounds stemmed from setting clear goals and building sustainable habits over time. It’s easy to lose weight the wrong way. If you lose it too quickly, you’ll lose muscle, so the first step is just accepting that correct results take time. Similarly, professional achievements require patience, continuous learning and adaptability. Whether it’s picking up hobbies like boxing and piano, or staying laser-focused on health improvements, my approach hinges on deliberate effort and finding joy in the process of growth. Striking balance has been key to excelling across multiple areas of life.
Looking ahead, what developments in blockchain and technology excite you most, and how do you see these innovations transforming industries in the coming years?
There are a few areas that I think are underexplored. The first is more variety in what’s called the “state transition function” of the blockchain. You can think of a blockchain like a shared computer, and every blockchain has some set of rules that determine how the blockchain progresses. That set of rules is called the “state transition function.” Up to this point, pretty much every state transition function has involved the capability to run arbitrary programs, called smart contracts, through a set of rules called a virtual machine. It is underexplored what could be possible if we relaxed this constraint, and instead allowed for non-deterministic state transition functions, or state transition functions that only represent a single program, which is being done to some degree.
I am always interested in decentralized physical infrastructure projects. These are projects that take real-world infrastructure, like cell phone networks or solar panels, and coordinate them on-chain. This is useful because once these assets are on-chain, tokens can be used to incentivize early participants for these products and bootstrap network effects.
Outside of blockchains, I am excited about the potential of the incoming administration. I feel that many public sector institutions would be better privatized. This leads to competition that drives down costs for the customer, in addition to many opportunities for entrepreneurs in this country.
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