Eclipse CEO Neel Somani Addresses Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Steps Back from Public Role

Eclipse founder and CEO Neel Somani has announced that he will be temporarily reducing his role as the public face of the company following serious allegations of sexual misconduct.

The allegations surfaced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) in the past week, prompting Somani to address the situation in a public statement.

TLDR

• Neel Somani, founder and CEO of Ethereum scaling company Eclipse, has stepped back from his role as a “public face” for the company amid sexual misconduct allegations.
• Somani denies the allegations, calling them “false,” and plans to work to clear his name and defend himself.
• Eclipse states that it takes the allegations seriously and remains committed to maintaining high personal and professional standards, including gender equality and fair treatment.
• In March, Eclipse raised $50 million in a Series A funding round, bringing the total capital raised to $65 million.
• Eclipse launched the mainnet of its Ethereum layer 2 solution in September 2023, aiming to foster collaboration and interoperability between the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems.

In his post on X, Somani denied the allegations, stating, “These allegations are false, but serious allegations about sexual misconduct warrant a serious and thoughtful response.” He added that he has never sexually assaulted or harassed any woman and plans to work to clear his name and defend himself against the accusations.

Serious allegations have been made against me on Twitter in the last week. These allegations are false, but serious allegations about sexual misconduct warrant a serious and thoughtful response. You’ll find that response in the thread below:

— neelsalami.eth ???? (@neelsalami) May 9, 2024

Despite stepping back from his public-facing duties, Somani clarified in a private message to The Block that he is still actively involved in his role as CEO and has no plans to step down. “I’m just not going to be on podcasts/panels temporarily,” he explained.

Eclipse, an Ethereum layer 2 scaling project, also addressed the situation in a public statement on X, emphasizing its commitment to maintaining the highest personal and professional standards, including gender equality and fair treatment.

The company stated that it takes the allegations against Somani seriously and believes in the importance of truth.

Eclipse remains committed to maintaining the highest personal and professional standards, including gender equality and fair treatment. The team takes allegations against our CEO, Neel Somani, seriously and believes in the importance of truth.

— Eclipse ???? (@EclipseFND) May 9, 2024

In the coming days, Eclipse plans to share more background and details about its senior leaders, who are expected to take on additional responsibilities during Somani’s temporary step back.

The company remains focused on its mission to bridge the gap between Ethereum and Solana, building a high-performing blockchain for the future of the crypto industry.

The allegations against Somani come just two months after Eclipse announced a successful $50 million Series A funding round in March, co-led by Placeholder and Hack VC.

The round brought the total capital raised by the company to $65 million, with participation from notable investors such as Polychain Capital, Delphi Digital, and Fenbushi Capital.

Eclipse launched the mainnet of its Ethereum layer 2 solution in September 2023, aiming to foster collaboration and interoperability between the Ethereum and Solana ecosystems.

The project allows applications built for Solana to run on Eclipse with minimal modifications, with SOL tokens serving as the primary currency within the Eclipse ecosystem.

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