AURORA is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) built on the NEAR Protocol. It offers developers a solution to deploy their apps on a scalable and future-safe platform that is Ethereum-compatible, high-throughput, and with low transaction costs for users. With Aurora's EVM, developers can easily port Ethereum native applications to Near's L2-like network, which is built as a smart contract on NEAR. Additionally, Aurora has developed a fully trustless Rainbow Bridge that enables asset transfers between Ethereum, NEAR, and Aurora. Aurora is supported by top VCs such as Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, Dragonfly Capital, Three Arrows Capital, and Alameda Research.

Aurora is a product that facilitates the transition of Ethereum users and dApps to the NEAR blockchain. It enables users to perform two main functions: uploading and interacting with Solidity smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain, and transferring assets (including ERC-20 tokens) between Ethereum, NEAR, and Aurora through the Rainbow Bridge.

Aurora's primary token is ETH, providing a familiar tooling and optimal user experience for developers.

The AURORA token serves as a governance token, ensuring proper protocol upgrades. Aurora is governed by AuroraDAO, which consists of representatives from various ecosystems and sectors of the blockchain industry.

The maximum supply of AURORA tokens is fixed at 1,000,000,000 (one billion $AURORA). The AURORA Token Generation Event took place on November 18, 2021.

Unlocked tokens:* 1% of the total supply is allocated for the IDO, deployment of pools on AMMs, market making, and early partnerships;* 1% is allocated to Aurora Labs as incentives for project advisors;* 48% is held in the AuroraDAO balance for future projects;* 20% is kept in the community treasury;* 3% is allocated to Aurora Labs to be distributed linearly and equally among the delegators of the Aurora validator on NEAR.

Locked tokens:* 16% is allocated as long-term incentives for Aurora Labs (may also be subject to a vesting scheme);* 2% is allocated to early Aurora contributors (may also be subject to a vesting scheme);* 9% is allocated to Aurora Labs private round investors.

The locked tokens are subject to an unlocking scheme: a 2-year unlocking period with linear unlocking every 3 months and a 6-month cliff, starting from the token launch date (25% unlocked after 6 months, followed by an additional 12.5% unlocked after 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 months).

The CEO of Aurora Labs is Dr. Alex Shevchenko, a Ph.D. holder in physics and math. He is an entrepreneur and has been an enthusiast of blockchain technology since 2015. Dr. Shevchenko is also the developer of Bitfury's Exonum and a strong advocate for blockchain scalability solutions.

The CTO of Aurora Labs is Arto Bendiken, an autodidact, cypherpunk, entrepreneur, and prolific open-source author with over 20 years of professional software engineering experience. He has worked with organizations such as the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR).

Frank Braun, a Ph.D. holder in computer science with over 20 years of experience in building complex software systems, serves as the Head of Security & Infrastructure at Aurora Labs. He has worked on scientific software, encrypted messaging systems, and digital currencies.

Joshua J. Bouw, the Engine Team Lead at Aurora Labs, has over 10 years of experience in crypto-economic design, software development, and open-source ecosystem creation. He is recognized as 'The Godfather of Proof of Stake' for his early contributions to the development of Proof of Stake Consensus Mechanisms.

Kirill Abramov, a software engineer with over 6 years of experience in developing high-performance software, serves as the Bridge Team Lead at Aurora Labs. He is passionate about the blockchain space and has extensive experience in developing custom blockchains, implementing apps for hardware, and building cross-chain solutions.