Aurora is a product designed to facilitate the transition of Ethereum users and decentralized applications (dApps) to the NEAR blockchain. It provides a platform for users to upload and interact with Solidity smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain and transfer assets, including ERC-20 tokens, between Ethereum, NEAR, and Aurora via the Rainbow Bridge. Aurora's base token is ETH, which may be familiar to developers. The AURORA token is intended to facilitate community participation in decision-making processes related to protocol upgrades. Aurora is governed by AuroraDAO, which includes representatives from various ecosystems and sectors of the blockchain industry.

Aurora operates as an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) implemented as a smart contract on the NEAR Protocol. It seeks to scale the Ethereum ecosystem, allowing developers to operate their apps on an Ethereum-compatible, high-throughput platform with low transaction costs. Aurora is compatible with many tools in the Ethereum ecosystem, such as MetaMask, Truffle, Hardhat, and Remix. It also features NEAR's trustless bridge to Ethereum, meaning the assets on Aurora are the same as Ethereum. For instance, account balances in Aurora's EVM are denominated in the same Ether (ETH) as on Ethereum itself.

Aurora seeks to enhance the user experience in the blockchain industry by providing a platform that allows Ethereum users and dApps to easily transition to the NEAR blockchain. It enables users to upload and interact with Solidity smart contracts on the NEAR blockchain and transfer assets between Ethereum, NEAR, and Aurora. This positions Aurora as a potential option for developers seeking to operate their apps on an Ethereum-compatible platform with low transaction costs. Furthermore, Aurora's governance token, AURORA, is intended to facilitate community participation in decision-making processes related to protocol upgrades.

Aurora was developed by Aurora Labs, led by CEO Dr. Alex Shevchenko, a Ph.D. holder in physics and math, and a blockchain enthusiast since 2015. The team also includes Arto Bendiken, the CTO, and Frank Braun, the Head of Security & Infrastructure, among others. The AURORA Token Generation Event took place on November 18, 2021. The token supply is fixed at 1,000,000,000 tokens (one billion $AURORA), with a specific allocation and unlocking scheme for different stakeholders. Aurora has received support from venture capital firms including Pantera Capital, Electric Capital, and Dragonfly Capital.