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- AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #20
🗓️ Week of: May 14-20, 2023
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💡Web3 Funding Snapshot
(See "Funding Rounds" section for the complete list of deals)
$339M+ was raised across 34 funding rounds in Web3. Finally, we are witnessing an uptick in funding after three weeks of capital inflow below $200M in the space. This week's increase was largely driven by several public mining-related companies securing financing through debt or private placement transactions. However, there was also a healthy number of deals across other categories, potentially indicating that investor appetite may be expanding beyond infrastructure and DeFi, although it is still too early to determine. There are also reports of larger deals in the pipeline coming from Hashkey (noted below) and a reported $100M pending round from Worldcoin. As we venture into the summer, there may be signs of improvement in the funding environment for Web3.
🏆 Largest Funding Round
➡️ Auradine announced $81M in Series A financing led by venture capital firms Celesta Capital and Mayfield. Other investors in the round included Cota Capital, DCVC, and Stanford University. Additionally, Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) revealed that it owned $35.5M of Auradine preferred stock as of last year.
Auradine is focused on developing a wide range of infrastructure solutions encompassing both hardware and software. The company leverages cutting-edge technologies such as energy-efficient silicon, zero-knowledge proofs (a blockchain-based privacy tool), and artificial intelligence (AI). The company’s solutions aim to further advance the development of blockchain, privacy and AI.
Why this matters?👉Generating zero-knowledge proofs can be particularly computationally intensive. Therefore, if companies like Auradine can develop more efficient solutions to handle this process, it could significantly advance the widespread adoption of zero-knowledge proof technology. Additionally, the substantial size of the funding round is noteworthy, especially considering the prolonged crypto winter. It indicates a notable appetite among investors, particularly for companies that can cater to Web3 and AI use-cases.
😎 Noteworthy Company
➡️ HashKey Group is an end-to-end digital asset financial services group in Asia. The group offers new investment opportunities and solutions to institutions, family offices, funds, professional and accredited investors across the digital asset and blockchain ecosystem. Founded in 2018, the company is headquartered in Hong Kong with operations in Singapore and Tokyo.
The company’s core businesses center around trading, asset management, and venture capital. It operates one of only two licensed crypto exchanges in Hong Kong, HashKey Pro, among rival BC Technology Group’s OSL. They also offer a full-service brokerage platform and an institutional-grade custody platform. Hashkey Capital, the venture investing arm, currently accounts for $1B+ in AUM and is operating from its 3rd fund with limited partners ranging from family offices, corporations, and sovereign-wealth funds throughout Asia.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, the company is currently in the process of raising $100-200M at a valuation north of $1B. Earlier this year, Hashkey Capital raised $500M in committed capital for its 3rd fund.
Why this matters?👉As the crypto winter extends, a new cohort of tier-1 firms emerges, and HashKey has certainly become one of those prominent names. With recent crypto-friendly regulatory developments in Hong Kong, the company stands to benefit significantly, particularly as capital and investors might shift away from the U.S. due to the evolving regulatory uncertainties. Additionally, HashKey Capital has established itself as one of the most active investors this year, gaining recognition as one of the most respected names in the Web3 venture ecosystem.
👀Observations, Trends & Themes
➡️ Bitcoin Startups on the Rise
Aside from Bitcoin's remarkable surge of over 60%, there seems to be a renewed interest among investors in supporting companies that are building products or providing adjacent services specifically tailored to the largest cryptocurrency. More than $510M+ has been raised across over 20+ companies in 2023 so far. Notably, four of the top funding rounds involved companies engaged in Bitcoin-related activities.
This trend appears to have started earlier this year, with several miners being recapitalized following the fallout from 2022. Momentum for Bitcoin-focused services gained prominence during the U.S. banking crisis in March, further fueled by Balaji Srinivasan's infamous million-dollar Bitcoin bet. Now, with the developments of Ordinal Inscriptions (non-fungible token equivalents on Bitcoin), the BRC-20 token standard (fungible tokens on Bitcoin), and the ongoing adoption of the Lightning Network, the ecosystem may be on the verge of another renaissance moment. This momentum could be further fueled as Bitcoin approaches its next halving cycle in 2024. Considering all of these factors, it wouldn't be surprising to witness the emergence of more Bitcoin-focused startups and potentially see an influx of more capital into the space as we progress through 2023.
💸Funding Rounds
Top 15 Rounds
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All Rounds
Meso - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Fiat on and off-ramps for Web3 app developers enabling one-click access to banking information from any integrated Dapp or wallet: https://meso.network/
CoinCatch - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Cryptocurrency exchange offering spot and futures market trading: https://www.coincatch.com/
Mhaya - Seed+ ($5M) | Free-to-Play multi-chain game inspired by the classic game Monopoly and powered by NFT-based characters: http://www.mhaya.com/
Dolomite - Seed ($2.5M) | Decentralized margin trading and lending protocol built on Arbitrum: https://dolomite.io/
Getaverse - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Metaverse ecological service platform based on Web3 identity and digital authentication engine protocol: https://getaverses.com/
Parex - Private Sale ($6.5M) | Community-driven decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) ecosystem supporting the ParexChain blockchain network: https://parex.market/
AiONE - Private Sale ($3M) | Decentralized application that enables enterprise to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) tools into business processes: https://ai.one/
Lifeform - Series B (Not Disclosed) | 3D virtual human avatars editor and visual decentralized identity solution based on NFTs: https://www.lifeform.cc/
Hourglass - Seed ($4.2M) | Market place for trading time-bound tokens (TBTs) which allow users to gain liquidity for locked up assets by selling the rights of the time duration in a secondary market: https://hourglass.com/
Project Dorothy 1B - Private Placement ($12M) | Bitcoin mining and data centers joint venture (JV) between Soluna Holdings and Navitas Global: https://www.solunacomputing.com/
Project Dorothy 1B - Debt ($2M) | Bitcoin mining and data centers joint venture (JV) between Soluna Holdings and Navitas Global: https://www.solunacomputing.com/
Super League - Private Placement ($23.8M) | Publisher and creator of games and experiences across the world’s largest metaverse and gaming platforms: https://www.superleague.com/
CryptoHub - Strategic ($6M) | Developer of CoinScan.com, a platform for displaying trading information in real time and providing resources for traders to perform analysis and research: https://www.coinscan.com/
Hackernoon - Strategic ($250K) | Technology blog and publishing software developer: https://hackernoon.com/
Auradine - Series A ($81M) | Developer of hardware and software solutions catered to use-cases in blockchain, zero knowledge (ZK) proofs, and AI: https://auradine.com/
Asymmetry Finance - Seed ($3M) | Basket and index of liquid staking protocol tokens: https://www.asymmetry.finance/
Cormint - Series A ($30M) | Bitcoin miner focused on mining low-cost Bitcoin at scale while supporting a reliable and renewable power grid: https://cormint.com/
River Financial - Series B ($35M) | Financial institution specializing in Bitcoin financial services including Bitcoin brokerage and Bitcoin mining accounts all in one place: https://river.com/
anotherblock - Seed ($4.3M) | Web3 platform that lets fans invest in music by buying NFTs: https://anotherblock.io/
AnotherBall - Seed ($2.2M) | Developer of IZUMO, a VTuber project incorporating AI and Web3 economic system: https://anotherball.com/
Ton - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Proof of stake layer 1 blockchain network designed by Telegram: https://ton.org/
Planetary - Strategic ($2.5M) | Virtual 3D world where people can meet, work, and play in a fully-functional metaverse: https://www.planetarymetaverse.io/
Unitea - Seed ($7M) | Music platform that enables an engage-to-earn model to deepen connections between artists and their fans: https://unitea.com/
Airstack - Seed ($4M) | Web3 data APIs to instantly integrate on-chain and off-chain data into any applications: https://www.airstack.xyz/
Jia - Seed ($4.3M) | Blockchain-based lender for small businesses in emerging markets: https://www.jia.xyz/
Story Protocol - Seed ($29.3M) | Platform to create, govern, and license IP on-chain, ultimately forming an ecosystem of “story legos” that can be remixed and composed: https://www.storyprotocol.xyz/
Founderz - Seed ($1.1M) | Unconventional digital business school focused on decentralizing education (Ed3) and offering online master degrees in blockchain, Web3 and AI: https://founderz.com/
Azteco - Seed ($6M) | Provider of vouchers for small amounts of bitcoin for everyday use: https://azte.co/
Laagrange Labs - Seed ($4M) | Cross-chain infrastructure that enables the creation of generalized state proofs across all major blockchains using zero knowledge (ZK) proof technology: https://www.lagrange.dev/
PYOR - Seed ($4M) | High-fidelity digital assets data and insights – tailor-made for institutions: https://www.pyor.xyz/
CyberConnect - Public Sale ($5.4M) | Decentralized social network protocol that allows developers to build social applications that connect users in a fairer, more direct environment: https://cyberconnect.me/
World Play League - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Community-owned game publishing platform within the Web3 gaming space: https://worldplayleague.com/
Reasoned Art - Seed ($1.5M) | Italian gallery dedicated to Web3 art: https://www.reasonedart.com/
Applied Digital - Debt ($50M) | Developer and operator of datacenters across North America to provide digital infrastructure solutions to the high-performance computing (HPC) industry: https://applieddigital.com/
New Funds
Cool Resources
DL News is an independent news organization that emerged as an offshoot of the popular DeFi analytics platform, DeFiLlama. Since its inception in March 2023, the news platform has already published 250+ articles, showcasing some of the most insightful journalism in the field, particularly on topics related to DeFi.
About
AWeb3VC is a source for venture funding news, emerging startups and trends across Web3. I've been closely following cryptocurrencies and digital assets since 2013 and started working in space since 2018. Now I'm on a mission to build the most extensive venture ecosystem for BUIDLERS in Web3, starting first by tracking those BUIDLERS.