AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #50

🗓️ Week of: Dec 10-16, 2023

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(See "Funding Rounds" section for the complete list of deals)

$332M+ was raised across 39 funding rounds in Web3. This week was the third busiest of 2023 in terms of deal flow, as gauged by the number of companies announcing funding. The broader crypto market's optimism combined with likely year-end deal-making seems to be a contributing factor in funding uptick. Not to mention investors like Crypto 1 looking to make opportunistic deals ahead of the next market cycle.

NFTs led the way this week as the sector receiving the most funding for the first time this year, primarily driven by the nine-figure funding round announced by LINE NEXT (as covered in this edition). Together with the funding received by Animoca Brands throughout 2023, the NFT ecosystem certainly appears poised for a comeback, at least in the eyes of venture investors. Besides the focus on NFTs, the weekly also witnessed a flurry in venture investment in Bitcoin-oriented infrastructure and decentralized finance, particularly around Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens.

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ LINE NEXT raised $140M in funding led by Crescendo Equity Partners, a technology focused private equity firm in South Korea and sponsored by Peter Thiel.

LINE NEXT is the Web3 arm of the popular messaging app LINE. The company focuses on developing and expanding the NFT ecosystem with a goal of popularizing Web3 technologies globally. Its first significant initiative, DOSI, is a global NFT platform scheduled to officially go launch in January 2024. The platform offers an NFT marketplace and membership program for NFT collectors. For the past year, DOSI has been running in beta and integrated with the LINE NFT marketplace. The platform has already amassed 5.5M beta users worldwide and more than 470K cumulative transactions.

In addition to DOSI, LINE NEXT plans to introduce new services to further accelerate the popularization of Web3. These include the launch of a social app centered around generative AI characters and new Web3 games featuring LINE’s popular BROWN & FRIENDS characters. All of LINE NEXT’s services will be built on the Finschia public blockchain network, with both LINE NEXT and Crescendo Equity Partners participating in governance through the Finschia Foundation.

Why this matters?👉 LINE NEXT emerges as a promising contender in the evolving landscape of NFTs and digital collectibles. Together with peers like Animoca, it is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of NFT development. The company's parent, LINE, has already demonstrated a formidable ability to generate billions of dollars through digital sticker sales, laying a solid foundation for building a business centered around digital collectibles. This experience, combined with the initial success of DOSI's beta version, suggests that LINE NEXT possesses a strong user base and the execution capabilities necessary to develop a robust Web3 ecosystem. However, there remain significant questions about the sustainability and long-term viability of a Web3 business model that is primarily built around NFTs.

😎 Noteworthy Company

➡️ Andalusia Labs, formerly known as RiskHarbor, offers a suite of technology solutions focused on developing risk management and security infrastructure for the digital asset ecosystem. The company's solutions aim to serve as a foundational layer in new open digital economies, with a mission to power and secure safe and trusted financial applications.

The company's three main solutions are Karak, Subsea, and Watchtower. Karak is an EVM-compatible Layer 2 blockchain that prioritizes financial security while maintaining efficiency, scalability, and affordability. It was recently launched in its testnet phase. Subsea, built on Karak, is a risk management marketplace offering digital asset insurance products. Watchtower is a security analytics and monitoring platform that enables digital asset protocols to run market simulations in real-time using real data.

Andalusia Labs recently raised $48 million in a Series A funding round, which has valued the company at over $1 billion. The round was led by Lightspeed, with participation from Mubadala Capital and other existing investors, including Pantera Capital, Framework Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Digital Currency Group. Additionally, the company has announced the establishment of its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi.

Why this matters?👉 Andalusia Labs stands out for its purpose-built solutions designed to enhance risk management across digital assets. Although the company's solutions are currently in the testnet phase and not widely disclosed, they have garnered significant attention from top venture capital firms in the industry. This interest signals that there might be some noteworthy developments behind the scenes. Given the tight valuations seen in 2023, the fact that the company has achieved unicorn status at such an early stage and backed by the industry’s top investors, certainly warrants attention. This might be partly driven by the prospective token launch for Karak, the Layer 2 blockchain being developed, which has historically led to inflated valuations due to the potential for near-term liquidity for investors. Nevertheless, this is a company we’ll keep on our radar.

💸 Funding Rounds

Top 15 Rounds

Want access to our complete dataset or propose an update? Contact: [email protected]

All Rounds

Metagood (aka. Nfinita) - Seed ($5M) | NFT platform for social good, featuring an Bitcoin NFT collection (OnChainMokeys) and NFT marketplace (Osura): https://www.metagood.com/

Dovi - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | EVM-compatible Layer 2 network for Bitcoin: https://www.dovil2.com/

Liquidium - Seed ($1.3M) | Ordinal lending platform on Bitcoin: https://www.liquidium.fi/

GFO-X (aka. Global Futures and Options) - Series B ($30M) | Centrally cleared trading venue dedicated to digital asset derivatives: https://www.gfo-x.com/

Morph - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Consumer-centric layer 2 blockchain combining optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge (ZK) technology: https://www.morphl2.io/

Molecule - Seed+ ($1M) | Decentralized science platform and protocol that ports biotech IP into Web3: https://www.molecule.xyz/

Seam - Seed ($2.5M) | Web3 social platform enabling users to code, design, and curate their perfect social spaces online: https://www.seam.so/

Modus - Strategic ($160K) | Decentralized real estate investment platform: https://modusdapp.org/

Canaan - Private Placement ($25M) | Developer and manufacturer of ASIC Bitcoin mining equipment: https://www.canaan.io/

Hackless - Private Sale ($1.2M) | Security platform geared to DeFi protocols offering monitoring tools, analytics, and other tools to mitigate hacks and malicious attacks: https://hackless.io/

AIT Protocol - Seed (Not Disclosed) | AI data labeling and model training platform enabled by a decentralized labor marketplace ("Train-to-Earn"): https://ait.tech/

Matr1x - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 gaming company and developer of first person shooter game and metaverse: https://www.matr1x.io/

G.U. Group (aka. Japan Open Chain) - Strategic ($2.9M) | Blockchain development consultancy and developer of Japan Open Chain public blockchain and stablecoin issurance solution: https://www.gu-group.com/

Bit Orgin - Private Placement ($6.7M) | Operator of sustainable Bitcoin and crypto mining: https://bitorigin.io/

NFTScan - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Multi-chain NFT explorer, offering streamlined NFT data indexing for Web3 developers and users: https://www.nftscan.com/

Reltime - Seed+ (Not Disclosed) | Layer 1 blockchain network and platform based on Proof-of-Authority (PoA): https://www.reltime.com/

AuditOne - Seed ($872K) | Decentralized platform that facilitates seamless smart contracts audits and bug bounties: https://www.auditone.io/

LINE NEXT - Private Equity ($140M) | Web3 arm of LINE focused on developing and expanding the NFT ecosystem: https://linecorp.com/en/

Spielworks - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 game publishing, distribution, development studio, and NFT marketplace: https://www.spielworks.com/

Enphyr - Seed ($1M) | Layer 2 blockchain solution built on the Ethereum network: https://enphyr.com/

Dynamic - Series A ($13.5M) | Web3 wallet-based authentication platform and non-custodial embedded wallet toolkit: https://www.dynamic.xyz/

Andalusia Labs (fka. Risk Harbor) - Series A ($48M) | Collection of technology solutions focused on risk management and security for digital assets, including Karak (Layer 2 network), Subsea (Insurance marketplace), and Watchtower (Risk simulator): https://andalusia-labs.com/

NodeKit - Seed ($1.2M) | Decentralized shared sequencer built into a custom L1 blockchain: https://www.nodekit.xyz/

EthosX - Seed ($1.8M) | Decentralized derivatives trading platform and developer of SWITCH, a hedging token representing perpetual rolled-over put options: https://ethosx.xyz/

RTI Blockchain - Seed ($2.7M) | Load carrier management software leveraging blokchain technology: https://www.rtiblockchain.com/

Dora Factory - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Developer of protocols, toolings, and public good infrastructures that help open source communities thrive: https://dorafactory.org/

Hivello - Seed ($1M) | Platform enabling internet users contribute resources across Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) protocols: https://www.hivello.com/

BitSmiley - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized stablecoin and lending infrastructure built on Bitcoin: https://twitter.com/bitsmiley_labs

Lolli - Series B ($8M) | Bitcoin rewards application that lets people earn bitcoin and cashback when they shop in-store and online: https://www.lolli.com/

nftperp - Series A ($3M) | Perpetual futures decentralized exchange for NFTs: https://nftperp.xyz/

Pave Bank - Seed ($5.2M) | User programmable bank offering multi-currency and asset support: https://pavebank.com/en

Farcana - Seed ($10M) | Free-to-play 3rd-person shooter game powered by Web3 economics: https://www.farcana.com/

Tokeny - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | End-to-end platform enabling the issuance, management, and transfer digital securities using distributed ledger technology: https://tokeny.com/

BLOCKSMITH - Seed+ (Not Disclosed) | Web3 developer focusing on NFT technology and blockchain games: https://www.blocksmithand.co.jp/en/

Aki Network - Series A (Not Disclosed) | Data-powered consumer network focusing on Web3-native influencer marketing: https://akiprotocol.io/

Reach - Seed ($1M) | SocialFi collaboration platform for Web3 creators and contributors to promote content and engagement: https://www.getreach.xyz/

Unblock Global - Seed ($15M) | Environmental focused Bitcoin mining operator powered by flared gas: https://www.unblock.global/

Meta Era - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 media company and resource aggregator: https://metaera.media/

Tap Protocol (aka. Trac Systems) - Seed ($4.2M) | Protocol designed to find and track Ordinals in order to facilitate Ordinal based finance (OrdFi): https://trac.network/

New Funds

Meanwhile - Meanwhile BTC Private Credit Fund ($100M)

Cyber.Fund - Fund I ($100M)

🙌 Cool Resources

A deep dive into the current landscape of Web3 wallet infrastructure by venture capital firm, 1k(x).

🐕 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 the 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.