AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #65

🗓️ Week of: Mar 24-30, 2024

Also be sure to follow me on X (fka. Twitter) @aweb3vc 🚀

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

$298M+ was raised across 37 funding rounds in Web3. While deal count saw a slight slip, total capital raised remains consistent throughout most of March. More notably, 2024 is witnessing a steady stream of Series A (or beyond) deals, averaging over three per week, a trend not observed in 2023. There's a resurgence in deals being reported as oversubscribed, indicating more competitive deals and potentially overly generous valuations. Some of this enthusiasm is grounded in actual traction and product-market fit, but it's also buoyed by the stable broader crypto markets thus far in 2024.

Drilling in deeper, base protocols including Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks, continue to be focal points for deal flow, with Bitcoin Layer 2 networks attracting more than a half-dozen deals this week alone. Projects that bridge AI with blockchain and those building DePIN networks are emerging as the leading trends in the first quarter of 2024 as they draw development interest and capital.

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ 0G (ZeroGravity) announced $35M in a Seed round (pre-seed). The round was led by HackVC with participation from over 40 separate institutions including notable investors such as Dispersion Capital, Animoca Brands, OKX Ventures, Samsung Next, Alliance DAO, and Delphi Digital. Originally setting a target of $5M, 0G attracted over $100M in interest, before ultimately closing the round 7x oversubscribed.

0G is developing a modular blockchain aimed at enhancing the performance and cost efficiency of on-chain AI applications. Their technology emphasizes modularity, with a key feature being a programmable data availability layer that allows developers to create scalable and secure applications based on verifiable, low-latency data feeds, boasting a throughput of up to 50 Gbps. Additionally, 0G is working on a Uni-Chain architecture to enable seamless interoperability between different blockchains, while maintaining security.

Why this matters?👉 Modular blockchains and new data availability layers are increasingly attracting investor interest as the ecosystem for Layer 2 networks expands, highlighting the growing demand for a trusted data layer beyond Ethereum. At the forefront, 0G is merging AI with blockchain technology, aiming to establish a more suitable platform for future AI and blockchain development, which if successful could be big. That said, the project was able to raise a significantly oversubscribed round before ever launching a testnet. Either this signals the emergence of a next major crypto project or a sign of bull market exuberance.

😎 Noteworthy Company

➡️ DappOS is an intent-centric operating protocol designed to enhance the user-friendliness of decentralized applications (DApps). Intents are predefined actions or objectives that users seek to accomplish through interactions with blockchain networks or DApps, such as executing trades, transferring assets, or engaging in smart contract operations. The protocol acts as an intermediary layer between users and the crypto infrastructure, efficiently routing users’ intents. DeFi applications like GMX, BENQI, KyberSwap, and Stader have begun using DappOS.

DappOS consists of two main components:

• DappOS Account: Are based on account abstraction, enables automated workflow execution and offers flexible recovery options, functioning as a “virtual wallet.”

• DappOS Network: A decentralized network that facilitates the use of DappOS accounts and interaction with DApps. It assigns users' transactions to one of the permissionless nodes, ensuring either successful execution or compensation for any loss. Nodes are incentivized through the network's reward system to efficiently process transactions.

The company was founded by Ty Shen, former CTO and co-founder of Alchemy Pay, and Isabella Yang, a former software engineer at Google. DappOS recently secured $15.3M in a Series A funding round led by Polychain, valuing the company at $300M. This round saw participation from Flow Traders, NGC, IDG Capital, Amber Group, and over ten other prominent, Asia-focused crypto venture firms. In July 2023, DappOS also completed a Seed round led by IDG Capital with participation from Binance, Sequoia China, and others.

Why this matters?👉 Intent-based architectures and applications are rapidly emerging as crucial infrastructure components across Web3. DappOS, in particular, is gaining momentum, with over 20 applications utilizing the protocol. This adoption likely contributed to the company's ability to secure a Series A funding round less than 9 months after its initial Seed round. DappOS highlights a broader 2024 trend among companies that raised Seed rounds in 2023 and have now been successful to raise a Series A grounded in traction.

💸 Funding Rounds

Top 15 Rounds

Want access to our complete? Sign-up here so I can notify you when the dataset becomes available to share. Also don’t hesitate to drop me a line to say hi: [email protected]

All Rounds

Gameplan - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized sports league and metaverse: https://twitter.com/meta_gameplan

BEVM - Series A (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized EVM-compatible Layer 2 network for Bitcoin: https://www.bevm.io/

Meson Network - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) and marketplace for bandwidth: https://www.meson.network/

StakeStone - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Omni-chain Liquid Staking Token (LST) protocol aiming to bring native staking yields and liquidity to Layer 2 networks: https://stakestone.io/

GraphLinq - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Blockchain network enabled by Proof-of-Authority (POA) and built for on-chain automation and applications powered by AI: https://graphlinq.io/

BlockGames - Private Sale ($6.0M) | cross-chain, cross-game, decentralized player network and Universal Player Profiles: https://blockgames.com/

Nubit (aka. Riema Labs) - Seed ($3.0M) | Bitcoin-native data availability layer: https://nubit.org/

Satoshi Protocol - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Developer of SAT, a Bitcoin-collateralized stablecoin, using collateralized debt positions and enabled by BEVM: https://satoshiprotocol.org/

AIET - Seed ($8.5M) | Decentralized protocol for distributed AI training and inference: https://aiet.io/

0G (aka. ZeroGravity) - Seed ($35.0M) | Modular blockchain network built for AI providing a scalable programmable Data Availability (DA) layer for decentralized AI applications: https://0g.ai/

ALEX - Strategic ($10.0M) | Decentralized exchange (DEX) and DeFi platform for Bitcoin enabled by Stacks: https://alexgo.io/

Gunzilla Games - Series A ($30.0M) | Game studio and developer of Off The Grid (OTG), a next-gen cyberpunk battle royale game enabled by Web3: https://gunzillagames.com/en/

Ordinalsbot - Seed ($3.0M) | Creators and developers platform for inscriptions on Bitcoin’s Ordinals protocol: https://ordinalsbot.com/

Reya Network - Seed ($10.0M) | Trading optimized modular Layer 2 network built for DeFi: https://reya.network/

MetaBlox - Strategic ($5.0M) | Decentralized global WiFi network: https://metablox.io/

Neutronpay - Seed+ ($1.5M) | Payment provider that enables consumers and businesses to send and receive payments using Bitcoin's Lightning Network: https://neutronpay.com/

MyPrize - Seed ($5.0M) | Online crypto casino supporting multiplayer games: https://myprize.com/

MyPrize - Seed ($8.0M) | Online crypto casino supporting multiplayer games: https://myprize.com/

Illuvium - Series A ($12.0M) | Decentralized game studio building an Interoperable Blockchain Game (IBG) universe centered around role playing games (RPG): https://illuvium.io/

Bitlayer - Seed ($5.0M) | Bitcoin security-equivalent Layer 2 based on BitVM: https://www.bitlayer.org/

peaq - Private Sale ($15.0M) | Multi-chain layer one blockchain purposely built and optimized for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN): https://www.peaq.network/

Myshell - Seed+ ($11.0M) | Decentralized AI consumer layer, connectiong, creators, and open-source AI researchers: https://myshell.ai/

Hive - Series A ($13.0M) | Distributed cloud storage platform: https://www.hivenet.com/

BOB (aka. Build on Bitcoin) - Seed ($10.0M) | Bitcoin Layer 2 network with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility: https://www.gobob.xyz/

Unstable - Seed ($2.5M) | Liquid Restaking Token Finance (LRTfi) lending protocol for re-staked ETH: https://www.unstable.money/

Elixir Games - Seed ($14.0M) | Web3 and indie game launcher, distribution platform, and community: https://elixir.games/

7 Digital Labs - Seed ($4.0M) | Web3 game studio and developer of, BloodLoop, a hero shooter game: https://bloodloop.com/home

RUG.AI - Seed ($1.1M) | On-chain trading infrastructure powered by AI: https://rug.ai/signin

Parallel - Private Sale ($35.0M) | Science fiction trading card game enabled by NFTs: https://parallel.life/

Parameta (fka. Icon Loop) - Strategic ($6.7M) | Blockchain development company serving public and enterprise sectors: https://www.parametacorp.com/

Taproot Chain - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Bitcoin-based application layer Layer 2 network: https://taprootchain.io/home

DappOS - Series A ($15.3M) | Operating protocol designed to lower the barriers of interacting with crypto infrastructure using account abstraction and its own network to bridge transactions across DApps and chains: https://dappos.com/

FLock - Seed ($6.0M) | Decentralized, privacy-preserving AI development platform enabled by blockchain Federated Maching Learning: https://www.flock.io/#/

Midas - Seed ($8.8M) | Asset tokenization protocol to issue tokenized real-world assets including US Treasury Bills via mTBILL: https://midas.app/

Biconomy - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Account Abstraction toolkit and Smart Accounts Platform enabling simpler UX for wallet and DApp developers: https://www.biconomy.io/

sophon - Private Sale ($10.0M) | Modular blockchain: https://sophon.xyz/

Arrow Markets - Series A ($4.0M) | Decentralized protocol and trading platform for digitial asset options: https://www.arrow.markets/

New Funds

No new funds this week.

🙌 Cool Resources

DePIN Ninja, analytics and metrics on the DePIN Ecosystem

🐕 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.