AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #66

🗓️ Week of: Mar 31-Apr 6, 2024

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

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

$234M+ was raised across 45 funding rounds in Web3. Deal flow remains consistent with over 40 announced deals, and the distribution by stage also remains consistent. Base protocols (i.e., Layer 1 & 2 networks) and DePIN continue as segments and sub-segments that are drawing investor interest and capital.

Overall, the funding environment remains strong as the broader crypto markets continue to be resilient. A number of eight to nine-figure deals are also in the pipeline and potentially closing soon. This includes Merkle Manufactory (developer of Farcaster), which is reported to be nearing the close of a round that would value the company at over $1B, marking another potential unicorn born in 2024. Additionally, more funds are raising capital, with news of Paradigm raising a $750-$850M fund, Galaxy launching a $100M venture fund, and Neoclassical making its formal launch. While these are not the mega funds announced in 2021-22, the influx of more dry powder into the Web3 venture ecosystem is always a good thing.

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ IoTex announced $50M in a private token sale. The funding round saw participation from SNZ Capital, Foresight Ventures, Borderless Capital, Amber Group, FutureMoneyGroup, Metrics Ventures, EV3, Waterdrip Capital and others.

IoTeX is a modular infrastructure platform designed for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) projects, aiming to bridge smart devices and real-world, off-chain data with blockchains. The platform boasts an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, purpose-built for DePIN applications. It also features W3bstream, an off-chain computing middleware that offers a computing framework for smart devices and real-world data, powered by zero-knowledge (ZK) proof technology. Additionally, IoTeX promotes open hardware standards to facilitate the connection of billions of smart devices, machines, sensors, and dApps across both physical and digital realms.

Furthermore, IoTeX has developed DePINscan, a comprehensive explorer tailored for DePIN projects, and the DePIN Liquidity Hub, which encompasses a bridging protocol, wallet, and decentralized exchange specifically designed for tokens related to DePIN.

Why this matters?👉 DePIN represents a burgeoning area of growth and development within Web3, with projects in this space capturing over $40B in market capitalization. It has also been a leading segment for new investment in 2024, with close to $100M raised across more than 20 projects so far. By providing a base layer protocol, IoTeX’s network positions itself to offer more efficient infrastructure to power further DePIN networks and participate in their economics (via transaction fees). However, while DePIN shows great promise, the aggregate annual revenues of DePIN-specific projects represent less than $100M, raising questions about whether these projects can eventually grow into their valuations.

😎 Noteworthy Company

➡️ Merkle Manufactory is a software company contributing to the development of the Farcaster protocol and the protocol's working clients. The company boasts two flagship products: the Farcaster protocol, which it originally developed, and Warpcast. Farcaster is a blockchain-based public social network similar to Twitter and Reddit, where users can create profiles, post "casts," and follow others. Users own their accounts and relationships with other users (i.e., the social graph) and are free to move between different apps or clients. Warpcast serves as a client for Farcaster, allowing users to create a profile and post public messages. Farcaster also released Frames, which allows users to turn casts into interactive mini-apps.

The company was founded by former Coinbase executives Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan in 2020. They started working together on an idea called “RSS+,” aiming to build a credibly neutral protocol where users have direct relationships with their audiences, and developers have the freedom to permissionlessly build new clients, which eventually became Farcaster. The company raised $30M in July 2022 in a funding round led by a16z, with participation from VC firms Standard Crypto, 1confirmation, Scalar Capital, First Round Capital, Ribbit Capital, Coinbase Ventures, as well as angel investors Balaji Srinivasan and Elad Gil. Recently, the company also unveiled an ongoing funding round led by Paradigm, which when closed, would value the company at over $1B.

Why this matters?👉 Decentralized social media holds tremendous potential, aiming to tackle an industry with an addressable market of billions of users and revenues in the hundreds of billions. While the opportunity is massive, the current adoption of Web3 social platforms has so far been underwhelming, with daily and monthly active user volumes only a fraction of what is seen on incumbent Web2 platforms. However, Farcaster has shown some early signs of traction, with monthly active users (MAU) reaching over 40K and daily active users (DAU) holding over 20K. While early adoption appears promising, the protocol and company will need to find a reasonable way to generate network value and justify a valuation that assumes over $20K per MAU!

💸 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

Merkle Trade - Seed ($2.1M) | Decentralized trading for crypto, forex, and commodities trading with gamified trading features: https://merkle.trade/

Burnt (aka. XION) - Series A ($25.0M) | Web3 foundry and developer of XION, a layer 1 blockchain network purpose-built for consumer adoption: https://xion.burnt.com/

Lockchain - Seed ($5.0M) | AI enabled risk management platform for digital assets aggregating on-chain data and open source intelligence: https://lockchain.ai/

BSX - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Self-custodial crypto derivatives decentralized exchange (DEX), built on Base L2: https://www.bsx.exchange/

Moongate - Seed ($2.7M) | Modular Web3 engagement layer for real-world activations including ticketing and membership: https://www.moongate.id/

DeepLink - Series A ($8.0M) | Web3 cloud gaming platform and decentralized AI cloud gaming platform: https://www.deeplink.cloud/

XRADERS (aka. XR Labs) - Seed ($2.1M) | AI-powered curated expert insights platform for crypto investors: https://xraders.xyz/

PrismaStake - Seed ($6.0M) | Multi-chain staking platform providing a staking middleware infrastructure layer: https://prismastake.finance/

DOS Labs - Seed ($2.5M) | Game studio and developer of MetaDOS, a blockchain-enabled battle royale metaverse: https://metados.com/

Gomble Games - Series A ($10.0M) | Web3 strategic casual game studio: https://gomblegames.com/

Agora - Seed ($12.0M) | Developer of AUSD, a US Dollar-pegged stablecoin backed by cash, US treasury bills, and overnight repurchase agreements: https://www.agora.finance/

IoTeX - Private Sale ($50.0M) | Modular layer 1 blockchain network optimized for Decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN): https://iotex.io/

Camp Network - Seed ($4.0M) | Modular Layer 2 network that leverages offchain data from Web2 streaming and social platforms to enable onchain value creation: https://www.campnetwork.xyz/

AutoLayer (fka. Tortle Ninja) - Seed ($2.5M) | Liquid Restaking Tokens (LRT) Finance app built on Arbitrum providing various yield strategies: https://autolayer.io/

Young Protocol - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Multi-chain SocialFi protocol: https://docsend.com/view/uim7srt8pq4ks3ke

BonusBlock - Private Sale ($2.3M) | On-chain marketplace for user engagement and onboarding: https://www.bonusblock.io/

Station70 - Seed ($5.0M) | Wallet-agnostic platform for scalable and secure digital asset key backup and recovery: https://www.station70.com/

Coadjute - Strategic ($12.6M) | Property technology platform that connects parties involved in property transactions using blockchain: https://coadjute.com/

SOAI - Seed ($5.0M) | Immersive AI companion platform enabled by Web3 technology: https://www.soai.org/

Legitimate - Seed ($4.3M) | On-chain framework designed to keep physical assets in-sync with their digital counterparts: https://www.legitimate.tech/

Gasp (fka. Mangata) - Seed+ ($5.0M) | Cross-chain and cross-roll-up swap protocol: https://www.gasp.xyz/

Privasea - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized AI network of distributed computing resources enabling Fully Homomorphic Encryption Machine Learning (FHEML): https://www.privasea.ai/

Raiinmaker - Seed ($7.5M) | Protocol and network catered to decentralized AI, content generation, and distribution: https://www.raiinmaker.com/

Sanctum - Seed+ ($0.4M) | Liquid staking token (LST) and unified liquidity layer for Solana: https://www.sanctum.so/

Zeus Network - Private Sale ($8.0M) | Permissionless cross-chain communication layer between the Bitcoin and Solana networks: https://zeusnetwork.xyz/

Sofamon - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Cultural platform for crypto natives and social expression layer: https://www.sofamon.xyz/

SatoshiSync - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Cross-chain liquidity market for inscriptions: https://satoshisync.com/

UTXO Stack (aka. Cell Studio) - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Modular Bitcoin Layer 2 network: https://cell.studio/

bythen - Seed ($3.0M) | Decentralized AI product protocol for AI-powered 3D avatar agents: https://www.bythen.ai/quest

Seismic Finance - Seed ($1.0M) | Blast native lending protocol: https://twitter.com/seismicfinance

NAV - Seed ($3.0M) | DeFi investment platform providing access to quantitative hedge fund strategies and Structured Investment Products (SIPs): https://www.nav.finance/

Phoenix (aka. Ellipsis Labs) - Series A ($20.0M) | Decentralized exchange and fully on-chain limit orderbook built on Solana: https://ellipsislabs.xyz/

Zulu Network - Seed ($3.0M) | Bitcoin Layer 2 network enabled by a two-tiered architecture for EVM and UTXO capabilities: https://zulunetwork.io/

LightLink - Seed+ ($1.7M) | Enterprise-grade Layer 2 solution built for Metaverse, NFT, and gaming applications: https://www.lightlink.io/

Planet Mojo - Strategic ($5.5M) | Imaginative Web3 gaming metaverse platform: https://www.planetmojo.io/

Web3Firewall - Seed ($2.5M) | Enterprise-grade security and risk management platform used for detecting and responding to malicious transactions and AML/KYC threats: https://web3firewall.xyz/

Cellula - Seed ($2.0M) | On-chain autonomous life simulation strategy game: https://www.cellula.live/

ANVM (aka. AINN Layer2) - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | EVM-compatible Bitcoin Layer2 network: https://anvm.io/

AgentFi - Seed (Not Disclosed) | On-chain AI agents for automating DeFi farming and trading: https://agentfi.io/

Spotlight - Seed ($2.0M) | Gamification platform for cultivating attention around on-chain subcultures: https://www.0xspotlight.com/

RootData - Seed ($1.3M) | Web3 asset and ecosystem data platform encapsulating both on-chain and off-chain into structured data: https://www.rootdata.com/

Bonsai - Private Sale ($1.0M) | Memecoin for early adopter of on-chain social across the Lens ecosystem: https://www.bonsai.meme/

TODAY - Seed ($5.0M) | Web3 social simulation game featuring AI-powered intelligent NPCs and no-code creator tools: https://www.todaythegame.com/

QuantAMM - Seed ($1.9M) | On-chain asset-management infrastructure provider and developer of DeFi native Blockchain Traded Funds (BTFs): https://www.quantamm.fi/

Master Protocol - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Modularized restaking protocol for multi-chain liquidity staking tokens: https://www.masterprotocol.xyz/

New Funds

Paradigm - Paradigm Two Crypto VC Fund ($750M)

Galaxy Digital - Galaxy Ventures Fund I ($100M)

Neoclassic Capital - Fund I (Not Disclosed)

🙌 Cool Resources

DePINscan powered by IoTex

🐕 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.