AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #69 / #70

🗓️ Week(s) of:

Apr 21-27, 2024 & Apr 28 - May 4, 2024

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

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

$331M+ was raised across 66 funding rounds in Web3 over the past 2 weeks. My apologies, I needed to take a break last week. Thus edition will combine the funding data over this time period.

Broader crypto markets remain relatively horizontal, which appears to also be spilling over into venture markets. The largest deals have mainly taken place in Q1 while the market was on a clear bull run. Despite this, deal flow continues to hold steady at around 30 deals per week. with capital appearing to be shifting more so to earlier-stage seed rounds.

In terms of trends, new Layer 2s, projects focused on tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), and those merging AI and blockchain continue to attract consistent capital. Restaking has also been capturing investors' attention the past 2 months, with more projects developing around the EigenLayer ecosystem and offering varying forms of Actively Validated Services (AVS). Additionally, there has been a recent uptick in funding for new Web3 social projects, as the Farcaster ecosystem continues maintain activity and projects like Friend.tech garner attention with their airdrop.

Funding Round Up #69 (Apr 21-27)

Funding Round Up #70 (Apr 28 - May 4)

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ Securitize announced a $47M in a strategic funding round led by BlackRock and included participation from Hamilton Land, ParaFi Capital, Tradeweb Market, Aptos Labs, Circle and Paxos. The round also coincided with the launch of BlackRock’s first tokenized fund issued on Ethereum, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), which Securitize help develop.

Securitize is an all-in-one platform for issuing, managing, and trading digital asset securities through tokenization. The platform simplifies investor onboarding, compliance, and reporting for issuers, while providing a secondary market and trading venues for tokenized securities. The company's broader platform includes a U.S.-registered broker-dealer, a primary marketplace, an SEC-licensed alternative trading system (ATS), a transfer agent, and an exempt reporting adviser.

Why this matters?👉 Tokenization represents a trillion-dollar opportunity for Web3. Securitize has emerged as a leading player, turning this lofty opportunity into a reality while working with some of the world's largest financial institutions, such as BlackRock and KKR. Their journey hasn't been easy, as the company has been around since 2017 and has gone through over half a dozen funding rounds. However, with the launch of BUIDL and numerous other issuances, they're demonstrating a product-market fit for their platform and for tokenization as a whole.

😎 Noteworthy Company

➡️ Movement Labs is developing a modular framework to design and deploy Move-based infrastructure, applications, and blockchains in any distributed environment. Its products include M1, a community-focused blockchain aiming to become a decentralized shared sequencer, and M2, a Move-based Layer 2 network built on Ethereum with an embedded EVM interpreter for Move to Solidity. Ultimately, the project aims to leverage the Move smart contract programming language and its parallelization capabilities to advance blockchain development.

The company recently announced a $38M Series A funding round led by Polychain, with participation from Hack VC, Placeholder, Maven 11, Robot Ventures, and several other venture investors and angels. The round was shortly followed by a strategic investment from Binance Labs, the venture arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange.

Why this matters?👉 Covered in Funding Round Up #37, Move is growing in popularity amongst developers with Movement Labs enabling further interoperability between Move-based and EVM-based networks. Moreover, this is also capturing investors attention with the company raising its Series A within less than 9 months from its initial seed round.

💸 Funding Rounds

Top 15 Rounds

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All Rounds

Only1 - Strategic ($1.3M) | Membership-based social platform to enable creators to earn and engage with fans built on Solana: https://only1.fyi/

Roam (fka. MetaBlox) - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized global WiFi network: https://weroam.xyz/

Shiba Inu - Private Sale ($12.0M) | Decentralized memecoin, community, and ecosystem consisting of a layer 2 blockchain network and decentralized exchange: https://shibatoken.com/

Scallop - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Peer-to-peer money market for the Sui ecosystem: https://www.scallop.io/

PairedWorld - Private Sale ($1.5M) | Social protocol purposely built to authenticate and reward human interactions in the real world: https://www.paired.world/

Othentic - Seed ($4.0M) | Modular components library to simplify development on EigenLayer and other restaking protocols: https://www.othentic.xyz/

Uncharted - Strategic ($1.7M) | GameFi ecosystem and developer of Gangster Arena, a idle strategy game where players can grow gangs, engage in gang wars, and compete for ETH: https://www.uncharted.gg/

Y8U - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized protocol built on top of the Humans blockchain allowing users to create a self-custodial digital representation of their personality and traits: https://y8u.ai/

Iskra - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 gaming and community hub to explore new and existing games: https://iskra.world/

TOKERO - Seed ($1.4M) | Crypto trading aggregator across centralized and decentralized exchanges as well as CryptoATM services: https://tokero.com/en/

LightLink - Public Sale ($5.3M) | Enterprise-grade Layer 2 solution built for Metaverse, NFT, and gaming applications: https://www.lightlink.io/

Turnkey - Series A ($15.0M) | Private key infrastructure built for developers in Web3: https://www.turnkey.io/

Prime Intellect - Seed ($5.5M) | Decentralized AI platform to find global compute resources and train models across clusters: https://www.primeintellect.ai/

PenPad - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Launch platform for fair-launch projects built on Scroll: https://penpad.io/

Wild Forest - Seed ($0.5M) | Card-collecting real-time strategy game featuring an open economy and player-vs-player battles: https://playwildforest.io/

Tevaera - Seed ($5.0M) | Multi-genre game platform using the zkStack-based L3 gaming chain interoperable within the zkSync Era ecosystem: https://tevaera.com/

Puffverse - Private Sale ($3.0M) | Disney-like dreamland multi-end interactive metaverse with characters as NFT assets: https://puffverse.pro/

Moso - Seed ($2.0M) | Crypto rewards site and browser extension that lets users earn crypto when they shop with partnered merchants: https://moso.xyz/

DARKTIMES - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Web3 game where players battle friends and enemies to survive in a Nordic-style, immersive medieval fantasy Dark Ages world: https://playdarktimes.com/

InfiniGods - Series A ($8.0M) | Game studio developing a suite of free-to-play Web3 games based on ancient mythologies and civilizations: https://www.infinigods.com/

Aligned Layer (aka. Yet Another Company) - Series A ($20.0M) | Developers of Yet Another Bridge and Aligned Layer focusing on providing bridging Ethereum Layer 2 networks using zero-knowledge (ZK) based Storage Proofs: https://blog.yetanothercompany.xyz/

Adot - Seed+ ($3.0M) | Decentralized search network providing an intelligent Web3 content search experience: https://www.a.xyz/

Anichess - Seed+ ($1.8M) | Decentralized blockchain based chess game built in partnership with Animoca Brands (via Lympo) and Chess.com: https://anichess.com/

Movement Labs - Series A ($38.0M) | SDK and modular framework to build and deploy Move-based infrastructure, applications, and blockchains in any distributed environment: https://movementlabs.xyz/

CARV - Series A ($10.0M) | Credential and self-sovereign identity (SSI) data infrastructure focused on gaming: https://carv.io/

TARS Protocol - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Multi-modular unified platform for AI-powered tools and services for blockchain development: https://tars.pro/

Natix Network - Private Sale ($4.6M) | Global mapping network of smart cameras: https://www.natix.network/

Creator.Bid - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Digital content monetization and ownership for AI creator agents: https://creator.bid/

L3E7 - Private Sale ($10.0M) | Web3 open world RPG game based on location service using 3D map graphics rendering: https://www.l3e7.io/

OpenDelta - Seed ($2.2M) | Developers of USDO, a delta-neutral, yield-bearing synthetic dollar powered by Bitcoin derivatives: https://www.opendelta.com/

Hinkal - Strategic ($1.4M) | Zero-knowledge based privacy perseving protocol and smart contract wallet experience: https://hinkal.pro/

Chakra - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Bitcoin restaking protocol based on zero knowledge (ZK) proofs: https://chakrachain.io/home

Astra Nova - Seed ($1.0M) | Free-to-play Web3 RPG: https://astranova.world/

Games for a Living - Seed ($3.2M) | Web3 video game development and publishing studio: https://gfal.com/

LazyBear - Strategic ($4.0M) | Crypto trading ecosystem for retail traders, offering perpetual contracts, copy trading and more: https://lazybear.vip/

Holograph - Strategic ($2.8M) | Omnichain tokenization protocol, enabling asset issuers to mint natively composable omnichain tokens: https://www.holograph.xyz/

TNA - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Protocol for issuing and managing unique name assets native to the Bitcoin mainnet: https://tna-btc.com/

STYLE Protocol - Seed ($2.5M) | Decentralized infrastructure to enable licensing and interoperability of assets and NFTs across any virtual environment: https://www.protocol.style/

Harris and Trotter Digital Assets - Seed ($10.0M) | Full-service accountancy firm for crypto-native clients: https://harrisandtrotter.co.uk/

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

MilkyWay - Seed ($5.0M) | Modular liquid staking protocol for the Celestia ecosystem: https://www.milkyway.zone/

X10 - Seed ($6.5M) | Hybrid Central Limit Order Book (CLOB) exchange offering full self-custody and on-chain transaction settlement: https://x10.exchange/

Backed - Series A ($9.5M) | Tokenization platform issuing ERC-20 tokens that track the value of real-world assets: https://backed.fi/

Matera - Seed ($3.6M) | Loyalty program rewarding creators for their engagement on their favorite social media platforms: https://www.matera.club/

Blade Games - Seed ($2.4M) | On-chain game studio and infrastructure provider offering zero knowledge (ZK) proof game egine: https://www.bladedao.games/

Securitize - Strategic ($47.0M) | All-in-one platform for issuing, managing, and trading digital asset securities consisting of a registered broker-dealer, a primary marketplace, an alternative trading system, transfer agent, and an exempt reporting adviser: https://securitize.io/

Agora - Seed ($5.0M) | Cross-chain platform providing governance tools for decentralized protocols: https://nounsagora.com/

Movement Labs - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | SDK and modular framework to build and deploy Move-based infrastructure, applications, and blockchains in any distributed environment: https://movementlabs.xyz/

BAXUS - Seed ($5.0M) | Peer-to-peer marketplace for buying, selling, trading, and storing valuable spirits and wine: https://www.baxus.co/

Resonance Security - Seed ($1.5M) | Cybersecurity aggregation software for applications, smart contracts, and digital assets: https://www.resonance.security/

Bedrock - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Multi-asset liquid restaking protocol: https://www.bedrock.technology/

Metale Protocol - Seed+ ($4.0M) | Decentralized content distribution protocol: https://www.metale.world/

Patriots Division - Series A ($5.0M) | Game studio and developer of Shadow War, a Web3 5-versus-5 third-person sci-fi action game: https://www.shadowwar.com/

Mitosis - Seed ($7.0M) | Layer 1 blockchain enabled by Ecosystem-owned liquidity (EOL): https://mitosis.org/

The Open Network (aka. TON) - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Proof of stake layer 1 blockchain network designed by Telegram: https://ton.org/

Kiosk - Seed ($10.0M) | Farcaster client where social meets onchain: https://kiosk.app/

Ironlight - Seed ($12.0M) | Tokenization platform and alternative trading system (ATS) for public and private fund managers: https://ironlight.io/

Balcony - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Real estate digitalization and tokenization platform: https://www.balcony.technology/

Paragraph - Seed ($5.0M) | On-chain creator monetization and written content publishing platform: https://paragraph.xyz/

Popset - Seed ($1.0M) | Mobile-native onchain social application: https://popset.xyz/

Airstack - Seed ($4.0M) | Web3 data APIs to instantly integrate on-chain and off-chain data into any applications: https://www.airstack.xyz/

TRALA - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Subsidiary of Joycity focused on offering an all-in-one blockchain gaming platform: https://trala.me/

EYWA - Private Sale ($7.0M) | Web3 interoperability ecosystem enabled by a consensus bridge and cross-chain trading and yield protocol that leverages Curve Finance: https://eywa.fi/

Volta - Seed ($4.1M) | Developer of Volta Circuit, a multi-signature non-custodial platform designed to provide institutional investors secure and exclusive control over cryptocurrency assets and tokenized real-world assets: https://www.voltacircuit.com/

Crestal - Seed ($2.0M) | Modular blockchain infrastructure maintained by decentralized service providers verified by Proof of Performance (PoP): https://www.crestal.network/

Amphor - Seed ($4.0M) | Decentralized finance protocol for yield automation and enhancement: https://amphor.io/

New Funds

Pantera Capital - Fund V ($1,000.0M)

🙌 Cool Resources

RWA.xyz the most comprehensive reference data set for tokenized real-world assets (RWA’s) including dashboards of the top issuances by asset class.

🐕 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.