AWeb3VC - Funding Round Up #77

🗓️ Week of: June 16-22, 2024

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

$159M+ was raised across 31 funding rounds in Web3. Deal flow holds steady as the expected summer slowdown is upon us. Notwithstanding, the broader crypto market slump is causing widespread anxiety among investors, especially within altcoin markets. If the major cryptocurrency prices continue to remain suppressed, there is a good likelihood that projects aiming for token-based raises will hold off until the market improves, causing a natural slowdown in venture deal flow.

Outside of the broader markets, Web3 venture continue to fund new base protocols (both layer 1 and 2) purpose-built for applications, specifically for gaming and AI. This continues to remain the leading segment attracting investor capital. However, this will obviously hinge on where the market takes us if crypto markets witness a summer slump.

🏆 Largest Funding Round

➡️ PQshield announced $37M in Series B funding led by Addition, along with other strategic and financial backers, including Chevron Technology Ventures, Legal & General and Braavos Capital as well as existing investor Oxford Science Enterprises.

PQshield is a cybersecurity specializes in developing cryptographic solutions designed to protect against quantum computer-based attacks. Their products include quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms and secure hardware implementations. They offer software and firmware for secure communications and data protection, including cryptographic libraries that can be integrated into existing systems. Additionally, PQshield provides consulting services to help organizations transition to post-quantum security standards. The company was founded at Oxford University by Dr. Ali El Kaafarani. Some notable customers include AMD, Nivida, as well as also advises the White House, EU Parliament, U.K. National Cyber Security Council and World Economic Forum.

Why this matters?👉While not explicitly a Web3 company, PQshield’s cryptography plays an important role in future-proofing current encryption methods against the rise of quantum computing. Given the billions and trillions of dollars of assets represented on blockchains and smart contracts, post-quantum cryptography will be a critical component in the technology stacks for decentralized platforms in the years and decades ahead.

😎 Noteworthy Company

➡️ Renzo Protocol is a Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) and Strategy Manager for EigenLayer. It serves as an interface to the EigenLayer ecosystem securing Actively Validated Services (AVSs) and abstracts complexity from the end-user to easily collaborate between them and EigenLayer node operators. $ezETH is the liquid restaking token representing a user’s restaked position at Renzo. Users can deposit native ETH or other LSTs and receive $ezETH. Since launching, Renzo has already seen over $3B in total value locked (TVL) within the protocol.

The project was founded by Lucas Kozinski, James Poole, and Kratik Lodha. Recently Renzo announced $17M in a funding round led by Brevan Howard (BH) Digital’s Nova Fund and Galaxy Digital. Other investors also included Maven11, Figment Capital, Protagonist, SevenX Ventures, Karatage, Bankless Ventures, 280 Capital, Antalpha Ventures, Hermeneutic, and L2 Iterative Ventures. The funding also follows the launch the Renzo’s native token (REZ) in April, which has already reached over $100M in market cap.

Why this matters?👉 Renzo’s growth has followed the path of EigenLayer and restaking overall, now claiming the position of the second largest Liquid Restaking platform based on TVL. By abstracting the complexities of restaking and providing enhanced passive yield, LRT platforms are becoming increasingly adopted among the largest ETH holders and investors. As platforms like Renzo introduce other eligible ERC-20 tokens for restaking, TVL and fees generated are expanding the addressable market.

💸 Funding Rounds

Top 15 Rounds

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All Rounds

Tabi (aka. Treasureland) - Public Sale ($16.1M) | Modular Cosmos based gaming Layer 1 blockchain offering compatibility with any VM: https://www.tabichain.com/

Goated - Seed (Not Disclosed) | Web3 casino and gambling platform for Degens: https://www.goated.com/

Artfi - Private Sale (Not Disclosed) | Fine art investment platform and marketplace enabled by blockchain technology: https://artfi.world/

Wasabi - Seed ($3.0M) | Memecoin and NFT leverage trading protocol: https://www.wasabi.xyz/

Folks Finance - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | DeFi protocol for lending, borrowing, and trading built on Algorand: https://folks.finance/

Second World Games - Seed ($3.0M) | Web3 mobile game studio building games including, Second World, Ball Guys, and Agar Balls: https://secondworld.io/

Router Protocol - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Modular cross-chain framework for building interoperable applications: https://www.routerprotocol.com/

Ramify - Series A ($11.8M) | Investment management and wealth management service offering diversified portfolios via multiple asset classes including digital assets: https://www.ramify.fr/

Renzo Protocol - Private Sale ($17.0M) | Developer of Liquid Restaking Token (LRT) ezETH and protocol automated restaking strategy management based on EigenLayer: https://www.renzoprotocol.com/

Sonic - Series A ($12.0M) | Gaming focused Layer 2 blockchain network built on Solana with customized VM agnostic game engines and HyperGrid interpreter: https://www.sonic.game/

AgentLayer - Seed ($1.5M) | Decentralized artificial intelligence Layer 2 blockchain network designed for the collaboration and coordination of autonomous AI Agents: https://agentlayer.xyz/

EventCHI - Seed ($1.7M) | Event experiences platform unify payments, ticketing, and intelligence enabled by blockchain technology: https://chi.app/

Bondex - Private Sale ($4.0M) | Web3 Professional network and talent marketplace: https://www.bondex.app/

Rango Exchange - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Cross-chain decentralized exchange and bridge aggregator: https://rango.exchange/

Zodia Custody - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Institutional grade crypto custody platform originally developed by Standard Chartered and in association with Northern Trust: https://www.zodia.io/index.html

PsuB (aka. Payment Swap Utility Board) - Private Sale ($10.0M) | Multi-blockchain payment platform: https://psub.io/

ZKX - Strategic ($3.1M) | Social trading and decentralized exchange for digital asset perpetual futures built on Starknet and Ethereum: https://zkx.fi/

Ordinox - Seed ($1.0M) | Native cross-chain swapping protocol between ERC-20 tokens, Bitcoin Inscriptions, and Runes based tokens: https://ordinox.xyz/

Zeek - Seed ($3.0M) | Decentralized collaboration network for on-chain social bounties and reputations: https://www.zeek.network/

Farworld Labs - Seed ($1.8M) | Farcaster-native gaming company also providing suite of tools for developers to build crypto-native games that integrate with onchain social: https://farcade.xyz/

Particle Network - Series A ($15.0M) | Modular Layer 1 blockchain powered by Cosmos SDK enabling Universal Accounts a single account, balance, and address across all chains: https://particle.network/

Bring - Seed ($1.1M) | White-label crypto cashback service: https://www.bringweb3.io/

Folks Finance - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | DeFi protocol for lending, borrowing, and trading built on Algorand: https://folks.finance/

Elixir Games - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Web3 and indie game launcher, distribution platform, and community: https://elixir.games/

Gudchain - Seed ($5.0M) | Application focused blockchain designed for gaming: https://gudchain.com/

Zeeper - Strategic (Not Disclosed) | Decentralized perpetual protocol that supports the trading of mainstream financial assets with crypto collateral: https://www.zeepr.io/

Saltwater Games - Seed+ (Not Disclosed) | Web3 gaming studio including game developers Maze Theory, Nexus Labs and Quantum Interactive: https://saltwatergames.com/

PQShield - Series B ($37.0M) | Cybersecurity firm specializing in post-quantum cryptography for software and hardware: https://pqshield.com/

Verida - Private Sale ($5.0M) | Layer zero DePIN ecosystem enabled by a multi-chain protocol for interoperable database storage and messaging built on decentralized identity: https://www.verida.io/

Decent Land Labs (aka. WeaveVM) - Seed ($3.0M) | Developer of WeaveVM, a sovereign Layer 1 blockchain providing compatibility with EVM and Arweave storage: https://www.decent.land/

SoSoValue - Seed ($4.2M) | AI-driven investment research platform for cryptocurrency investors: https://sosovalue.xyz/

New Funds

No new funds this week.

🙌 Cool Resources

SoSoValue

🐕 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.