Hack VC, a Web3 venture capital firm based in New York, has successfully raised $150 million to invest in burgeoning crypto and artificial intelligence (AI) startups. Announced on February 20, this funding initiative underscores Hack VC’s commitment to nurturing early-stage projects within the DeFi, real-world asset tokenization, and blockchain infrastructure sectors. The firm’s investment strategy is poised to enhance the user-friendliness and capital efficiency of crypto technologies while also addressing the prevalent issue of smart contract and protocol vulnerabilities reminiscent of the early internet era.
Emphasizing the need for a foundational overhaul in Web3 infrastructure to achieve scalability, security, and usability, Hack VC envisions the emergence of Web3 counterparts to tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alibaba. The firm is particularly focused on the intersection of Web3 and AI, with plans to support projects akin to its previous investments in Jasper AI, an AI-powered enterprise copilot, and Ritual, an AI coprocessor designed for blockchain applications.
Despite the crypto market’s downturn, which saw a significant reduction in total market value from $3 trillion in 2021 to $828 billion in 2023, Hack VC has sustained its strong belief in the potential of cryptocurrency. This resilience is reflected in its previous endeavor in February 2022, where it raised a $200 million seed fund dedicated to crypto startups. The firm’s forthcoming investments will vary in scale, ranging from substantial funding for larger ventures to more modest sums for projects led by solo entrepreneurs.
With a track record of over 100 investments and the nurturing of numerous unicorns since its foray into the Web3 domain in 2014, Hack VC has become a pivotal player in the ecosystem. Its portfolio includes significant entities such as Consensys, Sui, and Helium, bringing its total assets under management to approximately $425 million.
The broader landscape of Web3 venture funding witnessed a slight uptick in the fourth quarter of 2023, totaling $1.9 billion, marking the first increase in investment since early 2022. Notable contributions include Lightspeed Faction’s $285 million Web3 startup fund and China’s National Engineering Laboratory’s ambitious $10 billion Web3 initiative, highlighting a rejuvenated interest and optimism in the future of Web3 technologies.
