Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has just announced a new $4.5 billion Web3 fund. This is the fourth such effort from the Silicon Valley company since 2013 and brings its total funds in the sector to over $7.6B.
Of the Crypto Fund 4’s total, approximately $1.5B will be dedicated to seed investments, with $3B for venture investments.
General partner Chris Dixon said in a blog post that the fund will be used to invest in, “Promising web3 startups at every stage”. He specifically mentioned web3 games, DeFi, decentralized social media, self-sovereign identity, layer 1 and layer 2 infrastructure, bridges, DAOs & governance, NFT communities, privacy, creator monetisation, regenerative finance, new applications of ZK proofs, decentralised content and story creation, and many other areas.
Today we are announcing a16z crypto Fund 4. We’ve raised $4.5B to invest in promising web3 founders and startups, bringing our total crypto funds raised to more than $7.6B. 💪 https://t.co/w5fr6QN0Xb
— AriannaSimpson.eth (@AriannaSimpson) May 25, 2022
This news comes hot on the heels of a16z’s announcement of its $600 million Games Fund One to support games industry commitments, focusing on multiplayer, user-generated content and infrastructure.
A golden era
Dixon explained the company’s commitment to Web3 saying, “Since the advent of computing in the 1940s, there has been a major computing cycle every 10-15 years, including PCs in the ‘80s, the internet in the ‘90s, and mobile computing in the ‘00s. We believe blockchains will power the next major computing cycle”. He went on to say that, “We think we are now entering the golden era of web3”.
Citing advances in programmable blockchains with apps reaching tens of millions of users and new talent entering the sector, Dixon said, “Our frequent conversations with builders have given us the confidence to go big, and we’re grateful to be your partner. Please reach out to us if you’re a founder, developer, creator, or any other type of builder in web3 – we’re excited to meet you”.
Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with more than 20 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. With a career spanning from the first PlayStation to the latest in VR, he's proud to be a lifelong gamer.
