Coinfund is betting big on Web3.
While some of the biggest crypto companies continue to lay off employees, Coinfund is doubling down on the future of Web3.
The crypto-focused investment firm announced Wednesday that it’s launching a massive $300 million venture capital fund for Web3 founders looking to finance their crypto projects.
Adams Street Partners, StepStone Group, Accolade Partners, Theta Capital Management, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and partners from Venrock are among those who have contributed to the fund.
The fund, also known as Coinfund Ventures, is prioritizing a “founders first” philosophy when identifying Web3 projects that already have “early traction” in the market and aim to shape the next blockchain-based iteration of the internet, according to a statement.
Coinfund managing partner David Pakman—who is also on the board of directors for crypto companies Dapper Labs and Rarible—believes the $300 million fund is coming at just the right time despite the ongoing bear market.
“In my 30 years in tech, I have never seen a bigger opportunity than crypto and Web3,” Pakman said in a release announcing the fund.
And in a blog post, he pointed to the 19% of new startups created this year being focused on Web3 as a sign that the crypto space isn’t going away anytime soon.
"While we are in a crypto (and tech) bear market today, over a longer period of time, we expect many web3 and crypto companies to create enormous value," Pakman told Decrypt. "This is not the first time we have launched a fund in a bear market–our Seed III fund was launched in 2018 and we have seen a number of fantastic companies built since then."
He added that the firm planned to invest in 30 to 40 different companies over the next two to three years.
While Pakman said that celebrating the fund’s launch is, in his view, “a silly moment,” he believes Web3 will bring a momentous technological shift.
“We think we are looking at the largest amount of economic value creation we have seen since, well, the Industrial Revolution,” he said.