As macroeconomic headwinds continue to reverberate and the implosion in Terra’s ecosystem, Bitcoin ( ) as well as the wider cryptocurrency market have not provided much comfort in recent weeks. If we look beyond the immediate price action we see an industry that continues its growth and evolution, as well attract large capital investments from major funders. The latest Venture Capital Roundup (VC) highlights the continuing growth of Web3 games, metaverse apps and even Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols.
Related: Crypto Biz – Smart Money is betting big in Web3, layer 2, May 19-25
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Andreessen Horowitz backs Irreverent Labs
Irreverent Labs, a blockchain video game developer, has raised $40 million from venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), to continue the development of its immersive pay-to-earn game Mecha Fight Club. Arianna Simpson, Andreessen’s general partnership, described the “outlandish” premise of the game in a blog posting: “Robotic roosters battle it out in a hilarious combat sports that is part MMA and part Tamagotchi and part Gundam Wing and part Mortal Kombat with a twist from Family Guy and Monty Python.”
We are pleased to announce our fourth crypto fund. It is worth $4.5B and will invest in promising web3 startups at all stages. Our total crypto/web3 fund raises now exceed $7.6B.
General Partner @cdixon shares more on https://t.co/xIezLlyDiC. https://t.co/Xc696Fu8UT
— a16z (@a16z)
May 25, 2022
Canadian tech education company raises $7M to support metaverse engine
Lighthouse Labs, a Coding Bootcamp company, recently closed a $7million seed round to expand its so-called “open Metaverse Navigation Engine.” This round was attended by some of the largest VCs and investors in blockchain including Accel BlockTower and Animoca Brands. Lighthouse Labs is creating a platform that lets users search for events, places and experiences across the open metaverse. Jonathan Brun, Lighthouse’s CEO and co-founder, stated that accessing the Metaverse will soon move from a gaming experience towards one that is closer to the web.
N3TWORK Studios closes Series A
N3TWORK Studios, a blockchain games publisher, has raised $46 million in Series A financing to expand its presence in the Web3 gaming market. The funding will be used to help N3TWORK launch and develop its first two Web3 games, Legendary: Heroes Unchained, and Triumph. Griffin Gaming Partners led the Series A, along with participation from Galaxy Interactive and Kleiner Perkins. Floodgate, Floodgate, and LLL Capital were also involved.
Web3, the new buzzword!
What does this really mean and how does it work?
Well, we made just the video for you: https://t.co/5D2NF30JKt pic.twitter.com/zMbp6uUMHH
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph)
March 27, 2022
Related: Metaverses will create millions of jobs in the Economy 3.0
Blockchain VCs back global hacker movement
DoraHacks is a hacker organization that provides Web3 developer grants. FTX Ventures has led a $20 million round. Liberty City Ventures also participated. Circle Ventures and Gemini Frontier Fund were additional investors. Sky9 Capital, Sky9 Capital, Amber Group, Crypto.com Capital, Amber Group, and Crypto.com Capital were also involved. DoraHacks will make use of the funding to launch multiple initiatives including a decentralized grant community Dora DAO, and a venture fund that will invest directly in emerging tech startups.
DeFi protocol raises $30M
The DeFi liquidity protocol iZUMi Finance closed a $30 Million funding round to grow its ecosystem and launch a new, decentralized exchange via the BNB Chain. About one-third of funds were raised through bond vouchers on Solv Protocol. This platform allows the creation of new financial instruments in the form nonfungible tokens.
Related: What is Total Value Locked (TVL) in Crypto? Why does it matter?
DAO management platform closes funding round
Common, a community management platform for decentralized autonomous organisations (DAOs), has raised $20 million to expand its platform, and further decentralize operations. Common allows users to manage, create and govern their own blockchain communities. Common claims to have 500 active communities, including crypto projects dYdX and Axie Infinity as well as Solana, Polygon, and Solana.
DAOs can be explained in five words or less
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph)
February 28, 2022
Centrifuge lands BlockTower partnership
To accelerate the financialization on-chain of real-world assets, DeFi protocol Centrifuge has partnered up with BlockTower, a blockchain venture firm. The partners raised $3 million from both crypto and traditional investors to support the initiative. Many consider the incorporation of real-world assets to be a significant step in cementing DeFi’s place in mainstream finance. Lucas Vogelsang, co-founder of Centrifuge, stated that his partnership with BlockTower is intended to “accelerate DeFi’s adoption in institutional capital.”
