In this week’s venture capital update, more than $253 million flowed into the crypto startup world, although the bulk of that funding went to the blockchain network Celestia Foundation.
Crypto.news perused social media and tapped the latest data from Crypto Fundraising to determine that at least 15 other companies raised capital between Sept. 22 and Sept. 28.
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Celestia Foundation, $100 million
The Liechtenstein-based non-profit organization, known for building Celestia (TIA), raised $100 million from major crypto-focused venture capital firms, led by Bain Capital Crypto.
Infinex, $65.29 million
Infinex, a decentralized exchange, secured $65.29 million via a non-fungible token, or NFT, sale. Framework Ventures, Solana Ventures, Wintermute, Eden Block, Moonrock Capital and Bankless VC each participated in the effort.
⚡️@infinex_app, a decentralized exchange, has raised $65.29 million in an NFT Sale with participation from @hiFramework, @SolanaVentures, @wintermute_t, @edenblockvc, @MoonrockCapital, @BanklessVC, and others.👉 https://t.co/XJONZ0MilX pic.twitter.com/d6wVXnRb0f
— Fundraising Digest (@CryptoRank_VCs) September 26, 2024
Pencils Protocol, $30 million
Pencils Protocol, an auction platform and yield aggregator on Scroll, raised an additional $30 million. DePIN X, Taisu Ventures, Black GM Capital and Bing Ventures are among its strategic investors.
Initia, $14 million
Initia clinched $14 million in a Series A round. Tomasz Tunguz and Spencer Farrar from Theory VC led the effort. Delphi Ventures and Hack VC also participate.d.
All your chains are belong to us 🪢Initia is excited to announce our $14M Series A fundraise led by @ttunguz and @SpencerFarrar at @theoryvc with @Delphi_Ventures and @hack_vc doubling down. pic.twitter.com/lCj2Ve204L
— Initia 🪢 (@initiaFDN) September 25, 2024
Mawari Network, $10.8 million
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Mawari Network has raised $10.8M in strategic funding to pioneer the future of spatial computing 🕶️Building on Mawari’s expertise in streaming immersive experiences, Mawari Network leverages DePIN to bring 3D content quickly & affordably to devices around the world. pic.twitter.com/SnNK2VzIPc
— Mawari (@mawariXR) September 26, 2024
Mind Network, $10 million
Mind Network raised $10 million in a pre-A funding round. Investors in the effort included Animoca Brands, Arkstream Capital, Cogitent VC, MH Ventures, Moonhill Capital, SwissBorg, IBC Group, Master VC, and others.
❗️@mindnetwork_xyz raised $10 million in a Pre-A funding roundInvestors in the round include Animoca Brands, Arkstream Capital, Cogitent VC, MH Ventures, Moonhill Capital, SwissBorg, IBC Group, Master VC, and others. 👉 https://t.co/8nHO3Pd5Dh pic.twitter.com/quRVTEWTiA
— 🇺🇦 CryptoDiffer – StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 (@CryptoDiffer) September 27, 2024
Darkbright, $6 million
Bitkraft Ventures led an oversubscribed $6 million seed round for Darkbright, the web3 studio behind the Smolbound role-playing game.
Announcing our oversubscribed $6M Seed round led by @BITKRAFTVC and other leading gaming and web3 investors.Smolbound is a refreshing take on the life sim RPG genre, and the first title by @darkbrightgames to build the future of midcore gaming.Learn more 👇 pic.twitter.com/hwhOldtUMt
— Smolbound (@smolbound) September 23, 2024
Daylight, $6 million
Union Square Ventures and 1kx Network co-led a $6-million seed funding round in crypto platform Daylight. The startup is known for its transaction recommendation API.
.@morley & I are excited to announce @daylight's $6M round led by @USV, co-led by @1kxnetwork!We are the “onchain for you” API that powers personalized recommendations in apps like Coinbase Wallet, MetaMask, Zerion and OKX Wallet.Our mission: grow onchain GDP. We are hiring! pic.twitter.com/nJqtcnlxpn
— kyle (@kyle) September 24, 2024
Gunzilla Games, $6 million
Delphi Ventures invested in Gunzilla Games, its largest gaming investment to date. Gunzilla’s GUNZ blockchain is a key component of the studio’s upcoming Web3 game, “Off The Grid.”
We are proud to have more remarkable supporters of our vision as @Delphi_Ventures has become the largest validator of our blockchain network, @GUNbyGUNZ.We are looking forward to having Delphi as a partner as we grow the GUNZ ecosystem.Read more: https://t.co/dL0JpqtS4e pic.twitter.com/0FG4QQrdvL
— Gunzilla Games (@GunzillaGames) September 25, 2024
AminoChain, $5 million
AminoChain, a decentralized biobank and Layer 2 network, remained relatively quiet over the past two years. That is, until, a16z crypto led a $5 million seed funding round for the startup. This brought total funding to $7 million. The deal marks a16z’s first investment in DeSci, or decentralized science.
After 2 years of building in silence we’re so excited to finally share what we’ve been working on at AminoChain and announce our $5M seed round led by @a16zcrypto !
— AminoChain (@Amino_Chain) September 25, 2024
Funding rounds < $5 million
Eigenpie: The restaking SubDAO designed to maximize earning potential for liquid staking token holders raised $4 million.
Meshmap: The open and decentralized platform received $4 million from a16z, Colosseum, Lattice, Escape Velocity, GSR and other institutions.
Meridian: ParaFi Capital, Borderless Capital, Amber Group, Saison Capital, Interop Ventures, and Oak Grove Ventures pooled $4 million for the Hong Kong-based decentralized liquidity marketplace.
Helixlabs: The startup nabbed $2 million in a pre-seed funding round from Tribe Capital, EMURGO Ventures, Taureon Capital, LD Capital, and Double Peak Group. Its valuation hovers at around $40 million.
EarthFast: Nascent led a $1.4 million pre-seed funding round; The General Partnership also participated alongside Kain Warwick, Roneil Rumburg, Bodhi Ventures
For last week’s column, click here.
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