The VC arm of crypto giant Binance is spreading its new fund over three stages to support Web3 and blockchain entrepreneurs.
Binance Labs, the VC arm of crypto exchange Binance, has raised $500m to invest in Web3 and blockchain technologies.
The investment fund received support from DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital and Whampoa Group. Other private equity funds, family offices and corporations also subscribed to the fund as limited partners.
Binance Labs is splitting its new fund into three stages.
The incubation stage involves connecting entrepreneurs with Binance’s network to help them drive successful product development and growth.
Meanwhile, early-stage venture funding will include token and equity investments across all sectors of cryptocurrency and Web3, including infrastructure, decentralised finance, NFTs, gaming, the metaverse, social and crypto adoption platforms.
The fund’s late-stage growth investments will target more mature companies.
In a blog post accompanying the announcement yesterday (1 June), Binance CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao said: “In a Web3 environment, the connection between values, people and economies is essential, and if these three elements come together to build an ecosystem, that will accelerate the mass adoption of the blockchain technology and crypto.”
Binance is not the only company betting big on Web3 and blockchain entrepreneurs.
Silicon Valley VC giant Andreessen Horowitz launched a $4.5bn fund for crypto start-ups last week. The firm has been investing in crypto since 2013 and is now looking towards blockchain tech as the next big money-maker.
Like Binance Labs, Andreessen Horowitz is also investing in Web3 projects at all stages of development.
Binance Labs has been investing since 2018. Its portfolio includes projects such as 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Dune Analytics, Elrond, Injective, Polygon, Optimism, The Sandbox and Stepn.
Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume. At the beginning of last month, it had a major win when France became the first European country to grant it regulatory approval.
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