Binance Labs announces $500 mn fund for Blockchain, Web3.0 startups

As venture capital (VC) funds squeeze the flow of money to traditional startups and invest in emerging tech like Web3.0, Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance, on Wednesday announced closing of a $500 million investment fund to boost Blockchain, Web3.0 and value-building technologies.

The fund is supported by leading global institutional investors such as DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, as well as other major private equity funds, family offices, and corporations as limited partners, Binance said in a statement.

The new fund will invest in projects that can extend the use cases of cryptocurrencies and drive the adoption of Web3.0 and Blockchain technologies.

"The goal of the newly closed investment fund is to discover and support projects and founders with the potential to build and to lead Web3 across DeFi, NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, social and more," said Changpeng Zhao 'CZ', Founder and CEO of Binance.

Since 2018, Binance Labs has invested in and incubated more than 100 projects from over 25 countries.

Its portfolio includes industry-leading projects such as 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Dune Analytics, Elrond, Injective, Polygon, Optimism, The Sandbox, and STEPN.

With the new fund, Binance Labs will make investments across three different stages: incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth.

Early-stage venture investments include token and equity investments across all sectors of cryptocurrency and Web3.0, including infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, social, and crypto adoption platforms.

Late-stage growth investments target more mature companies looking to scale or bridge into the Web3.0 ecosystem with the Binance ecosystem as a solid strategic partner, said the company.

Earlier, US-based investment firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) announced two new funds -- a massive $4.5 billion fund for crypto and Blockchain companies and Web3.0 startups and a $600 million 'Games Fund One' that is exclusively focused on the gaming industry.

A group of former executives from one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges Binance has also reportedly created a $100 million venture fund.

Web3, or Web 3.0, represents the next generation of the Internet.

--IANS

na/vd