Participated · Equity · Jan 2026

Shards Protocol is a Web3 infrastructure startup focused on Aura, a layer that converts on-chain actions such as staking, gaming, and community support into visible reputation scores and rewards. The platform lets users showcase earned badges on profiles and social channels, aiming to recognize and incentivize “silent contributors” across decentralized communities. Originally launched as Shards.Tech, the company rebranded to Shards Protocol to expand beyond a developer-focused SDK toward a broader reputation system. Aura has already driven a reported 200% improvement in player retention for early gaming partners and generated over $400,000 in trading volume during its private alpha. More than one million users have interacted with the company’s tools to date. With new capital, the team plans to scale Aura’s feature set, deepen integrations with social platforms like X, and broaden its quest-based campaign capabilities. Management positions Aura as foundational Web3 infrastructure that builds trust through earned identity and continuous rewards.

Participated · Seed · Oct 2024

Airstack builds a Web3 application programming interface platform designed to let individuals discover and use data from the Web3 ecosystem via APIs. The platform aims to simplify access to on-chain data for users and applications. Airstack announced on X that it completed a $4.0 million seed round. The company did not disclose any valuation information in the announcement. The seed financing involved multiple crypto and venture investors, and included participation from Allen Day of Google Cloud. No operating metrics were provided in the article. Airstack provides a developer platform that lets users query, combine, and integrate cross-chain, on-chain and off-chain data using natural-language requests powered by AI. Since debuting in April, the platform has attracted over 200 developers working on projects from DeFi portfolio optimizers to decentralized social and messaging apps. Developers can make single queries that return combined data across blockchains and applications (for example, querying MATIC holders with ENS, Lens, and Farcaster info). Simultaneously with the funding announcement, Airstack released an updated Jam social app built on Farcaster and Ethereum for iOS and Android. The company currently offers its services free of charge but plans to implement a pricing model after identifying where it adds the most value. Management’s immediate focus is onboarding thousands of developers to surface genuine business use cases before finalizing pricing.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2024

Blackwing is a layer-2 app-chain built on Initia, a Cosmos (ATOM)-based layer-1 network. It is designed as a modular blockchain that separates transaction, execution, and security layers to reduce network burden while preserving security and decentralization. Its signature feature, Limitless Pools, uses liquidity providers' positions as collateral to recreate trading positions regardless of asset price swings, aiming to lower liquidation risk while offering higher fees to LPs and stable leverage to traders. Blackwing also implements an intent-solver architecture to abstract and minimize complex execution steps, improving user experience and allowing users to move assets without separate bridges or additional wallets. The project emphasizes lower costs and higher security for users and aims to attract a new wave of traders through interconnected, specialized app-chains. Financially, Blackwing announced a $4.5M investment round to support development and adoption of its protocol.

Participated · Seed · May 2023

OpenTrade provides infrastructure that connects stablecoins to diversified yield strategies for fintechs, neobanks, exchanges, treasuries, and asset issuers, allowing clients to offer dollar- and euro-denominated yield products without building their own custody or investment systems. The company has expanded beyond core infrastructure into a permissionless protocol layer that issues transferable, position-tracking tokens and launched Curation+, a suite of vault curation and institutional-grade strategy services. OpenTrade reports more than $200 million in total value locked and processed over $250 million in transaction volume in 2025, and counts partners such as Littio, Midas Kripto, and Glim. Its roadmap includes scaling its infrastructure, formalizing regulated asset management oversight within Curation+, and growing engineering, asset management, and customer success teams. The company intends to scale globally and support a broader range of retail and institutional use cases as demand for stablecoin yield infrastructure increases with the expanding stablecoin market.

Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Aura Network is an ecosystem and NFT-centric layer-1 focused on accelerating global NFT adoption, building an "Internet of NFTs" and bringing NFT and Web3 to the masses. The project emphasizes support for NFTs, gaming, and sustainable DeFi and is positioned as a high-performance, developer- and user-facing chain. Aura is preparing for a Mainnet launch in Q1 2023 and its development team is building several new products with a 2023 roadmap to be announced. The company says the recently raised funds will be used for ecosystem expansion and to increase the number of global Web3 projects and products built within its ecosystem. Aura has formed strategic advisory relationships (including Republic Crypto) and says investor partners will advise on operations, product and business development, and marketing. The company is operating out of Hanoi, Vietnam. Aura Network is an NFT-dedicated layer-1 blockchain on the Cosmos ecosystem that aims to accelerate global NFT adoption by building interoperable infrastructure. It provides an open system designed to maximize NFT interoperability and integrate NFTs into the metaverse. The project is positioned as a solution to mass-adoption challenges by simplifying NFT access for non-crypto natives and expanding use cases for brands and general audiences. Aura intends to release its Testnet at the end of Q2 2022 and its Mainnet in Q3 2022. The founding team includes Tran Hoang Giang, FPT Software’s COO Tran Dang Hoa, and former Masan Group CIO Steve Nguyen. The company raised a USD 2.5M seed round to fund development, interoperability work, and community building.