Participated · Seed · Oct 2022

Valory builds an open-source bot-system software stack for running autonomous off-chain services that bridge gaps between decentralized Web3 apps and centralized services. The company was launched in mid-2021 and aims to enable DAOs and blockchain applications to perform transparent, less human-dependent operations. Its stack is described as a "Ruby-on-Rails for building autonomous services" and includes the permissionless Autonolas DAO protocol to secure and manage autonomous bot services. Valory is already in use by projects such as Brahma and Postmint and runs developer academies to drive adoption and spawn projects like the El Collectooorr NFT-collecting bot. The company positions its mission around co-owned AI and broader decentralization of autonomous services. Financially, Valory has just closed a $4 million seed round to forward adoption of the Autonolas protocol and its ecosystem.

Participated · Series A · Aug 2022

Safeheron is a Singapore-based startup that uses multi-party computation (MPC) to secure private keys for crypto self-custody wallets. Its open-source MPC wallet-as-a-service distributes signing across multiple machines so users can sign transactions from multiple devices rather than rely on a single private key. The company launched its product in October and has since powered over 20 clients holding more than $100 million in crypto under custody and has facilitated over $4 billion in transactions. Safeheron recently onboarded MetaMask to provide MPC signing capabilities to its users. The team emphasizes transparency through open-sourcing to build trust, and the founders are veterans of China’s tech industry targeting global web3 markets.

Participated · Seed · Feb 2022

Aperture operates a cross-chain DeFi investment ecosystem centered on a smart-contract-enabled marketplace for yield and investment strategies, with integrated bridge solutions to connect opportunities across blockchains. Its product aims to let retail and institutional users execute complex, multi-step DeFi strategies with near one-click smart contracts, removing the need for multiple wallets or tokens. Aperture positions its marketplace to abstract away the complexities of cross-chain yield strategies and harmonize liquidity across networks. A private beta launched on Feb 7, 2022 featuring a delta-neutral strategy on synthetic stock tokens, and the company planned a V1 product launch in March to enable EVM-compatible chains to access Terra ecosystem opportunities. The team is Silicon Valley–based, with three co-founders from Stanford, Cornell, and UC Berkeley and 20+ years of combined product and engineering experience at Google, AWS, and Netflix. Aperture also intends to run a token generation event and will release further product details on its official channels.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2021

Mean DAO builds infrastructure and products to connect traditional banking workflows to decentralized finance through its Mean Protocol and MeanFi offerings. Mean Protocol is a set of rules and smart contracts that enable application developers to facilitate everyday banking workflows on web3 apps; its Money Streaming and DCA programs power much of the value flow with automated DeFi primitives. MeanFi is a self-custody, permissionless and trustless banking product on Solana intended to onboard retail banking users and investors into DeFi. The organization reports serving more than 31,000 individual accounts, about 1,800 daily active users, thousands of transactions daily, and nearly 17,000 “super engaged” members. Mean DAO was founded in May and launched in September; the five co-founders bring 10+ years each of fintech and crypto software experience and have worked together at Realdax. With new capital, the team plans to expand Money Streaming operations, deepen Solana partnerships, pursue a multi-chain future, and grow its engineering headcount.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2021

Phantasia is an on-chain fantasy sports platform on Solana that supports multiple sports including American football, soccer, basketball, and cricket. The product lets users create public or private leagues, with club owners who can unlock analytics, chat rooms, customization, and customer service via the FANT token. Phantasia includes an in-app NFT shop and vanity NFT rewards (trophies and Fan Card customization) and uses NFTs for in-game identity and utility. The FANT token also serves governance for a Phantasia DAO that directs the treasury and development priorities. The company plans to drop its first generative NFT collection, “Phanatics,” in November, run an IDO via Solanium, and then launch mainnet with NFL, NBA, and additional sports on day one. The seed financing of $1.85 million will be used for platform development, marketing, and community building.