Quick take:
- Aelf has announced the launch of aelf Ventures with a $50M ecosystem fund.
- The Web3 solutions provider said the fund will be used to boost blockchain innovation.
- Aelf Ventures has already invested in Web3 projects Crystal Fun and Mythic Protocol.
Aelf Ventures has emerged from stealth with a $50 million ecosystem fund supporting blockchain innovation. The fund was launched by Aelf, a layer-1 blockchain infrastructure platform championing the transition from web2 to web3.
According to the announcement, aelf has already invested in Crystal Fun, a decentralised Web3 gaming ecosystem that aims to convert Web2 game players into Web3 users through high-quality games. The fund has also invested in Mythic Protocol, a protocol building a collaborative entertainment universe driven by its community.
The venture fund has also incubated leading web3 projects including Portkey — a social recovery account abstraction wallet, eBridge — a cross-chain bridge, Forest NFT Marketplace, Awaken Swap — a decentralised exchange (DEX), and EWELL — an initial DEX offering (IDO) platform, among others.
Commenting on the launch of aelf Ventures, Hazel Zhang, the Head of Investments at aelf said: “As we navigate the path toward a decentralised Web3 era, aelf Ventures stands as a guiding light for extraordinary minds and groundbreaking projects. Our mission is clear: to champion those who share our vision, investing in founders driven by passion and ideas that resonate with the essence of aelf.”
Aelf Ventures will also look to incubate and nurture innovative blockchain projects within the aelf and multichain ecosystems, the company wrote in a press release on Thursday.
According to the announcement, aelf Ventures specifically targets growth-stage blockchain projects looking to bridge Web2 entertainment companies to decentralised Web3.
The company is now expanding its reach into “venture investments spanning diverse sectors, targeting avant-garde projects with visionary founders in alignment with pursuing a decentralised future.”
Among projects that aelf Ventures is looking to invest in include those involved in blockchain gaming, decentralised finance (DeFi), and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Aelf Ventures’ launch comes at a time when the Web3 funding is declining. According to Tech Crunch, Web3 startups are tracking to raise less than $1.9 billion during the third quarter of 2023. In Q1, the industry raised about $2 billion, with the second quarter just falling short of that figure.
Still, even after witnessing a backing of about $1.38 billion in the current quarter, the figures are significantly lower than what the Web3 industry was registering in 2021 and 2022.
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