Quick take:
- Whampoa Group has launched a $100 million Web3 fund to invest in digital assets.
- The Singaporean multi-family office boasts investments in global tech firms.
- The new venture capital fund will invest in the rapidly growing segment of the crypto market.
Whampoa Group plan to invest $100 million in digital assets. The company has launched a venture capital fund dedicated to investing in web3 startups behind one of the crypto industry’s most explosive growth cycles. According to senior executives of the group, Whampoa plans to incubate early-stage startups in Web3.
Generally described as the next iteration of the internet, Web3 is a next-gen version of the web, which leverages emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, AR/VR, and decentralised apps to provide immersive experiences whose economies are powered by cryptocurrency.
This utopian version of the internet will democratise the web by giving users opportunities to become part owners of the products they use online.
“We think there is great conviction in this space. The venture capital fund will help us to expand our footprint in this area,” Shawn Chan, CEO of Whampoa Group, told Reuters in an interview.
According to Chan, the proposal has already received strong interest from leading Chinese tech firms and Asian business groups.
China and the rest of Asia have been among the early adopters of web3 in terms of venture funding. Tencent Holdings, Baidu and Alibaba have all launched products targeting web3, especially the metaverse — a 3D virtual space that allows people to interact immersively through experiential activities like gaming and virtual concerts.
Japan-based SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Hong Kong’s Animoca Brand have been behind some of the biggest fundraisings for Web3 start-ups.
Whampoa plans to invest $100 million initially before scaling up, with its primary targets being “equity and tokens of products or services that enable and facilitate the mass adoption of Web3.”
Commenting on the potential impact of the crypto winter on web3 startups, Aureole Foong, senior partner at Whampoa Group said “web3 startups like those investing in decentralised finance apps have a great future, with “huge long-term growth potential.”
Foong pointed to the exciting use cases in the finance and entertainment sectors as one of the reasons why web3 startups are likely to weather the current crypto market downturn.
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