Last week, we went public with our intentions to give a deeper coverage of the Web3 ecosystem. Since then, we have published several feature articles on companies and investors in the space, particularly those who are working in the Southeast Asian region.
This time, we are back with a listicle that features 22 notable Web3 investors. Some of these investors are focussing solely on the Web3 space while some of them invest in a wide range of companies. Either way, they were all looking forward to rocking the ecosystem with your startups.
Hopefully, this listicle can help guide you in the right direction in your fundraising journey. As always, for e27 Pro members, you can simply hit connect on the profiles of investors on our platform to begin reaching out to them.
1. LUNO EXPEDITIONS
Investing in both fintech and crypto spaces, in its investment philosophy, LUNO EXPEDITIONS puts a strong emphasis on the intersection between the finance industry and crypto. In an email to e27, CEO Jocelyn Cheng stated that it recently surpassed more than 10 million customers across over 40 countries that it operates in. “This follows a successful year that saw us grow our global customer base by 35 per cent y-o-y and aligns with our mission to make crypto accessible to the masses.”
This year, according to Cheng, the firm aims to scale up investments and expand focus beyond crypto into the broader fintech space. “We are building a leading platform designed around the needs of early-stage founders across the globe.”
2. Binance Labs
Recently, Binance Labs Investment Director Nicole Zhang made an appearance at the Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai. At the event, she pointed out how traditional VCs will turn to crypto projects to place their bets on in the future. According to her, it is because crypto projects are seen as “the right way to channel the audience.”
A study conducted by Forbes in the US found about 40 per cent of young Americans make only crypto investments nowadays. According to Zhang, this is a significant number that has alarmed traditional VCs. “They realise they need to grab the heart of the younger generation because they’re the future,” she stressed.
Also Read: Demystifying NFTs and DeFi
3. Cake DeFi
In March, Cake DeFi, Singapore-based fintech platform that aims to make DeFi services and applications more accessible to the general public, announced the launch of its venture capital (VC) arm Cake DeFi Ventures with US$100 million in earmarked capital. It is looking to invest in tech startups in Web3, gaming, and fintech, especially those in the metaverse, NFT, blockchain and e-sports industries that “will bring synergistic value to Cake DeFi’s core business.
“… because we are entrenched in the Web3 space, we are able to offer more strategic value as investment partners beyond just capital injections. We are able to give them access to resources, proprietary R&D and connections that will aid startups to grow in this space. As a global company with customers in 191 countries, we are able to offer expertise and networks to support these startups in their own global expansion plans,” said Cake DeFi CTO U-Zyn Chua.
4. Cydonia Fund
Cydonia Fund is the result of a partnership between Finch Asia and IndoGen Capital which seeks to invest in pre-seed to Series B startups in the Web3 space in Southeast Asia. It has onboarded notable personalities in the regional blockchain sector including top Tokocrypto executives Teguh Kurniawan Harmanda, Chung Ying Lai, and Nanda Ivens.
As part of the agreement, IndoGen will bring in its whole ecosystem participation to support its growth, including Jababeka, Mahaka Media Group, and the Japanese Trade Organization (JETRO).
5. Animoca Brands
Widely known as the company behind The Sandbox, Animoca Brands has been making notable investments in the Web3 space, including a US$50 million investment into Brinc’s metaverse accelerator programme in January.
In an interview with e27, co-founder Yat Siu stated his belief on how Web3 is going to redefine labour in Asia in a big way.
“While investing in and supporting small companies in the open metaverse, we are creating a movement. That’s why we invest so aggressively. This way, we want to give some autonomy to people,” he says.
6. Alpha Venture DAO
Previously known as Alpha Finance Labs, Alpha Venture DAO’s journey began in 2020 with the introduction of the world’s first leveraged yield farming platform Homora. It has also incubated external projects as another mode to create and capture value, and further its mission of expanding the boundary of Web3 use cases.
The problems that Alpha Venture DAO aims to solve include the lack of support for founders (especially advice from builders with operating experience), the lack of decentralisation, and the lack of a supportive community.
Also Read: ‘I have seen the future, and it works.’ But is it Web3?
7. Brinc
Having raised US$130 million in funding led by Animoca Brands, Brinc intends to expand into new locations and launch new programmes and funds. In an interview with e27, Founder and CEO Manav Gupta details the organisation’s plan to expand to Web3.
“We will invest in Web3-native companies across culture (arts, media, gaming, e-sports, entertainment, collectibles), metaverse, DeFi, DAOs, guilds and infrastructure through Launchpad Luna. We will continue to expand the scope of our investment as we bring on more exciting partners across sub-verticals like Metaverses, De-Fi, Fitness, etc.”
8. Coinbase Ventures
Coinbase Ventures has been making investments in crypto startups in the region, including Indonesia-based crypto exchange Pintu in 2021.
In a blog post, Emilie Choi, Head of Corp & Biz Dev and Biz Ops at Coinbase, explains, “We’ll be providing financing to promising early stage companies that have the teams and ideas that can move the space forward in a positive, meaningful way … Our focus is on building strong relationships and helping to spur on the development of the ecosystem.”
9. Paradigm
From its base in San Francisco, Paradigm aims to back disruptive, global crypto/Web3 companies and protocols with as little as US$1 million and as much as US$100 million. It has made 73 investments including one in Sky Mavis, the owner of the popular NFT game Axie Infinity.
10. Pantera Capital
Pantera Capital is the first US-based institutional asset manager that focused exclusively on blockchain. Since 2013, it has invested in digital assets and blockchain companies, providing investors with the full spectrum of exposure to the space.
In Southeast Asia, the firm has invested in Pintu and OmiseGo.
11. Blockchain Capital
Blockchain Capital is one of the leading names in the industry, with big names such as Coinbase and OpenSea being their portfolio companies. Within the eight years of its history, it has made over 125 investments in various companies and protocols across different stages, geographies, and asset types.
In April 2017, the organisation invented the Security Token with the creation of the BCAP, a tokenized VC fund raised through a security token offering.
12. Digital Currency Group
DGC incubate, acquire, and operate businesses that provide a variety of financial and professional services to financial institutions, corporations, and startups. Its subsidiaries include Genesis, Grayscale, Coindesk, Foundry, and LUNO (which runs its own investment arm LUNO EXPEDITIONS).
Its portfolio companies are available across various markets from the US, Japan, to Kenya.
Also Read: A new digital era: How to earn a passive income in Web3
13. XCEL Next Ventures
XCEL Next Ventures is the company behind X-PITCH which is known as the X Games for startups. The competition has named the 18 startups from the TOP150 semi-finalists that have received funding rounds in April this year. Aside from the US$1 million investment prize that the top three startups have received in total, semi-finalists have also raised over US$17 million as of March 27.
14. Appworks
In August last year, Appworks announced that it has closed a US$150 million third fund that is targeting AI and blockchain startups in Greater Southeast Asia. By the time it was announced, the fund was already in the process of constructing a portfolio of roughly 40 deals, including 20 investments starting at US$2 million in Series A to Series C companies and 20 in the seed stage.
It has also teamed up with e27 to help startups build an investor network.
15. Genesia Ventures
In February, Tokyo-headquartered VC firm Genesia Ventures announced the first close of its third fund at approximately US$90 million. Like its previous funds, it aims to invest in companies that empower digital transformation (SaaS), new economy (sharing economy, decentralised platforms), media and entertainment (VR/AR, content), and frontier tech (robotics, digital twinning, space tech).
16. KK Fund
KK Fund invests in early stage tech startups operating in the diverse industry sectors including blockchain, Internet of Things, entertainment tech, fintech, edutech, HR tech, mobility and healthcare tech, and property tech that are primarily based in Southeast Asia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In the Web3 space, its recent investment includes Singapore-based Metareum, a metaverse platform that connects games, scholarship, NFTs, and communities.
17. RHL Ventures
A sector-agnostic investment firm that is based in Malaysia, RHL Ventures typically invests in early stages companies in Southeast Asia, particularly their Series A and B stages. However, they also participated in later stage rounds.
A regular contributor in the e27 Contributor Programme, Managing Partner Rachel Lau has shared her views on the kind of creative thinking that helps foster innovation.
Also Read: 3moji aims to transform the way NFTs are used in metaverse with its avatar system
18. Partech Partners
Another example of a sector-agnostic investment firm, Partech Partners has a history that began in 1982 in Silicon Valley. It invests from EUR200,000 to EUR75 million in a broad range of technologies and businesses for enterprises and consumers, from software, digital brands and services to hardware and deep tech, across all major industries. The organisation invests in global companies from its offices in San Francisco, Paris, Berlin and Dakar.
In Southeast Asia, its portfolio companies include Tinvio, Finantier, and Transcelestial.
19. C Ventures
C Ventures describes itself as the first investment club for the world’s most elite families and funds, bridging the West and the East, curating a global cultural ecosystem targeting the Millennials and the Z Generation, with a focus on disruptive businesses in technology, lifestyle and media. Led by Adrian Cheng, the firm has made a move in the Web3 space by investing in the digital asset financial services platform Matrixport and fashion NFT platform RTFKT
20. East Ventures
As one of the most active early stage investor in the region, East Ventures has also made some moves in the Web3 space. It has made an investment in Blockstream, a Canada-based Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure; Bread, a New Zealand-based decentralised financial institution; and Indodax, an Indonesia-based platform for buying and selling Digital Assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and others.
21. Rebright Partners
Rebright Partners is an Asia-focus early stage venture capital firm that is backed by prominent Japanese corporate and institutional investors. In Southeast Asia, its portfolio company in the Web3 space includes Coins.ph, the Philippine-based blockchain startup.
22. Quest Ventures
Quest Ventures recently announced a partnership with the Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise (raiSE) to launch the Social Impact Accelerator. In the Web3 sector, the firm has invested in Intelllex, a platform that supports crypto and fintech businesses as their knowledge partners.
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