Andreessen Horowitz looks to buck crypto crash with new $4.5bn fund
US venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz is looking to buck the crypto crash with a new $4.5bn fund revealed today that will pump cash into crypto and so-called ‘web3’ startups.
The Silicon Valley investor said crypto firms and those driving web3 – a new age of the internet based on blockchain technology – are entering a “golden era” and it has decided to “go big” with its fourth fund dedicated to the sector.
“Most computing cycles have “golden eras” when the right mix — including new talent, viable infrastructure, and community knowledge — comes together,” the firm said in a blog today.
“Golden eras are when legendary teams are formed, big ideas are hatched, and great products get built. We think we are now entering the golden era of web3.”
Of the new $4.5bn fund, the firm has earmarked $1.5bn to seed funding for startups, as well as $3bn venture investment.
The new fund will take Andreessen Horowitz’s total crypto/web3 cash raised to over $7.6bn, and comes amid a plunge in the market which has hundreds of billions wiped off its total value in the past few weeks.
Flagship currency Bitcoin has shed more than a quarter of its value in the past four weeks and is trading at around £23,600, down from over £49,000 in November, while Luna – previously one of the top 10 most valuable currencies – dropped nearly 100 per cent of its value this month.
Andreesen Horowitz’s first crypto fund was launched amid a similar downturn in known as the “crypto winter” in which currencies plummeted in value, and bosses said a bear markets presented an opportunity for investment.
“Bear markets are often when the best opportunities come about, when people are actually able to focus on building technology rather than getting distracted by short-term price activity,” Arianna Simpson, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz told CNBC.