Venture firm Electric Capital raises $1bn to fund crypto startups
Electric Capital has closed a $1bn (£749m) capital raise to fund crypto networks, Web3 protocols and blockchain-based businesses.
The Silicon Valley-based firm was set up in 2018 by Avichal Garg, a former product manager for Google and Facebook, and Curtis Spencer, a former Facebook software engineer, to supply early stage venture capital to crypto, blockchain and fintech projects.
Electric Capital, which has previously invested in Dydx, Near and Dfinity, takes particular interest in Web3, the term used to describe a new generation of blockchain-based, decentralised web applications which aim to replace centralized internet services offered by the likes of Amazon, Facebook and Google.
“We have spent the last four years building software and data systems that enable us to participate in Web3 ecosystems,” said co-founder Curtis Spencer. “We look forward to continuing to push the frontier of how investors and protocols can create value together.”
“Founders in Web3 need crypto-native investors who understand the unique support that protocols and Web3 companies require through the inevitable crypto cycles,” added Electric Capital’s co-founder Avichal Garg, who claims to bring “deep knowledge in decentralized governance, shipping open-source software, community building, token economics, and distributed systems.”
Venture capital funding for crypto projects exploded to top $31bn last year, more than the ten previous years combined according to Pitchbook data. A strong of industry heavyweights have announced large venture funds since the start of 2022 with crypto exchange FTX committing $2bn to investments and acquisitions in the digital asset space.