The term Web3 was coined by the co-founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood, in 2014. People are all defining it a bit differently- at Coinbase they think of Web3 as “a trustless, permissionless, and decentralized internet that leverages blockchain technology.” Its defining feature and largest value driver is the ownership it gives users. The first version of the internet (Web 1) was “read-only”, Web2 is “read & write”, and now Web 3 “gives users full ownership over their content, data, and assets via blockchains. It empowers users to read-write-own.”
Growing Interest in Web3
Web3 has recently been receiving more attention from investors with companies in the space reaching billion-dollar evaluations along with the want from people to have control and ownership of their personal data as well as have the ability to exchange services with no central authority.
As more developers are building decentralized applications and crypto becomes mainstream everyone can expect this space to rapidly grow- even more so than it has in recent times as users, companies, and investors realize the power of Web3.
Forbes shared some high-level metrics on the 2021 market:
- “VCs deployed $30B+ globally in 2021 into crypto startups
- There are 65+ crypto unicorns, with over 40 of them created in 2021. There were close to 50 crypto startups that raised over $100M in 2021
- Total crypto market cap exceeded $3T”
Visible looks to help connect founders with investors all over the world. Below, we highlight 10 of our favorite Web3 venture capitalists. Search through these investors and 13,000+ more on Visible’s Connect platform.
Related Resource: 14 Gaming and Esports Investors You Should Know
a16z/ Andreessen Horowitz
- Location: Menlo Park, California, United States
- About: Andreessen Horowitz was established in June 2009 by entrepreneurs and engineers Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, based on their vision for a new, modern VC firm designed to support today’s entrepreneurs. Andreessen and Horowitz have a track record of investing in, building and scaling highly successful businesses.
- Thesis: Historically, new models of computing have tended to emerge every 10–15 years: mainframes in the 60s, PCs in the late 70s, the internet in the early 90s, and smartphones in the late 2000s. Each computing model enabled new classes of applications that built on the unique strengths of the platform. For example, smartphones were the first truly personal computers with built-in sensors like GPS and high-resolution cameras. Applications like Instagram, Snapchat, and Uber/Lyft took advantage of these unique capabilities and are now used by billions of people.
- Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- Dapper
- OpenSea
- Ripple
To learn more about a16z, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Sequoia Capital
- Location: Menlo Park, California, United States
- About: Sequoia is a VC firm focused on energy, financial, enterprise, healthcare, internet, and mobile startups.
- Thesis: We partner early. We’re comfortable with the rough imperfection of a new venture. We help founders from day zero, when the DNA of their businesses first takes shape.
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- Polygon
- Binance
- Bitmain
To learn more about Sequoia Capital, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Tiger Global
- Location: New York, New York, United States
- About: Tiger Global Management is an investment firm that deploys capital globally in both public and private markets.
- Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- PDAX | Philippine Digital Asset Exchange
- Devron
- Novi Connect
To learn more about Tiger Global, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Related Resource: 12 New York City Angel Investors to Maximize Your Funding Potential
Coinbase Ventures
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- About: Coinbase Ventures is an investment arm of Coinbase that aims to invest in early-stage cryptocurrency and blockchain startups.
- Thesis: At Coinbase, we’re committed to creating an open financial system for the world. We can’t do it alone, and we’re eagerly rooting for the brightest minds in the crypto ecosystem to build empowering products for everyone.
We provide financing to promising early stage companies that have the teams and ideas that can move the space forward in a positive, meaningful way.
- Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B
- Recent Investments:
- Compound
- BlockFi
- Dharma
To learn more about Coinbase Ventures, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Paradigm
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- About: Paradigm primarily invests in crypto-assets and businesses from the earliest stages of idea formation through to maturity.
- Thesis: Paradigm is an investment firm focused on supporting the great crypto/Web3 companies and protocols of tomorrow. Our approach is flexible, long term, multi-stage, and global. We often get involved at the earliest stages of formation and support our portfolio with additional capital over time.
We take a deeply hands-on approach to help projects reach their full potential, from the technical (mechanism design, smart contract security, engineering) to the operational (recruiting, regulatory strategy).
- Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- Chainalysis
- matrixport
- Fireblocks
To learn more about Paradigm, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Pantera Capital
- Location: Menlo Park, California
- About: Pantera Capital is the first institutional investment firm focused exclusively on bitcoin, other digital currencies, and companies in the blockchain tech ecosystem.
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Pre-Seed, Early Stage, Series B, Series C, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- Ancient8
- Stader Labs
- Offchain Labs
To learn more about Pantera Capital, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Ribbit Capital
- Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
- About: Ribbit Capital is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests globally in unique individuals and brands who aim to disrupt the financial services industry. Founded in 2012 by Meyer “Micky” Malka, Ribbit believes the category is profoundly under-innovated and intends to support entrepreneurs who have already launched the businesses of the future. Ribbit has raised an inaugural $100M fund that will be aimed at driving innovation in lending, payments, insurance, accounting, tax preparation and personal financial management. Ribbit targets disruptive, early stage companies that leverage technology to reimagine and reinvent what financial services can be for people and businesses. The firm will mainly focus on investments in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Turkey.
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
- Recent Investments:
- Genesis Digital Assets
- Kavak
- Chipper Cash
To learn more about Ribbit Capital, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
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Blockchain Capital
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- About: Blockchain Capital is a pioneer and the premier venture capital firm investing in Blockchain enabled technology companies.
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Recent Investments:
- Abra
- Securitize
- Anchorage
To learn more about Blockchain Capital, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Digital Currency Group
- Location: New York City, New York, United States
- About: At Digital Currency Group, we build and support bitcoin and blockchain companies by leveraging our insights, network, and access to capital.
- Thesis: We invest in companies that are accelerating the creation and adoption of a better financial system using blockchain technology and cryptocurrency
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
- Recent Investments:
- Trust Machines
- Livepeer
- Elliptic
To learn more about Digital Currency Group, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Slow Ventures
- Location: San Francisco, California, United States
- About: Slow Ventures invests in companies central to the technology industry and those on the edges of science, society, and culture.
- Investment Stages: Seed, Series A
- Recent Investments:
- Taptap Send
- FourFront
- Solo
To learn more about Slow Ventures, check out their Visible Connect Profile.
Start Your Next Round with Visible
We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey.
Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VC’s and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like you. Check out all our web3 investors here. After learning more about them with the profile information and resources given you can reach out to them with a tailored email. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors and How to Cold Email Investors: A Video by Michael Seibel of YC.
After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.
Other Helpful Web3 Resources
- Web3 Report Q3 2021 – ConsenSys: The DeFi data, context, NFTs, tools, and trends that defined Web3 in Summer 2021.
- Coinbase Cloud is announcing a community for Web3 developers. Their forum for developers is live, searchable, and indexable.
- The Architecture of a Web 3.0 application
- WEB2 vs WEB3
- Twitter thread on Why Web3 Matters and What’s Next in Web3
