Kraken Ventures dives into crypto pit with a $100m lifeline

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Hey guys,

My niece was the most spoiled kid in our family.

She received – and still does – massive amounts of love and affection from everyone, especially from her four grandparents. There’s hardly been any wish of hers that hasn’t been granted.

So it was probably a bit of a shock when her brother was born and she was no longer the youngest child. The baby is now the center of attention.

She feels like the family’s love has shifted towards her brother, and she’s throwing tantrums. Observing her behavior made me think of what happened to the crypto industry.

Crypto is no longer the favored one among venture capitalists. GenAI, the latest tech to dominate the scene, is taking center stage in VC portfolios, with crypto investments declining 4x this year compared to 2022.

It’s in such times that true believers can shine. In this week’s feature story, my colleague Deepti discusses how Kraken Ventures, the VC arm of US crypto exchange Kraken, is looking to raise US$100 million for its second fund amid these challenging times.

And in this week’s AI Odyssey, I talk about task-specific AI models and whether they’re worth the time and effort of startup founders.

— Lokesh

THE BIG STORIES

1️⃣Why this crypto VC firm is confident of raising $100m fund in a bear market

Global funding for Web3 startups plummeted 76% in Q2 2023 compared to the previous year. Web3 startups also secured just over US$1.8 billion in funding across 322 deals.

Still, Kraken Ventures plans to invest in startups focusing on blockchain integration of real-world assets.

AI ODYSSEY

NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW