New Zealand VC firm launches $5m Web3 fund

Global From Day One (GD1), a New Zealand-based VC firm, will set up a dedicated fund to support Web3 and cryptocurrency firms.

Team Global From Day 1 / Photo credit: GD1

The US$5 million GD1 Crypto Fund 1 will invest in pre-seed series A firms across verticals, including DeFi, decentralized autonomous organizations, non-fungible tokens, and more.

The VC firm has also onboarded Web3 expert Nawaz Ahmed as a general partner to the fund.

GD1 added that the first close of the fund is scheduled for June. The firm said it has already received early commitments from investors who have previously invested in firms like Coinbase, Reddit, Patreon, and Anchor.

The fund has also sealed two deals that will see GD1 invest in companies backed by global VCs like Andreessen Horowitz, True Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins.

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The VC firm pointed out that many Web3 and crypto startups in New Zealand are backed by investors outside the country.

“In the past, the very best New Zealand companies in this space have easily been able to raise funds globally and haven’t needed to rely on local investment. This is a missed opportunity for NZ-based funds and one we’d like to be the first to explore,” Ahmed said in a statement.

The VC firm underlined that the new fund is separate from its GD1 Fund 3, which saw its first close at US$130 million, and is set for an oversubscribed final close in August.