This VC firm is sticking with Web3 through tough times

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The Web3 space is in something of a fix at the moment. It was only a few years ago when terms like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and virtual worlds began to spread.

But the sector was thrown into the mainstream spotlight when social media giant Facebook placed the metaverse at the heart of its future.

That triggered a modern-day gold rush: Funding for VC-backed startups in the Web3 space hit a record high of US$29.2 billion in 2021, according to Crunchbase. In fact, 2022 also started brightly, with US$17.5 billion of VC funds flowing into the sector during the first two quarters of that year.

However, when the crypto winter threatened to turn into a blizzard following the collapse of companies such as FTX, it sparked a significant VC spending pullback. Funding for Web3 startups dropped an astonishing 74% year on year in Q4 2022, plunging from US$9.3 billion to US$2.4 billion.

With Web3 at a crossroads, the question now is where does it go from here? Yinglan Tan, founding managing partner of Insignia Ventures Partners, offers some answers in today’s featured piece.

The veteran investor, who was Sequoia Capital’s first hire in Southeast Asia and sourced deals for Tokopedia, Carousell, and Gojek, sat down with Tech in Asia to discuss how his VC firm is navigating the bear market and why he believes Web3 tech is still valuable.

Today we look at:

• Why Insignia Ventures believes in the value of Web3
• Alibaba’s biggest restructuring effort in its 24-year history
• Other newsy highlights such as AnyMind Group’s Tokyo listing and the acquisition of a Malaysian recruitment startup by India’s BetterPlace

Premium summary

Welcoming Web3

Image credit: Timmy Loen

I’m a big fan of Tech in Asia’s Recession Run series. It offers a unique and detailed insight into how some of Southeast Asia’s leading investment minds are likely to allocate their funds amid this economic slowdown.

For instance, while today’s featured piece highlights Tan’s admiration for Web3, it also discusses his desire to form closer ties with capital-efficient founders and builders as well as his bullish view on agritech and healthcare.

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