Prominent US venture capitalist Katie Haun announced on Monday that she has successfully raised $1 billion across new funds dedicated to investing in crypto and blockchain startups. This substantial capital injection underscores continued investor confidence in the nascent but rapidly evolving digital asset space, despite recent market volatility.
Haun, a former federal prosecutor and partner at the influential Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), departed the firm last year to establish her own venture, Haun Ventures. Her new firm aims to back the next generation of companies building infrastructure and applications within the decentralised web, often referred to as Web3.
The $1 billion raised will be split across two funds: a seed fund for early-stage investments and a larger acceleration fund for more mature projects. This dual-fund strategy allows Haun Ventures to support startups across different stages of their development, from initial concept to scaling operations.
The firm's investment thesis remains centred on identifying and nurturing innovative companies that are leveraging blockchain technology to create new financial systems, digital ownership models, and internet infrastructure. This includes areas such as decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and various other blockchain-enabled applications.