Funding Frenzy: A Weekly Roundup for Investors
This week saw a significant amount of funding flow into various sectors, with a focus on gaming, DeFi, and social networks. Here's a glimpse into the companies that grabbed investor attention and the trends that emerged:
Category | USD |
|---|---|
DeFi | 22,500,000 |
Fintech | 9,500,000 |
Gaming | 11,100,000 |
Insurance | 60,000,000 |
RWA | 56,500,000 |
Social Network | 139,500,000 |
Staking | 5,000,000 |
Web3 | 9,000,000 |
Total | 313,100,000 |
Gaming Takes the Lead
The gaming industry emerged as the frontrunner this week, with the number of gaming companies securing funding climbing. Here are the key investments in gaming:
Games for a Living secured a seed funding round of $3.2 million from Supercell. This investment could be a sign of growing investor interest in the potential of live-streaming video games for a living, particularly the esports entertainment sector.
Holograph, another gaming company, closed a venture round of $3 million with Mechanism Capital as the lead investor. Details regarding Holograph's specific area of focus within the gaming industry are yet to be revealed, but the investment highlights the continued confidence in the overall gaming landscape.
STYLE, a company developing in the gaming category, secured a seed funding round of $2.5 million from Morningstar Ventures. This investment indicates an appetite for companies that develop new gaming experiences, potentially leveraging new technologies like AR/VR.
Blade Games, yet another gaming company, closed a seed round of $2.4 million with PTC Crypto and IOSG Ventures as lead investors. The influx of capital into multiple gaming companies this week suggests that investors see this sector as ripe for disruption and brimming with potential.
DeFi remains strong
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) continues to be a hotbed for innovation, with several DeFi-focused companies receiving funding this week:
Wisdomise, a company in the Fintech space but with a DeFi bent, secured a seed round of $9.5 million from Chainlink Labs. This investment could be a sign of growing interest in bridging the gap between traditional finance and DeFi.
X10, a DeFi company, closed a seed round of $6.5 million with Tioga Capital as the lead investor. The funding could be used to fuel the development of X10's DeFi products and services.
EYWA, a DeFi company, secured a seed funding round of $7 million from Michael Egorov. This investment shows that established players in the blockchain space are keen to support the growth of DeFi.
Mitosis, another DeFi company, closed a seed round of $7 million with Amber Group and Foresight Ventures as lead investors. The multiple funding rounds in DeFi this week point to its sustained appeal for investors who see potential in this evolving financial ecosystem.
Web3 Intrigue
While still in its nascent stages, Web3, the next iteration of the internet, managed to grab investor attention this week:
Airstack, a Web3 company, closed a seed round of $4 million with Red Beard Ventures as the lead investor. This investment shows investor confidence in the potential of Web3 to transform how we interact with the internet.
Paragraph, another Web3 company focusing on the creator economy, secured a seed funding round of $5 million from Coinbase Ventures and Union Square Ventures. This could be an indicator of growing interest in decentralized applications (dApps) and the broader Web3 ecosystem.
Crestal, an emerging player in the Web3 space with a modular services architecture, successfully closed its pre-seed funding round, raising $2 million.
RWAs continue to grow
Backed Finance, a company in the Risk Weighted Assets (RWA) space, closed a Series A funding round of $9.5 million with Gnosis as the lead investor. While the details of Backed Finance's business are not entirely clear from the data available, the investment suggests growing interest in the RWA space.
Securitize, a company in the RWA space, closed a venture round of $47 million with BlackRock Inc. as the lead investor.
Social Networks See Big Bucks
The social networking space saw a significant investment this week:
Merkle Manufactory, a social network company, closed a seed round of a whopping $139.5 million with Paradigm as the lead investor. This substantial investment suggests that investors are bullish on the potential of Merkle Manufactory to disrupt the social networking landscape.
Insurance and Staking See Investments
Rounding out the list of funded companies this week are:
Arbol, an insurtech company, secured a Series B funding round of $60 million from Giant Ventures. This investment highlights the potential of insurtech (insurance technology) to revolutionize the insurance industry.
Milky Way, a company in the Staking space, secured a seed funding round of $5 million from Polychain. MilkyWay offers a liquid staking protocol for Celestia, a modular blockchain designed to optimize Data Availability (DA) for integrated rollups.
Overall, this week's funding activity underlines the diversification of the tech landscape. Investors are clearly placing their bets on broad sectors which are disruptive and innovative.
A central focus of investor activity in the cryptocurrency space is the evaluation of new crypto projects to invest in, particularly those with huge potential. This blog provides insight into what new ventures are benefiting from venture capital support (VC funding in crypto). These new crypto projects, funded by professional investors, can dictate the next narrative in crypto and the next big crypto movers.
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