Layer 1 blockchain Venom Foundation, licensed and regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Market, has partnered with investment management firm Iceberg Capital to launch a $1 billion venture fund, the two companies announced Wednesday.
The $1B Venom Ventures Fund (VVF) is a blockchain-agnostic fund that will invest in web3 protocols and decentralized applications (dApps) pre-seed to Series A with a focus on payments, asset management , DeFi and other trends, banking services and GameFi.
The fund's leadership team includes Peter Knez, former BlackRock CIO and former Barclays Global Investors Fixed Income Global CIO, as well as Mustafa Kheriba, board member for multiple family offices and long-time MENA region investment professional.
The fund aims to be a meeting point where "old money meets new money," according to its website. Collectively, the VVF team has experience growing both web3 funds and traditional funds, as well as providing growth capital to start-ups and scale-ups. "By offering our accelerator program, grants, and targeted funding infusions, VVF provides the support and resources needed to help its portfolio companies," Knez told TechCrunch.
VVF will also leverage the resources of Iceberg Capital to provide incubation programs and more. It will also assist the project with marketing, exchange listing, technical, legal and regulatory support, the companies said in a release. “With a steadfast commitment to identifying and investing in highly promising, scalable and consumer-focused companies within the rapidly emerging web3 ecosystem, VVVF is actively investing and building a portfolio of leading-edge web3 firms that are poised to achieve widespread adoption and achieve significant growth,” Knez said.
Alongside the fund’s announcement, VVF made its first investment, ahead of a $20 million funding round in the digital world-focused Nümi Metaverse. In the current down market, the fund is one of the few large-cap funds emerging in the space right now. During the last bull market, it seemed that some billions to billions of funds appeared frequently, but now, there are not so many.
“Venom Ventures is determined to make a meaningful impact by leveraging its financial strength to provide value in a number of key areas including regulation, technology and acceleration,” Knez said. Recognizing that these are challenging times, VVF is committed to fostering innovation, driving growth and creating opportunities for its portfolio companies to succeed.
