53 Web3 Startups with the Most Potential in the Eyes of 53 VCs
This article comes fromBusiness Insider, by April Joyner, Stephanie Palazzolo, Emilia David, Julie Bort
Odaily Translator |
Odaily Translator |
So in 2022, which encryption and Web3 startups have the most potential for development? We asked 53 top VCs what they recommend.
1、Art Blocks
secondary title
Recommended by: Ethan Daly, Shine Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $6.8 million
Why it's on the list: In less than two years, Art Blocks has surpassed $1 billion in primary and secondary NFT sales and has earned credibility in the fine art world. In June 2022, Art Blocks entered into a partnership with Pace Gallery, and has also helped well-known digital artists like Leo Villareal and John Gerrard sell their work on its marketplace. Art Blocks impressed Ethan Daly, who describes himself as a "big fan of the artists on the Art Blocks platform."
2、Bittensor
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Recommended by: Matthew Beck, DCG
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Artificial intelligence has proven to be a gold mine, and while Web3 presents a huge opportunity to optimize existing machine learning models, there are limitations to blockchain infrastructure and consistent data storage - the Bittensor Network is here to solve it question. In the words of Matthew Beck, "Bittensor will represent the supercomputer/neural network and intelligence market in the future."
3、Blockdaemon
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Recommended by: Vic Singh, Eniac Ventures
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: $430 million
Why it's on the list: Even after the cryptocurrency market crashed, VCs have been keen to invest in Web3 tools products-these companies mainly provide critical tools to keep blockchain applications running, Blockdaemon is one of them. It primarily develops tools for managing validators, the computing systems that power blockchains.
4、Cion Digital
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Recommended by: Aaron Holiday, 645 Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $12 million
Reasons for the list: Cryptocurrency is often misunderstood as a speculative asset with no practical use, but Cion Digital hopes to change the misconception of the world. The company's solution can support enterprises to process the conversion of Token to US dollars or other traditional currencies, so that They don't have to manage cryptocurrencies in their own accounts, and Cion Digital has already reached cooperation with companies such as car dealership service CarNow.
5、Clutch
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Recommended by: Katie Palencsar, Anthemis Group and Cameron Peake, Financial Venture Studio
Relationships: Palencsar is an investor and Peake has no interest.
Total Funding: $800,000
Why it's on the list: Buying and selling cryptocurrencies requires a wallet app, but these apps are often not easy to set up and navigate, especially for newcomers to cryptocurrencies. Guide to using Web3.
6、Cred Protocol
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Recommended by: Mira Christanto, Luno Expeditions
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Cred Protocol is reducing the need for over-collateralization and making DeFi "more accessible" by introducing a credit-score-equivalent cryptocurrency on DeFi lending protocol Aave.
7、Crossmint
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Recommended by: Cameron Peake, Financial Venture Studio; Marell Evans, Exceptional Capital
Relationship: Peake is the investor and Evans has no interest.
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Crossmint's technology allows people to buy NFTs with a credit card without having to set up a special crypto wallet.
8、Dialect
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Recommended by: Mercedes Bent, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $5.5 million
Why it's on the list: The messaging company is backed by Solana's venture arm and Tiger Global, and has a partnership with Solana Mobile to build developer tools and a messaging app.
9、Disco.xyz
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Recommended by: Rebecca Kaden, Union Square Ventures
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: One of the biggest annoyances of internet life is having to set up an account for every online service -- or entrusting personal information to giants like Facebook and Google. Disco.xyz's commitment to decentralization and privacy can fix that question.
10、Doodles
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Recommended by: Katelin Holloway, Seven Seven Six
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Doodles represent inclusion and joy — two of the most valuable byproducts of the Doodles community, and the company has demonstrated "proper utility in the NFT space."
11、DressX
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Recommended by: Kamran Ali, Inspired Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: $3 million
Reasons for the list: The NFT boom proves that people are willing to spend money on digital goods, and DressX, which sells digital fashion, has reached cooperation with companies and brands such as Dior, Fendi and Balenciaga.
12、Dune Analytics
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Recommended by: Ann Miura-Ko, Floodgate
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $79.4 million
Why it's on the list: Dune has become the go-to source for data in the crypto world, allowing you to extract information directly from the blockchain and analyze it if you have a little programming skills.
13、Dynamic
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Recommended by: Aaron Holiday, 645 Ventures
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $7.5 million
Why it's on the list: Dynamic primarily solves cross-chain issues, enabling developers to create an easier multi-chain user experience.
14、Ejara
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Recommended by: Jocelyn Cheng, Luno Expeditions
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $2.4 million
Reason for the list: Ejara brings Web3 financial services to French-speaking countries in West Africa, popularizes cryptocurrency for customers, and improves financial inclusion on the African continent.
15、Espresso Systems
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Recommended by: Sam Rosenblum, Haun Ventures
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $32 million
Why it made the list: Espresso Systems has launched a protocol for configuring the privacy settings of digital assets, allowing users to keep their encrypted payments and transactions private while complying with industry regulations.
16、Ethereum Name Service
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Recommended by: Christine Kim, Greylock
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Similar to domain names on the web, ENS is a way to create identities in Web3, not just random strings.
17、Euler
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Recommended by: Lauren Kolodny, Acrew Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total funding: $40.5 million from investors including Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures and Variant.
Why it's on the list: Euler isolates the riskiest assets from other capital pools. This structure helps prevent risk. According to data from analytics platform Dune Analytics, Euler has issued nearly 6,000 loans since its launch in December last year. Total borrowings are $2.56 billion.
18、Floor
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Recommended by: Jessica Peltz Zatulove, Hannah Gray
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $10 million
Why it's on the list: Floor is an essential tool for users interested in understanding the value of its cross-platform NFTs. Its founding team includes former Robinhood crypto COO Christine Brown, and investors include B Capital and Worklife Ventures wait.
19、Glow Labs
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Recommended by: Gabby Cazeau, Harlem Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $4.2 million
Reasons for the list: Some industry analysts believe that the next use case for NFTs will be to build communities among owners, and Glow Labs has already begun working with brands to build loyalty programs on the blockchain, such as Barbie and Forever 21.
20、Goldfinch
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Recommended by: Nnamdi Okike, 645 Ventures; Mira Christanto, Luno Expeditions
Relationship: Neither has any interest
Total funding raised: $36.7 million
Why it's on the list: Founded in 2020 by two former Coinbase employees, Goldfinch has made strides in using crypto to enable financial inclusion in emerging markets, having lent more than $100 million in loans and establishing operations in India, Mexico and Nigeria, among others. Country has over 1 million users.
21、Goldsky
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Recommended by: Ethan Daly, Shine Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it made the list: Goldsky enables blockchain developers to create APIs for their applications, making it easier to transfer data from one platform to another. In addition to Shine Capital, the company's investors include Dragonfly Capital and Slow Ventures.
22、Jito Labs
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Recommended by: Steve Vassallo, Foundation Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $12.1 million
Why it's on the list: Built on the Solana chain, Jito Labs improves blockchain performance through a so-called "maximum extractable value" model and provides rewards for on-chain validators.
23、Lit Protocol
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Recommended by: Vic Singh, Eniac Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $2.3 million
Why it's on the list: Lit Protocol turns encrypted wallets into passports to access digital files and services, and uses a decentralized network to encrypt and decrypt data instead of keeping it in a centralized repository.
24、Magic Eden
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Recommended by: Mercedes Bent, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $159.5 million
Why they're on the list: In less than a year, Magic Eden has become OpenSea's main competitor, valued at $1.6 billion, and they've carved out a niche in gaming and launched a fund to support Web3 game developer.
25、Matter Labs
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Recommended by: Matthew Beck, DCG
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $58 million
Why it's on the list: Matter Labs created a ZK Rollup called zkSync that aims to allow developers to build applications using Ethereum's native programming language, while they benefit from enhanced performance and lower transaction fees.
26、Meow
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Recommended by: Adams Conrad, QED Investors
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $28.1 million
Why it's on the list: Meow helps companies manage all the currencies they have on hand, including fiat and cryptocurrencies. The company was founded by former employees of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini. In addition to QED, Tiger Global and FTX are also its investors.
27、NFT Bank
secondary title
Recommended by: Rumi Morales, Digital Currency Group
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $13.9 million
Why it's on the list: The NFT Bank app uses a pricing algorithm that uses multiple data sources to provide up-to-date valuations and provides tax and money management tools for DAOs.
28、Nibiru
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Recommended by: Jules Miller, Mindset Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Nibiru is one of the first startups incubated by Tribe Capital, aiming to support traditional financial institutions in building more mature encrypted financial tools.
29、Notabene
secondary title
Recommended by: Jocelyn Cheng, Luno Expeditions
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $12.7 million
Why it's on the list: Notabene helps crypto companies comply with the "travel rule," which requires crypto companies to provide information about the sender and receiver of transactions that exceed a certain threshold.
30、OSOM
secondary title
Recommended by: Edith Yeung, Race Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $17.5 million
Why it's on the list: Born out of Essential, a defunct mobile phone company, OSOM has partnered with Solana to launch the Android-based, cryptocurrency-focused Solana Saga phone.
31、Pinata
secondary title
Recommended by: Christine Kim, Greylock
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $21.8 million (according to Crunchbase data)
Reason for the list: Pinata can effectively manage NFT projects, not just PFP pictures, but also content such as games and music and different types of media.
32、Protego Trust Bank
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Recommended by: Mike Jones, Science
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $104.1 million
Reasons for the list: Protego's board of directors includes current and former executives from traditional financial institutions such as Bank of New York Mellon and State Street, as well as encryption-native companies such as Ripple and Digital Asset. It is a regulated encrypted financial company.
33、QuickNode
secondary title
Recommended by: Marell Evans, Exceptional Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $46 million
Why it's on the list: QuickNode's technology is applicable to 16 blockchains. Its customers include OpenSea, Coinbase, and PayPal, and it has also received support from large investment institutions such as Tiger Global and SoftBank.
34、RabbitHole
secondary title
Recommended by: Mike Duboe, Greylock
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $21.6 million
Reason for being on the list: Drawing on the "earn while playing" games like Axie Infinity, RabbitHole has created a "earn while learning" model. At present, it has reached cooperation with many of the most famous protocols and Web3 projects, which can not only teach users new skills, but also Can help the project screen high-quality contributors.
35、Roi
secondary title
Recommended by: Maya Bakhai, Spice Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Roi lets users access a range of encrypted financial services in one app, from buying and selling NFTs to staking tokens in DeFi.
36、Round21
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Recommended by: Jessica Peltz Zatulove, Hannah Grey
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $250,000
Why it's on the list: Round21's early partners include the NFL, WNBA and the Women's National Soccer Players Association, among others.
37、Safe
secondary title
Recommended by: Tim Khoury, DCG
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $100 million
Why it made the list: Safe currently protects more than $100 billion in crypto assets, and its infrastructure has been "battle-tested and formally validated."
38、Sardine
secondary title
Recommended by: Ross Fubini, XYZ Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $24 million
Why it made the list: Security and compliance are top priorities for crypto firms, and Sardine works with traditional financial services and crypto-native firms to address concerns about fraud and scams.
39、Solend
secondary title
Recommended by: Edith Yeung, Race Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $6.5 million
Reason for the list: Solend aims to improve the DeFi experience to help increase the adoption rate of DeFi protocols. Within 10 months of its launch, its assets have exceeded 450 million US dollars.
40、Solidus Labs
secondary title
Recommended by: Nnamdi Okike, 645 Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $68.5 million
Why it's on the list: Solidus Labs, which launched the Crypto Market Integrity Alliance in partnership with the likes of Coinbase, Robinhood, and Gemini, is becoming a "crypto market influencer."
41、Spruce
secondary title
Recommended by: Jules Miller, Mindset Ventures
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $41.5 million (according to Crunchbase data)
Why they made the list: Spruce founders Gregory Rocco and Wayne Chang previously worked together at encryption software company ConsenSys, which counts Y Combinator and Ethereal Ventures among its investors.
42、Station
secondary title
Recommended by: Rebecca Kaden, Union Square Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Station aims to "build the rails for digital organization operations in Web3," and its tools will help organizations motivate contributors.
43、Sudoswap
secondary title
Recommended by: Tim Khoury, DCG
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Reason for the list: In just a few months, Sudoswap has gained a firm foothold in the NFT industry, and its model is similar to Uniswap in the DeFi market.
44、Syndica
secondary title
Recommended by: Kamran Ali, Inspired Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: $12 million
Why it's on the list: Syndica builds core infrastructure in the high-potential, emerging crypto ecosystem, and its customer growth is already outpacing Stepn, Star Atlas, and Audius in 2022.
45、Tactic
secondary title
Recommended by: Grace Isford, Lux Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $2.6 million
Reason for the list: For crypto companies, bookkeeping can be a daunting task. It is necessary to integrate cross-wallet financial activities and exchanges with traditional accounting software, and Tactic can effectively solve this problem and optimize crypto companies. accounting process.
46、Teleport
secondary title
Recommended by: Steve Vassallo, Foundation Capital
Relationship: Investor
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Teleport disrupted ride-hailing giants like Lyft and Uber by giving drivers more control over pricing and offering riders a better customer experience.
47、The Tie
secondary title
Recommended by: Rumi Morales, Digital Currency Group
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: $9 million
Reasons for the list: The Tie provides market data, analysis tools, and Web3 data with cutting-edge insights for hedge funds, exchanges, and other financial institutions, and is committed to becoming the Bloomberg terminal of the encryption industry.
48、TrueFi
secondary title
Recommended by: Adams Conrad, QED Investors
Relationship: no interest
Total financing: $40.5 million through Token sales
Why it made the list: TrueFi uses criteria like on-chain credit scoring to assess the creditworthiness of loans, helping borrowers be more capital efficient and lenders get better returns.
49、Utopia Labs
secondary title
Presented by: Maya Bakhai, Spice Capital; Lauren Kolodny, Acrew Capital
Relationship: Bakhai is the investor, Kolodny has no interest.
Total funding raised: $25.5 million
Why it's on the list: Utopia Labs clients include SushiSwap, Illuvium, Yield Guild Games, Badger, Lido, and Friends With Benefits, and processes $15 million worth of payment transactions per month.
50、Verasity
secondary title
Recommended by: Katie Palencsar, Anthemis Group
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Veracity uses blockchain technology to prevent ad fraud and enhance the reputation of digital businesses.
51、WalletConnect
secondary title
Recommended by: Grace Isford, Lux Capital
Relationship: no interest
Total funding raised: $12.6 million
Why it's on the list: WalletConnect solves a key pain point in the crypto ecosystem: connectivity, making it easier for developers to build decentralized applications and allowing users to more securely log into wallets, verify their identities, and connect with other users.
52、Women Rise
secondary title
Recommended by: Katelin Holloway, Seven Seven Six
Relationship: no interest
Total Funding: Undisclosed
Why it's on the list: Women Rise has a strong social justice component, promising to donate a portion of sales to organizations like the Malala Fund, founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
53、Zora
secondary title
Recommended by: Sam Rosenblum, Haun Ventures
Relationship: Investor
Total funding raised: $68.5 million
What it is: Zora allows creators, brands, and developers to create NFTs and NFT marketplaces.
