Infinity Ventures Crypto Closes $70M Fund
IVC wants to bridge the east and west in Web 3 without getting too big and bulky, says partner Brian Lu.
Feb 9, 2022 at 1:00 a.m. UTCUpdated May 11, 2023 at 5:56 p.m. UTC
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Infinity Ventures Crypto, a Taipei-based Web 3 investor, said it raised $70 million to deploy to startups in Asia and the Americas in its first fund, which closed today.
- The fund’s strength is bridging the gap between the east, particularly southeast Asia, and the west, partner Brian Lu said in an interview with CoinDesk.
- Circle, Digital Currency Group and Animoca Brands participated in the fund, according to a release. (DCG is the parent company of CoinDesk.)
- Lu said the fund is oversubscribed, and he doesn’t want it to grow too large because Web 3 companies look for smaller rounds. They might be raising only $1 million or less, Lu said, and average check sizes could be in the range of $250,000. The fund is already 30% deployed, with 80 deals complete.
- While Lu sits in Taipei, his fund is global with a split of 55% Asia and 35% Americas.
- Lu points to crypto wallet MetaMask, which disclosed that its top countries for active users include the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand, as creating investor interest in Asia-focused Web 3 projects.
- Another of the fund's partners is Richie Jiaravanon, whose family runs CP Group, one of Thailand’s largest business conglomerates. With COVID-19 restricting travel, Lu said Jiaravanon's location in southeast Asia helps with a "boots on the ground" approach that’s impossible over Zoom.
- The only way IVC was able to get onto the cap table – or list of token holders – for Philippines-based gaming guild YGG, the majority of which had been taken up by a16z, was a promise to help expand YGG across southeast Asia into markets like Thailand.
- There are more funds in the works, Lu said, as he wants to start one every year and a half.
- Lu is also an active Software as a Service (SaaS) investor and partner at venture firm Headline’s Asia office, which counts Groupon and dating app Bumble in its portfolio.
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UPDATE (Feb. 9, 08:30 UTC): Clarifies that while "cap table" can refer to equity and token owners, YGG only conducted a token sale. Removes reference to Sequoia from seventh bullet point after YGG also clarified that Sequoia had invested only in an India-based subsidiary of YGG.
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