The venture capital firm Hack VC announced on Tuesday that it has secured a $150 million fund to invest in various startups involving web3, crypto, and AI, despite a sharp decline in funding for cryptocurrency startups over the past year.
Managing partner Alex Pack states that Hack VC, a New York-based venture capital firm, has already invested roughly one-third of its recently launched fund, which targets early-stage companies.
By far the fund has actively invested in multiple early-stage web3 infrastructures including defi protocols, real-world asset tokenization, and Web3 projects leveraging AI. It has invested a few hundred thousand dollars into solo founders as well as several millions of dollars into promising projects.
Hack VC previously established a $200 million fund in 2022, which gives it $350 for aggregate commitments of both its funds with a total AUM of $425 million.
The firm has invested in firms such as blockchain startup Mysten Labs and crypto finance firm Amber Group.
In an interview, Pack stated, “It was a bit more of a challenging environment now than a few years ago, but we did it because we’re just very excited about the infrastructure opportunity and everything we’re seeing in early-stage VC.”
The crypto industry has been bruised over the last year, with digital asset prices tumbling from their 2021 highs and several companies going bust.
Pack called the collapse of startups like Terraform Labs, Three Arrows Capital, FTX and BlockFi “genuinely traumatic events” for the sector. Hack VC had invested in Terraform and BlockFi, but Pack said he’s ready to move forward.
He said, “There is still a whole industry of nerdy people building things underneath and that didn’t stop after FTX.”
Hack VC, an investment firm that supports both cryptocurrency tokens and startups, is seeking to support initiatives aimed at decentralizing the internet, startups creating the framework for decentralized banking, and businesses bridging the gap between cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
According to Pack, he is drawn to businesses that are utilizing blockchain technology to simplify and lower the cost of obtaining processing power, a resource required for operations like training the massive language models seen in artificial intelligence.
With almost ten years of experience in the space, Pack observes that the cryptocurrency market has changed rapidly, initially centered on Bitcoin before expanding to include a wide range of tokens and industries. He believes the fast transformation will continue, saying, “I just think we’re very early.”
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