Posted by Shivali Anand
April 15, 2022 | 3-minute read (437 words)
Katie Haun, a cryptoasset investor and founder of Haun Ventures, has secured $1.5 billion for her new firm's inaugural fund to invest in crypto-related firms. She is an alumni of Andreessen Horowitz. According to PitchBook statistics, this is the largest VC fund ever to be created by a female partner without another partner included in the deal.
The funding will invest in Web3 startups, with $500 million allocated for early-stage companies and $1 billion set aside for those looking to scale up. After her abrupt resignation from Andreesen Horowitz last year, Haun told CNBC, "Web3 is the new era of the internet and it deserves a new era of investors."
What is the term "Web3" used for?
Web3 is a blockchain-based attempt to establish a democratized, decentralized internet. "We think open platforms will win through loyalty, transparency and trust by delivering better incentives than the walled gardens that came before," Haun wrote in her blog.
According to proponents, platforms rather than profit-making enterprises will be controlled by communities of users in the Web3 age. Because their acts will be recorded, users will be fully responsible for running platforms. Contributing to the network would earn them crypto tokens, which would give them greater decision-making authority.
Web3 is still in its early stages, with entrepreneurs worldwide attempting to develop and construct the technologies and protocols that will enable it. And not all blockchain firms consider themselves to be in the Web3 industry.
According to Crunchbase , financing for firms that use terms like "decentralized web" and "Web3" to represent themselves has increased dramatically over the previous year. Companies presenting themselves as Web3 startups received $380 million in 93 agreements in 2021, while around $173 million had been granted to 34 Web3 businesses in 2022.
Web3 has its critics
Web3 is essentially an attempt to rebrand crypto, according to several prominent skeptics. In a controversial tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk notoriously dismissed Web3 as more of a "marketing buzzword" than a reality.
Meanwhile, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stated that venture capitalists and their limited partners will end up owning Web3 and Stephen Diehl, a London-based software engineer and co-author of "The Case Against Cryptocurrency: The Failed Financial Revolution," has referred to Web3 as a vapid marketing campaign on his blog.
Haun has taken notice of the debate, telling CNBC, "I look at it as Web3 finally getting some of the critics it deserves in the space. If I could have the choice between Jack Dorsey offering some critiques versus some of the myths that we've heard perpetrated for so long in the space, I would certainly choose the former."
