Binance has raised a new venture fund targeting Web3 and other blockchain technologies.
According to a statement issued by Binance Labs, the VC arm of Binance, the $500 million fund saw the participation of global institutions including DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, as well as other major private equity funds, family offices, and corporations as limited partners. Binance Labs looks for investments across three different stages: incubation, early-stage venture, and late-stage growth. The new fund is expected to be allocated to projects spanning all three stages.
Changpeng Zhao (CZ), Founder and CEO of Binance, explained that in a Web3 environment, the connection between values, people, and economies is essential:
“… if these three elements come together to build an ecosystem, that will accelerate the mass adoption of the blockchain technology and crypto. The goal of the newly closed investment fund is to discover and support projects and founders with the potential to build and to lead Web3 across DeFi, NFTs, gaming, Metaverse, social, and more.”
Binance Labs notes that since 2018, it has invested in and incubated more than 100 projects from over 25 countries. Its portfolio includes projects such as 1inch, Audius, Axie Infinity, Dune Analytics, Elrond, Injective, Polygon, Optimism, The Sandbox, and STEPN.
Binance Labs runs an Incubation Program regularly and is currently supporting its fourth cohort.
For its late-stage growth investments, Binance looks for more mature companies aiming to scale or bridge into the Web3 ecosystem with the Binance ecosystem as a solid strategic partner.
Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world. Its most recent 24-hour trading volume was around $15 billion.
