Web3 and Crypto Startups Get Millions in Investments

The cryptocurrency industry is attracting an increasing number of institutional players. This is evidenced by new investments in infrastructure, and the increasing attention that companies are showing to bitcoin as an asset class.

PayPal Ventures led a $52 million funding round for Magic, a Web3 startup offering a multi-platform Wallet-as-a-Service (WaaS) solution for corporations to interact with Web3 customers. The company’s clients include Macy’s and Mattel, and the funds raised exceeded $80 million.

Ethereum blockchain-focused startup Taiko Labs raised $22 million in two investment rounds, aiming to develop a zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine (zkEVM Type 1). Taiko co-founder Daniel Wang revealed that the funding would support the mainnet launch but additional capital is needed to create an investment fund and attract developers.

Cryptocurrency life insurance startup Meanwhile secured $19 million in two seed funding rounds led by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google’s artificial intelligence fund, Gradient Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to obtain a license from the Bermuda regulator, expand its team, and launch its first service – life insurance backed by cryptocurrency. CEO Zach Townsend envisions a full-stack life insurance company leveraging blockchain and AI technologies to reach over a billion people worldwide.

The Tabi NFT Marketplace, operating within the BNB Chain ecosystem, has successfully raised $10 million from investors such as Animoca Brands, Binance Labs, Draper Dragon, Hashkey Capital, Infinity Crypto Ventures, and Youbi Capital. Additionally, angel investors like Bo Feng from Dragonfly Capital, Riyad AD of Saudi Arabia, and Suji Yan of Mask Network participated in the funding round. The funds will be utilized to expand the Tabi ecosystem and develop a new network identification protocol. The marketplace offers an experience points system, converting user actions into bonus points, and features a gaming platform that consolidates various entertainment aspects.

Argus Labs, a startup focused on developing an SDK for creating interoperable blockchain games, has closed a $10 million seed funding round led by Haun Ventures’ former partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Kathy Haun. The company received support from technology and gaming angels such as Elad Gil, Balaji Srinivasan, Siki Chen, Kevin Aluvi, Sunny Agarwal, Calvin Liu, and Scott Moore. Robot Ventures, Anagram, and Dispersion Capital also contributed to the funding. Using the World Engine SDK, developers can build and customize compatible gaming environments. Argus Labs’ founder, Scott Sunarto, who previously created the first Dark Forws MMORTS game based on zk-SNARK technology, was motivated to develop the World Engine due to limitations in existing blockchain architectures.

Lens Protocol, a project owned by DeFi lending protocol Aave, closed a $15 million funding round led by IDEO CoLab Ventures. The Lens Protocol is a decentralized social graph built on the Polygon blockchain, allowing users to create apps, communicate, and subscribe to updates. The platform plans to use the funds received to expand its ecosystem.

Additionally, Cosmos ecosystem core development team Informal Systems raised $5.3 million in investments to continue expanding the ecosystem and support the audit security division of Informal Security.