A Quick Overview of Paradigm's Investment Portfolio in Q1 2023
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A Quick Overview of Paradigm's Investment Portfolio in Q1 2023
Crypto researcher Surf outlines the directions Paradigm focused on in the first quarter of 2023.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Surf
Translation: TechFlow
Paradigm has long been regarded as a top-tier venture capital fund, and now, they are expanding into the field of artificial intelligence. In this article, crypto researcher Surf outlines Paradigm's areas of focus during the first quarter of 2023.
Paradigm is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm founded in 2018, primarily investing in the cryptocurrency space. Widely considered one of the most elite VCs, Paradigm selectively backs only a small number of projects. Notable investments include Optimism, Blur, and Synthetix.
Assets under management: $13.2 billion;
Investment focus:
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Cryptocurrency (primary);
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Artificial Intelligence (new investment direction);
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Emerging technologies (new investment direction).
Paradigm’s recent investments have centered on blockchain-as-a-service and blockchain infrastructure projects. However, with their recent shift toward emerging technologies, artificial intelligence represents another narrative they aim to capture.
Paradigm’s largest cryptocurrency holdings:
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$ETH - $187.9 million;
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$LDO - $154 million.
Below are Paradigm’s top five cryptocurrency investments in Q1 2023:
Conduit
Funding amount: $7 million, seed round;
Lead investor: Paradigm
Other investors: Robert Miller, Ludwig Pettersson, Dan Romero, Guillaume Poncin, Joshua Ma, and Lakshman Sankar.
About Conduit:
• Conduit is a scalable Rollup-as-a-Service project built on OP, enabling teams to quickly scale dApps.
• It aims to provide accessible and cost-effective solutions for projects seeking their own dedicated rollups.
Ulvetanna
Funding amount: $15 million, seed round;
Lead investors: Bain Capital Crypto and Paradigm;
Other investors: Jump Crypto
About Ulvetanna:
• Ulvetanna is a hardware infrastructure company focused on zk proofs.
• They build hardware to accelerate the generation of ZKPs.
• Their focus is on generating ZKPs for L2 zkEVM networks.
code4rena
Funding amount: $6 million, token financing;
Lead investor: Paradigm;
Other investors: None
About code4rena:
• Code4rena offers a transparent and gamified alternative to traditional audits.
• Independent auditors are rewarded through competitive bounties for identifying vulnerabilities.
nxyz (Q4 2022)
Funding amount: $40 million;
Lead investor: Paradigm
Other investors: Coinbase Ventures, Greylock Partners, Sequoia, Balaji Srinivasan, Jaynti Kanani, Jing Wang, Packy McCormick, Surojit Chatterjee, and Ryan Selkis.
About nxyz:
• nxyz is a multi-chain indexing product suite that exposes real-time blockchain data via low-latency APIs.
• They aim to help builders create a better internet by providing more efficient blockchain indexing and data infrastructure.
Exponential (Q4 2022)
Funding amount: $14 million;
Lead investor: Paradigm
Other investors: Haun Ventures, Solana Ventures, Polygon Ventures, Circle Ventures
About Exponential:
• Exponential is a DeFi investment discovery and risk assessment platform.
• They analyze investment risks by examining protocol code, team experience, and market conditions.
• They offer a rating system (from A to F) for DeFi investments.
Paradigm’s evolution from a crypto-focused VC to one potentially incorporating emerging technologies and AI into its portfolio represents a diversification strategy, possibly following in the footsteps of a16z by increasing its commitment to AI investments.
Let’s take a look at existing Paradigm-incubated projects related to artificial intelligence:
ArenaX Labs
Funding amount: $5 million, October 2021;
• Arena X Labs is the parent company of the digital platform AI Arena.
• AI Arena is an Ethereum-based game where global players can buy, train, and battle NFT characters powered by artificial intelligence.
Numerai
Funding amount: $11 million, March 2019.
• Numerai is a hedge fund that uses machine learning for trading strategies.
• Instead of building models in-house, they encrypt financial data and share it with a global network of anonymous data scientists, who are rewarded in $NMR.
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