August 2024 Snapshot
Web3 Fundraising Market reports - Early-stage projects overview
Comment from : YouTube knows me so well that when I just type in “things” into the search bar, the first suggestion that (correctly) comes up is "things can only get better”, the song by D:Ream (which co-incidentally does sound like the name of a Web3 project). But unfortunately, I’m not feeling those 19971 vibes when I look at the Web3 fundraising data. The market is ticking along without significant change for early-stage startups since January 2023. Pre-seed is the most deviant stage to the overall market trend, where there has been a visible upward movement in capital raised and deal count. However, this is exactly what we should expect to see in market conditions of general uncertainty. In venture capital, pre-seed deals are always the most risky investment class. So where seed and Series A are viewed with greater hesitancy because of the current state of the market, that increased level of caution is not transferred (to the same extent) over to pre-seed deals: they are still as risky as before. What will drive greater venture activity across stages is new capital entering the market. Since 3Q22, this has been fairly dismal… and so, for one more month, I will refrain from playing that song even though I desperately want to dance to it.
Market overview: Companies fundraising at all stages since 2018
August 2024 top line figures:
$1.4bn raised across 118 projects (disclosed) in August 2024, -4% from the previous month.
Total deal count was 182, also -4%: estimated $2.1bn in capital raised.
$10.3bn across 1485 projects (disclosed) raised in 2024 so far.
Total deal count is 2225, estimated $15.4bn in capital raised in 2024 so far.
Market highlight of the month:
Story Protocol raised $80m in Series B funding: led by Andreessen Horowitz, Story addresses a critical gap in the protection and monetisation of intellectual property in the age of AI. By leveraging blockchain technology, Story Protocol empowers creators to embed licensing and royalty terms directly into their IP, ensuring that AI systems using their content must compensate them. This creates a transparent, programmable, and decentralised solution for IP management, providing an essential infrastructure for protecting original content in a landscape increasingly dominated by AI. This development pushes Web3 beyond technical innovation and into solving real-world creative industry problems.
Crypto venture capital fund launches since 2022
August 2024:
$260m raised across 5 fund launches:
Parafi launched a new $120m fund: the investment thesis is quite broad, with the goal of growing their portfolio by 30 to 50 projects over 3-5 years.
Lemniscap launched a $70m fund: ZK-infrastructure, consumer applications, the Bitcoin ecosystem, security and DePIN.
The Open Network Ventures launched a $40 million fund to back early-stage crypto projects within the TON ecosystem.
Morph and Foresight Ventures launched a $20m ecosystem fund: consumer focus.
OKX CVC and Aptos launch a $10m web3 and crypto fund.
Pre-seed fundraises since 2018
August 2024:
$38m raised, +3% from the previous month, across 14 pre-seed stage companies (disclosed).
Total deal count was 20, down 30%: estimated $49m in capital raised across all deals.
Average around size for pre-seed stage this month: $2.7m.
Running average round size for pre-seed companies: $1.5m pre-seed fundraises since 2018
Pre-seed highlight of the month:
SatLayer's recently raised $8m in pre-seed funding round: the project brings Bitcoin restaking capabilities to dapps, allowing Bitcoin to play a larger role in securing decentralised networks. By leveraging the Babylon protocol, SatLayer bridges Bitcoin with proof-of-stake systems, enhancing security and offering new yield opportunities for Bitcoin holders. This development highlights the growing demand for integrating Bitcoin as a core collateral asset in Web3, potentially unlocking more liquidity and security for decentralised infrastructure while demonstrating investor confidence in Bitcoin-based DeFi innovations.
Seed fundraises since 2018
August 2024:
$237m raised across 46 seed stage companies (disclosed).
Total deal count was 50, estimated $258m in capital raised.
Average around size for seed stage this month: $5.1m.
Running average round size for pre-seed companies: $4.5m.
Seed highlight of the month:
WSPN's recently raised $30m in seed funding round to accelerate the development of its next-generation stablecoin infrastructure, "Stablecoin 2.0." By introducing innovations such as user-centric governance, enhanced accessibility, and a decentralized payment network akin to Visa, WSPN addresses the current limitations of the stablecoin market, which remains highly concentrated and narrowly used. This investment, along with the appointment of industry veteran John Partridge, positions WSPN to redefine how stablecoins are integrated into broader payment and financial systems, ultimately driving mainstream adoption and strengthening the foundation for Web3-based digital economies.
Series A fundraises since 2018
August 2024:
$237m raised across 14 Series A stage companies (disclosed).
Total deal count was 15, estimated $253m in capital raised.
Average around size for pre-seed stage this month: $16.9m.
Running average round size for pre-seed companies: $17.6m.
Series A highlight of the month:
WSPN recently raised $55m to further develop its automated risk management tools that address a critical challenge in DeFi. By enabling real-time, on-chain economic security and risk assessment, WSPN's platform can help DeFi protocols like Aave, GMX, and others mitigate market volatility more efficiently and securely, reducing human error and centralisation risks. As DeFi continues to grow and attract more capital, the need for robust, automated systems like WSPN's becomes essential to protect user funds and maintain trust in decentralised financial markets.
The song was released in 1993, but it was used in Tony Blair’s 1997 election campaign, which saw him win a landslide.