By George Ward
In an ambitious move to boost Web3 development in UAE following the FTX collapse in November, Venom Ventures Fund has announced that it aims to splash $1 billion into the industry. The digital asset ecosystem has been challenging for most of 2022 following a series of bankruptcies and hacking incidents in the space.
A Good Time To Invest
Peter Knez, an executive at Venom, stated that the company’s investment timing could not be better given the current market situation. According to Knez, this is an excellent time to launch an initiative, especially when market liquidity is scarce.
In a recent interview, The Venom executive said, “one may show up with tons of capital, and people but good projects are having a hard time getting their hands on capital.” Knez is a seasoned expert in the industry, given his knowledge of the space and how investors with financial muscles operate in a distressed market.
The executive was formerly a chief investment officer at BlackRock before moving to Lincoln Capital Management and Goldman Sachs. Funding in the Web3 space has been ongoing recently, with HashKey Capital unveiling its third $500 million funding roadmap.
However, the firm has closed its financing, as revealed by Deng Chao, its CEO, following the bottom out of the crypto market.
Focus On The UAE
Venom has a broad offering for the crypto market. According to its official website, Venom intends to run its capital venture operation with a startup incubator by offering advisory services to founders.
The firm will also invest across the startup ecosystem by offering grants to equity investments across a broad range of startups. Knez explained that aside from Venom Ventures, the firm will conduct series A, B, and C funding rounds and a slew of initial public offerings (IPOs).
“We are not seeking to restrict ourselves by stage but by offering quality opportunities to firms even if they have no capital to grow as long as they have done their homework.” Furthermore, Knez revealed that the company’s focus is in the Middle East, and part of being in UAE is due to the region’s business-friendliness and regulatory clarity.
Despite having a regional focus, the firm aims to invest in the global economy. As a result, the fund will accommodate all projects, including those not building on the Venom blockchain.
On its focus on the sub-sector, the executive confirmed that Venom would consider projects in the payment, asset management, banking sector, and the GameFi landscape. Venom has shown that the region has more capital to spare for ambitious investors looking to splash the cash in the blockchain and crypto space.