a16z will ‘continue to tailor’ its multibillion-dollar crypto funds to market opportunities, GP says

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Welcome again to Chain Reaction, a podcast that interviews newsmakers in crypto to higher perceive the tech behind the hype and the individuals working to construct a decentralized future.

For this week’s episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Arianna Simpson, common associate at Andreessen Horowitz (generally referred to as a16z).

Previous to becoming a member of a16z, Arianna based Autonomous Companions, an funding fund centered on crypto. She additionally helped launch Crystal Towers Capital, an early-stage fund investing primarily in YC corporations.

A16z has dug deep into the crypto area after launching 4 funds devoted to the trade. The newest one closed at $4.5 billion in Might 2022, and Arianna thinks it’s acceptable, given the scale of the chance.

“I definitely assume the ecosystem has grown to a measurement the place it completely helps a fund of this measurement and that’s why we raised a fund of this measurement,” Simpson stated. “We didn’t have to boost any quantity; we selected a quantity that we thought spoke to the scale of the chance. The ecosystem has clearly grown tremendously and is constant to draw tons of early-stage entrepreneurs who’re constructing throughout the board.”

When requested if there could be a fifth crypto fund from a16z, Simpson stated, “I definitely hope so.” She added a16z will “proceed to tailor our fund sizes to alternatives we see available in the market.”

A few of the agency’s portfolio corporations embrace massive crypto gamers we’ve interviewed previously, like Alchemy, Avalanche and Aptos.

Over time, there’s been an enlargement of funding alternatives “into a complete new world of shopper functions, experiences and merchandise that simply weren’t attainable as a result of they couldn’t run on blockchains a couple of years in the past, and now they’re,” Simpson stated. “To me, that’s what’s actually thrilling: there’s this entire world of functions that can be utilized by shoppers.”

We talked about Simpson’s background, how her technique has modified over time, what she appears for in founders and whether or not she would launch one other VC agency sooner or later.

We additionally mentioned:

• The present investing local weather
• The web3 gaming area
• The place founders are constructing
• The regulatory panorama
• Recommendation for founders

Chain Response comes out each different Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PT, so be sure you subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite pod platform to maintain up with the newest in web3 and crypto.