Crypto VC Firm Formed By Polygon Founder Raises $50 Million With Focus on Web3
On Thursday, August 25, Crypto focused venture capital firm Symbolic Capital launched a $500-million with a focus towards investing in early-stage Web3 companies and startups.
VC firm Symbolic was co-founded earlier this year in May 2022 by Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal and Cere Network founder Kenzi Wang. Symbolic Capital has been backed by cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto protocols, crypto-focused auditing firms and other VC investors.
With a new focus on venture funding, Nailwal said that his VC firm will focus on supporting project founders from emerging markets. In a stamens on Thursday, the Polygon co-founder noted: “We’re specifically focused on supporting founders from emerging markets that have often been passed over by traditional VC. Starting Polygon in India, we struggled to get connected to VCs that believed in our vision and abilities as founders. Our mission with Symbolic is to empower the next generation of emerging founders who have historically been overlooked by the VC industry”.
The $50 million fund from Symbolic Capital will target "pioneering web3 applications”. Furthermore, the VC firm seeks to differentiate itself by utilising a data platform to support its portfolio companies and even guide its upcoming investments.
This data platform will track key metrics such as social media traction and token performance, GitHub contributions, and recruiting information such as employee migration trends and job histories. Nailwal added: “Our data platform will provide a leg up on the rest of the market”.
As per the website of Symbolic Capital, some of its crypto verticals of interest include the Web2 to Web3 transition, blockchain interoperability, metaverse, the creator economy, scaling solutions, and the commercialization of non-fungible token (NFT) technology by brands.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Symbolic partner Kenzi Wang said: “It’s a builder’s time. There’s less distraction. We feel like this is a time to really help the next generation of founders. We're still at the dial-up stage of Web3, and there's not enough user adoption,” said Wang. “We want to empower founders to come in and build applications that bring more users into the Web3 spheres”.
Launched back in May 2022, symbolic Capital has already invested in some of the gaming firms like Blinkmoon and play-to-earn chase game Planet Mojo. Besides, they have also invested in crypto asset management company Arcana.