Andreessen Horowitz, popularly known as a16z, is launching a new $400 million seed fund, according to a statement released on Friday.
The company stated, “Seed investments have traditionally been at the heart of venture, the actual financial bet towards a team, an idea, and nothing else.”
After writing some of the first checks into Slack, Okta, Databricks, Samsara, Instagram, and many other startups since it began funding in 2009, the company stated it regards seed funding as a vital aspect of its strategy. According to the company, a16z has put almost 50% of its money into seed-stage firms since 2020.
Since joining the industry in 2013, the venture capital company, which controls around $18.8 billion in assets, has made a succession of early crypto investments.
a16z investments and funding
In June, a16z announced the establishment of its third crypto fund, worth $2.2 billion, which will invest in crypto networks as well as the entrepreneurs and teams working in the digital assets field.
Since then, it has invested in a variety of crypto projects, ranging from the NFT marketplace OpenSea to blockchain-powered 5G networks.
Separately, the company revealed earlier this month that it would be expanding to the East Coast. Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, the co-founders of this effort, have continued to look for new ways to beat their opponents.
One of these, according to Blockworks, is their continuous investment opportunities in crypto, which include infrastructure, DAOs, DeFi, NFTs, and more.
However, with the launch of its new seed fund, the business is casting a wider net for chances beyond its regular investments.
“While our fundamental goal at the business is to continue to back the finest software firms, at the seed stage, we’re more than delighted to move from our typical comfort zones to learn alongside the top teams working on the most ambitious concepts in any field of technology,” the company added.
Startup ecosystems, including seed funds, angel investors, and operators, will also be partnered with. “And we are committed to providing the greatest platform to help firms grow from seed to IPO,” the firm stated.
