Cryptocurrency investor Katie Haun has raised $1.5 billion for her new fund after leaving Andreessen Horowitz and breaking multiple records in the process.
Haun Ventures’ startup marks the largest venture capital fund ever raised by a single female founding partner, according to Pitchbook. Former investment banker Mary Meeker held the previous record with a $1.3 billion fund after withdrawing from Kleiner Perkins.
“Honestly, it’s like a lot of pressure. But I think that motivates everyone on the team,” Haun told CNBC in her first broadcast interview since leaving Andreessen Horowitz. “Web3 is the new era of the internet, and it deserves a new era for investors.”
The term Web3, or Web 3.0, refers to general computing applications built on top of blockchain – the same underlying technology of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Examples include the NFT, which is a traceable certificate of ownership attached to digital files such as artwork or video, and decentralized finance applications where “smart” contracts Self-actualization can be used to replace middlemen like lawyers and bankers in certain types of transactions. But overall, the space is still in beta and very early.
Katie Haun, General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz
Source: CNBC
Haun’s fund will be split into two parts: $500 million for early-stage companies and protocols, and $1 billion for “accelerated” or later-stage projects.
Haun, a former federal prosecutor, became Andreessen’s first female partner in 2018, where she co-led multiple crypto funds alongside Chris Dixon. Andreessen Horowitz will be a limited partner in Haun’s latest fund, while Marc Andreessen, the company’s founder, and Dixon both make personal contributions to her new endeavor.
Her exit caught many in Silicon Valley off guard. Though it’s a “dream job,” Haun says the departure is about taking more risks and “stepping out of her comfort zone.”
“There’s obviously a relationship there, and there are friendships there. We still intend to work closely with Andreessen Horowitz,” she said. “One of the unique things about our fund size that keeps us from leading every trade, we can play well with many other crypto investors – founders don’t want a single investor. single investment on their limited table, even in the early rounds.”
Haun Ventures’ nine-person team includes Chris Lehane, a former Airbnb executive and Clinton administration official, Tomicah Tillemann, a former employee of President Joe Biden, and Rachael Horwitz, who led the communications teams at Twitter, Google, Facebook and Coinbase. Many employees left Andreessen Horowitz with Haun for the new fund. The smaller team, she said, allows the company to become “agile” and act as “venture contributors” alongside the venture capitalists.
“Gone are the days when founders just wanted capital,” she said. “One of the things that Haun Ventures will do for our founders is to really contribute actively to the projects we invest in.”
The launch took place during a bear market for bitcoin. The world’s largest cryptocurrency is down about 40% from its peak in November, with smaller cryptocurrencies like ether posting deeper losses. Haun, who has invested through downturns or “crypto winters” in the past, said there’s still plenty of developer activity and room for growth.
“When I think back to launching the first two crypto funds, it was during a period of great volatility – it was definitely a crypto winter with prices down 70% and projects still coming into existence during the cycle. period,” she said, highlighting Solana and the OpenSea exchange NFT. “One of the things I’ve learned as an investor with a long-term perspective in the space is that great products will be built and great protocols will be built, regardless how much.”
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, of which Haun sits on its board, has seen about 58% from last year’s peak drop. However, Haun said the valuation of private startups has not been affected.
“There is a slight delay. We are still seeing very overvalued crypto projects. Last time this happened, with the macro market correction, it took a while for that to happen. convert to crypto. I think the same could be true here,” she said.
While the cryptocurrency may be struggling to regain momentum, the dollar run into private companies is an all-time high. Blockchain Startup brought in a record 25 billion dollars in venture capital dollars last year, according to recent data from CB Insights. That number is up eight times from a year earlier.
That flood of venture dollars sparked some controversy on Twitter.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey —two of the world’s most famous tech billionaires —was among those questioning “Web3”. Dorsey argued that VCs and their limited partners are the ones who will eventually own Web3 and that it “will never get out of their favor,” he tweeted, calling it a “real thing.” focusable with a different label.”
“I’m looking at it because Web3 is finally getting some of the critics it deserves in the space,” Haun said. “If I could have a choice between having Jack Dorsey offer some critique versus some of the myths we’ve heard since a long time in space, I’d definitely choose the former. So, I think that debate is healthy.”
