Sandeep Nailwal, the creator of Ethereum layer-two scaling platform Polygon and a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, has received $50 million for a new startup fund for Web3 companies. With this last round of funding, he shows that venture capital is becoming more interested in the blockchain-powered internet.
Symbolic Capital said on Thursday that Nailwal’s venture firm is backed by cryptocurrency exchanges, protocols, and auditing companies that focus on cryptocurrencies. The Symbolic fund has already given money to three blockchain-based gaming startups: BlinkMoon, Planet Mojo, and Community Gaming. The early sources of money for these startups were kept secret.
Nailwal said that his company’s main goal is to help project founders in emerging markets. This may be a new way of thinking about venture capital.
Focus on Web3 projects in emerging markets
After helping to start Polygon in India in 2017, Nailwal moved to Dubai two years later. Earlier this year, Polygon completed its first big fundraising round, which resulted in the company raising $450 million. In an interview with Bloomberg, Nailwal said that he left his country because there were no clear rules about cryptocurrencies.
Like other venture capital firms that focus on crypto, Symbolic Capital puts a lot of emphasis on Web3 projects or products that will help the decentralized internet grow. This month, two funds that focus on Web3 started up: Shima Capital with a $200 million commitment and CoinFund with a $300 million project.
As an Indian founder, Nailwal has often tried to help his home country. Last year, the co-creator of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, gave $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency to an Indian COVID-19 relief fund that Nailwal had set up. Nailwal says that he wants to give 80 to 90% of the money from this new venture fund to founders who, like him, come from emerging markets.
