Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal raises US$ 50M early-stage Web3 fund

Symbolic Capital, a venture capital firm launched by crypto founders for early-stage Web3 companies launched by Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal and Cere co-founder Kenzi Wang has raised $50 million for a new startup fund dedicated to Web3 companies. 

The fund targets supporting ‘pioneering web3 applications’ especially those in emerging markets who struggle to receive funding from traditional investors and is backed by crypto exchanges, protocols, auditing firms and other venture capital investors. Symbolic’s fund already invested in three blockchain gaming startups which include BlinkMoon, Planet Moji and Community Gaming.  

‘Starting Polygon in India, we struggled to get connected to VCs that believed in our vision and abilities as founders,’ said Nailwal.

‘We’re one of the first VC firms led exclusively by web3 founders, allowing us to provide unparalleled support to the builders in our portfolio. When you look at the crypto VC landscape, it’s rare to find firms that were started by Web3 founders. We built blockchain companies from the ground up and are intimately familiar with the unique challenges that these projects face,’ he added. 

Apart from supporting underserved Web3 startups monetarily, the venture aims to differentiate itself by using a unique data platform to guide its investments and support portfolio companies. The data platform will track and analyze metrics such as GitHub contributions, Discord engagement and token performance, as well as employment trends and job history. 

This year saw some of the sector’s biggest players investing in the Web3 industry. 

Earlier this month, CoinFund launched a US$ 300 million venture.

This year has also seen Lightspeed Ventures raise over US$ 7 billion and the launch of its crypto-native fund. 

A16z announced a US$ 4.5 billion fund for crypto and blockchain startups amid the crypto bear market and startups struggling to raise cash.

Photo: @sandeepnailwal