ITP Techblog

If 2021 was characterised by anything in the world of tech it was the wave of hype surrounding so-called Web3 ventures, the Metaverse and the blockchain technologies underpinning them.

Literally billions have been invested in the last year by venture capitalists into everything from non-fungible token platforms to virtual worlds aiming to be the next Second Life. We have a number of start-ups that are beginning to play in this space and at least one local venture capital firm has spotted an opportunity to back them at an early stage.

Global from Day 1 has just established a $5 million Web3/crypto fund, the country's first dedicated fund of its type, Tech Crunch reports.  

"This is a missed opportunity for New Zealand-based funds and one we'd like to be the first to explore," Nawaz Ahmed, an Auckland-based angel investor who is managing the fund for GD1 told Tech Crunch.

Nawaz Ahmed

The GD1 Crypto Fund 1 will seek to invest $100,000 - $200,000 in 25 - 30 pre-seed to Series A companies. It will scope out suitable companies working in areas including decentralised finance, decentralised autonomous organisations, NFTs, Web3 and crypto infrastructure.

Ahmed told Tech Crunch that two companies had already been invested in by the fund, one of them based in New Zealand. The fund is seeking to close its first round in June 

"The point of the fund is to support the local ecosystem while also being able to invest in great offshore opportunities and be able to provide our LPs with the best opportunities across the world," said Nawaz.

In February, Aera VC, the Singapore-based venture capital firm co-founded by New Zealand entrepreneur Derek Handley, launched Aera Force, a DAO (distributed autonomous organisation) to fund blockchain and other Web3 projects that tackle climate change.

Aera Force is initially raising the equivalent of 2000 ETH (Ethereum) tokens for investment, valued at the time at around US$5.3 million.

The ETH was set aside specifically for pre-seed projects that are based on the blockchain and aimed at decarbonising industries.