In 2022, Web3 projects were able, despite the protracted crypto winter, to attract $4.8 billion more investments than a year earlier
2022 was marked by growing interest in investing in the Web3 segment. Money was poured into this industry by commercial banks (such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs), and international venture funds, and leading organizations in the field of digital assets (Binance Labs, Coinbase Ventures, Kraken Ventures). In addition, as you can see from the screenshot below, industry-specific funds and grants have played an important role:
Source: Wholesale Investor
2022 has passed for the digital asset industry under the sign of a crypto winter and resonant collapses of several large crypto companies, the latest of which was the bankruptcy of FTX. However, despite this, at the end of last year, 348 startups were able to attract investments totaling $7.16 billion.. According to the Metaverse Post, this result was $4.8 billion higher than in 2021.
Key areas for investment in Web3
As part of the study, experts identified several key categories. They were the gaming industry, metaverses, social platforms, infrastructure, artificial and virtual reality (AR and VR), as well as artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, it is interesting that various categories alternately came to the fore during the year, reflecting a change in priorities among investors.
So, in the 2nd quarter of 2022, millions of dollars of investments were generously poured into the metaverse and games segment, the report says.. VCs then shifted their focus to play-to-earn projects, especially blockchain casinos, collectibles, and football-themed projects.
In the 4th quarter, investment strategies changed again. The priority was given to startups developing in the field of augmented, virtual and mixed reality, as well as platforms like ChatGPT, representing new technologies in the field of artificial intelligence.
For example, the InworldAI project managed to raise $50 million and $41 million in two funding rounds (Series A and SEED round), respectively.. Investors have invested $25 million in SingularityDAO, and about $20 million in MarqVision. At the same time, industry participants expect that in 2023 venture investors will not lose interest in the field of AI.
In addition, there has been an increase in the amount of funds poured into infrastructure startups focused on cybersecurity issues.. This is due to the growing number of hacker attacks and other threats to users in the digital space.
Who got the most money
Below you can see which projects attracted the most investments:
Source: Metaverse Post
So, one can highlight the gaming heavyweight Epic Games, which attracted $ 2 billion investment from Sony and KIRKBI, the owner of LEGO. According to company management, these funds will be used to develop the concept and support the sustainable growth of the metaverse.
Yuga Labs, the creator of the well-known NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), received about $450 million to develop its own metaverse Otherside, a multiplayer Web3 game for the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection.
Recall that in December it became known that Yuga Labs will appoint the former president of the developer company World of Warcraft and other computer games to the post of CEO. The change in leadership is due to the Yuga Labs bet on the development of the game direction and the metaverse.
Another metaverse-focused company that has raised over $430 million in funding is blockchain game developer and investor Animoca Brands.
At the same time, the company also actively invested in web3 startups, including the Immutable blockchain company.. In total, investors have invested about $200 million in this project.
The most generous investors
Four companies became the undisputed leaders among investors in Web3, which in total poured more than $ 7 billion into the industry.
On the first line of this rating is Paradigm, an investment company focused on financing crypto projects.. In 2022, the size of its investments amounted to $2.50 billion. The money was sent to 31 projects, including Coinbase, Uniswap, Magic Eden and Optimism.
Source: Metaverse Post
Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z, is stepping on her heels.. In 2022, he injected $2.20 billion into the crypto industry.
Third place went to HiveMind Capital Partners, which invested $1.5 billion in Web3 startups.. The fourth most active is Binance Labs. The volume of its investments in 2022 amounted to $1 billion.
As the string of bankruptcies of crypto projects in 2022 clearly demonstrated, financial investments in a young and only developing crypto space are associated with high risks and always require caution. However, funding this innovative technology industry could be a very promising choice for potential investors.
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