Dove Dispatch #42 - Climate-Focused Companies
Are Private Investors Helping Crypto Companies Fixing Climate Change?
GM and welcome to Dove Dispatch #42!
Today, we are digging into the fundraising landscape for climate-related crypto projects.
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The ReFi movement has been gaining ground quickly over the last few months, with protocols like Toucan and KlimaDAO leading the charge. By forking Olympus and bringing DeFi mechanisms to the climate vertical, they bring a breath of fresh air to the industry.
But other projects have been cranking for a while and Nori, which is building a more transparent, verifiable, and high-quality carbon removal marketplace, recently raised a $7M Series A led by M13, with participation from the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund as well as Placeholder.
While some projects in the space were fair launched (KlimaDAO raised $33M through a Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool hosted on Copper, and C3 recently raised $336k on the same platform), some others decided to onboard external investors.
With 10 deals and more than $33M raised since January 2021, the environment is still a very nascent vertical in the funding landscape.
Still, 66% of the capital injected since January 2021 has been raised over the last 3 months.
With ClimateTrade and TerraScale leading the charge, more than $12M was raised in January alone.
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87.5% of the rounds were earlier than Series A and on average, $4.2M was raised by projects building in the climate space, compared to $27.2M for the industry overall over the last 14 months.
Blockchain can be applied in several ways to fix climate change. So far, four major categories can be distinguished in the capital market:
Carbon Marketplaces & Nature-Backed Currencies ā Nori, ClimateTrade Single.Earth.
Fundraising Platform For Impact Startups ā Positive Earth
Data-Focused Projects ā TerraScale, dClimate
Bitcoin Mining CleanTech Solutions ā MintGreen
Blockchain climate companies are less concentrated than the overall crypto industry: 40% of the teams which raised funds since January 2021 are based in Europe, 30% in North America, 10% in India, and 10% in South Africa.
From an investor perspective, it is worth mentioning climate-focused funds actively looking into the Web3 industry, such as the Toyota Ventures Climate Fund, Amasia, USV Climate Fund, and ClearSky. Some others like Piva Capital, are directly committing to offsetting all historic and future CO2 emissions using premium-grade carbon offsets on Toucan Protocol.
Back in January 2021 already Albert Wenger from USV said ādecarbonizing the economy and dealing with past emissions (and their consequences), offers many opportunities for building important new companies that can produce venture-type returnsā.
So letās get ready for new breakthroughs in the coming months!
Last week 45 projects announced fundraising rounds:
Espresso ($32M) | Single-shot scaling & privacy solution for Web3 ā with participation from Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Electric Capital, Polychain Capital, Blockchain Capital, Slow Ventures, Alameda Research, Scalar Capital, Paxos, Coinbase Ventures, Gemini, Robot Ventures, ZKValidator, and Terra.
MX Global | A cryptocurrency trading platform that provides bitcoin trading, risk management, and blockchain management services ā with participation from Binance Labs, and Cuscapi Berhad.
CryptoTaxCalculator ($4M) | A program that allows users to sort their taxes in a couple of minutes ā with participation from AirTree Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and 20VC.
Space Runners ($10M) | The first Metaverse Fashion brand with digitally wearable NFTs through the Metaverse and Augmented Reality (AR) ā with participation from Polychain Capital, Pantera Capital, Accel, Jump Capital, Yat Siu, Patrick Lee, Justin Kan, Kun Gao, Holly Liu, and Ashwin Navin.
Immutable ($200M) | The first layer 2 for NFTs on Ethereum - zero gas fees, instant trades & up to 9k TPS ā with participation from Temasek, Mirae Asset Global Investments, ParaFi Capital, Declaration Partners, Tencent, Animoca Brands, Alameda Research, Arrington XRP Capital, King River Capital, Fabric Ventures, Naspers, AirTree Ventures, and Liberty Global.
Akord ($2.3M) | Building the Swiss army knife for owning your data ā with participation from Maven 11 Capital, D1 Ventures, SevenX Ventures, and Arweave.
Notifi ($2.5M) | A messaging layer for Web3 ā with participation from Race Capital, and Hashed.
Derby Stars ($6M) | A Terra ecological chain game service provider ā with participation from Patron, Galaxy Interactive, Hashed, Arrington XRP Capital, Jump Crypto, Alan Howard, Mechanism Capital, SkyVision Capital, Taureon Capital, Lunatic Capital, a41 Ventures, āāCoin98 Ventures, GuildFi, Avocado DAO, Ready Player DAO, Everyrealm, AcadArena, Terra Bites, Ryan Wyatt, Sebastien Borget, Daniel Kim, Chauncey St. John, SJ Park, and Kevin Chiao.
SandStorm ($2.5M) | Connecting the worldās top brands with the best metaverse builders ā with participation from Sanctor Capital, The Sandbox, Sebastien Borget, Fenbushi Capital, Rarestone Capital, YouBi Capital, GBV Capital, Umbrella Network, Kerve Capital, Momentum 6, Bitscale Capital, MetaStreet, GrowYourBase, Bryce Baker, and John Tabatabai.
AlwaysGeeky Games ($1.1.M) | The creator of an NFT project named Voxies and game called Voxies Tactics ā with participation from Binance Labs.
IQ Protocol ($12M) | A DeFi framework for renting wrapped expirable versions of digital assets for the use cases they empower ā with participation from Crypto.com Capital, Republic, Kronos Research, Genblock Capital, Axia8 Ventures, GSR, GBV Capital, MEXC Exchange, Wave 7, Double Peak, Petrock Capital, LVT Capital, One Block Capital, Wealth Union, Solar Eco Fund, Warp Speed Capital, Alpha Crypto Group, ZBS Capital, Cryptology Asset Group, Mission Ventures, Influence, AU21 Capital, NGC Ventures, FBG Capital, Digital Strategies, and others.
NFT3 ($7.5M) | ā with participation from Animoca Brands, Ankr Network, Digital Strategies, ZMT Capital, Tenzor Capital, Double Peak, CMS Holdings, Genblock Capital, Ellipti, LD Capital, Prometeus Labs, Shima Capital, LVT Capital, and DFG.
Inworld AI ($10M) | An AI developer platform for immersive realities/metaverse spaces ā with participation from BITKRAFT Ventures, Kevin Lin, Nate Mitchell, Yat Siu, Marc Merrill, Kleiner Perkins, Sebastien Borget, and CRV.
ApeX | A decentralized & non-custodial derivatives protocol that facilitates the creation of perpetual swap markets for any token pair ā with participation from Dragonfly Capital, Jump Trading, Tiger Global Management, Mirana Ventures, CyberX, Kronos Research, and M77 Ventures.
Haruko ($10M) | Connecting institutional capital to the future of finance ā with participation from White Star Capital, and Portage Ventures.
metaENGINE ($4M) | The first decentralized all-in-one platform for development and publishing of GameFi / Metaverse games and apps ā with participation from Lemniscap, and Jump Crypto.
Ignite Tournaments ($10M) | The worldās first play2earn mobile esports tournament organization and streaming app with payouts in crypto or fiat ā with participation from Huobi Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Jeffrey Zirlin, LongHash Ventures, Loren Roosendaal, Moon Equity Holdings, Morningstar Ventures, ROK Capital, and SevenX Ventures.
Rarify ($10M) | Accelerating business innovations by removing the technical barriers to entry for non-fungible token (NFT) technology. Their API enables the creation, management, and scaling of blockchain-agnostic NFT products with simple integration ā with participation from Pantera Capital, Eniac Ventures, Pareto, Greycroft, and Hyper.
Blocknom ($500k) | The easiest way to earn stable and high interest from decentralized finance markets ā with participation from Y Combinator, Number Capital, and Magic Fund.
Diagonal ($2.5M) | Enabling crypto native subscriptions for Web3 ā with participation from Mechanism Capital, The LAO, Ryan Selkis, Coinbase Ventures, MetaCartel Ventures, Anthony Sassano, and Founder Collective.
Lido ($70M) | A liquid staking solution for Ethereum and Terra ā with participation from Andreessen Horowitz.
Petaverse Network ($70M) | Building an open standard for digital pets - interoperable digital companions to be by your side, across the metaverse ā with participation from CMT Digital, Animoca Brands, Sfermion, Dapper Labs, Spin Master, Fenbushi Capital, a41 Ventures, Fourth Revolution Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Ready Player DAO, Double Peak, Pirata Capital, Triangle Capital, Sterling.VC, Kristian Segerstrale, Sebastien Borget, Nick Button-Brown, James Zhang, Concept Art House, and SkyVision Capital.
Praxis Society ($15M) | A vibe-aligned community of creatives and technologists building the city-cryptostate ā with participation from Paradigm, Robot Ventures, Apollo Projects, Alameda Research, and Three Arrows Capital.
Dialect ($4.1M) | The first protocol for smart messaging ā dynamic, composable dapp notifications and wallet-to-wallet chat ā with participation from Multicoin Capital, Jump Capital, Solana Ventures, Tiger Global Management, and Joe McCann.
Pianity ($6.5M) | Music NFT marketplace ā with participation from LongHash Ventures, Digital Renaissance, Big Brain Holdings, IOSG Ventures, LD Capital, Sebastien Borget, viaBTC Capital, ArkStream Capital, Arweave, and Ronny Shibley.
AdaSwap ($2.6M) | An ecosystem builder aiming to create the first DEX on the Cardano network ā with participation from iAngels Technologies, Shima Capital, Pluto Digital Assets, GBV Capital, Stardust Capital, Efficient Frontier, Finova Capital, Banter Capital, Coti, Gal Gadot, and Jaron Varsano.
Nested Finance ($7.5M) | A game-changing social trading platform aimed at socializing DeFi and facilitating financial connectivity for the crypto community ā with participation from Republic, CMT Digital, Kenetic, Joseph Eagan, Lily Liu, and Julien Bouteloup.
StakeWise | Ethereum 2.0 staking protocol ā with participation from Boldstart Ventures, and Blockdaemon.
DeFrag | A decentralized non-custodial liquidity market protocol where users can use their NFTs as collateral ā with participation from Boost VC, Wyre Capital, Angel DAO, 1inch, Synthetix, Thales, Nifty's, Impossible Finance, and Information Token DAO.
Polymer Labs ($3.6M) | Building an IBC based multi-cluster networking protocol (Polymer) which will provide e2e IBC connectivity across ecosystems ā with participation from Distributed Global, North Island Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Coinbase Ventures, Tendermint, Advanced Blockchain AG, The LAO, Taureon Capital, Wintermute, LongHash Ventures, Signum Capital, UOB Venture, Joe Lallouz, Karim Atiyeh, Martin Mao, Sam Kazemian, Andrew Masanto, and Loong Wang.
AQUANEE ($2M) | A real-time battle and Simulated Life Game (SLG) set in the sea world ā with participation from Momentum 6, Polygon, Mindfulness Capital, Israel Mysterious Family Fund, HG Ventures, Cipholio Ventures, BitMart, and Worshipper Capital.
Blofin ($50M) | A data-driven financial asset management institution aiming to provide customers with safe, convenient, and professional crypto-fiat financial services including asset management, trading execution, and more ā with participation from KuCoin Labs, SIG, and Matrix Partners.
DNABLOCK ($7M) | Allowing creators to design and mint NFTs of realistic-looking 3D avatars ā with participation from Sfermion, Solana Capital, Animoca Brands, Non-Fungible Labs, SoftBank, Gaingels, LD Capital, Figure 8 Investments, Haobo Zhao, CMT Digital, Alumni Ventures Group, Diverse Angels, Fenwick & West, RareBreed Ventures, and Bill Silva.
Hashstack ($1M) | Secure under-collateralized loans up to 300% your collateral, for personal finance & trading capital needs ā with participation from Nimrod Lehavi, GHAF Capital Partners, Moonrock Capital, Kane & Rao Group, MarketAcross, and Chain Ridge Capital.
Gamepad.co ($2.5M) | A next generation gamefi and metaverse launchpad ā with participation from Enjin, and OKX.
GamesPad | The ultimate gaming, NFT, and metaverse ecosystem ā with participation from Animoca Brands.
Nifty League ($5M) | Bringing competitive gaming to Web3 while offering fun and engaging games for all play styles ā with participation from RSE Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, Spartan Group, VaynerFund, Avocado Guild, Evos Gaming, Private Ventures Group, Advancit Capital, TEOH Capital, 3SE Holdings, y2z Ventures, Nyan Heroes, Matthew Kalish, and Ryan Harwood.
Mechanism ($8M) | We design and build protocols on Bitcoin using Stacks.
Web3Games ($4M) | An integrated platform for all things blockchain gaming ā with participation from DAO Maker, LD Capital, Mindworks Capital, NEAR Foundation, CoinUnited Capital, Snap Fingers, 3Commas, Assembly Capital Partners, Blockspaper, MetaX Ventures, Metaverse Alliance, MEXC Exchange, Capital S, ARIA, Bitcoin Addict Thailand, Zipmex, Ti Capital, Lancer Capital, Crasolum, TK Ventures, Kernel Ventures, Spark Digital Capital, Maven Capital, Infinity Labs, BTS Labs, and UG Ventures.
Tenderly ($40M) | Ethereum developer platform that enables you to build innovative blockchain products ā with participation from Spark Capital, Abstract Ventures, Accel, Coinbase Ventures, Uniswap, Daedalus Angel Syndicate, Guillermo Rauch, Jinglan Wang, Eric Ries, and Tihomir Bajic.
VALR ($50M) | Providing a digital asset platform that allows our customers to buy, sell, store and transfer cryptocurrencies seamlessly and securely ā with participation from Pantera Capital, Alameda Research, Coinbase Ventures, Cadenza Ventures, CMT Digital, Distributed Global, GSR, Third Prime, and Avon Ventures.
Thetanuts Finance ($18M) | Creating the best-structured products for users to maximize risk-adjusted yield generation in all market conditions ā with participation from Three Arrows Capital, Deribit, QCP Capital, Jump Capital, DeFi Capital, GoldenTree Asset Management, Borderless Capital, HyperChain Capital, Mirana Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Comma Ventures, Raptor Capital, MEXC Exchange, Wintermute, GSR, Algorand Foundation, Avocado Guild, Global Founders Capital, LedgerPrime, Genesis, and Woo DAO.
Parcl ($4.1M) | A blockchain-based real estate platform that lets you gain exposure to the real estate market with no minimum investment, low transaction fees, and immediate liquidity ā with participation from Archetype, FJ Labs, Dragonfly Capital, ParaFi Capital, Shima Capital, Solana Ventures, Not Boring Capital, Slow Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Tribe Capital, and Founders First.
X Rush | A casual shooting gamefi project powered by Unity 3D engine and compatible with most web3 wallets ā with participation from KuCoin Labs.
Subspace Labs ($32.9M) | Developing a scalable base layer for Web3, enabling blockchains and metaverses to run at Internet scale ā with participation from Pantera Capital, ConsenSys Mesh, Coinbase Ventures, Crypto.com Capital, Alameda Research, KR1, Hypersphere Ventures, Stratos Technologies, Alumni Ventures Group, GSR Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Bixin Ventures, Definancex, Candaq, Vendetta Capital, Illusionist Group, NGC Ventures, Cabin VC, Gate Ventures, OneBlock Labs, and Automata Network.
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