Quick take:
- Fund of funds, Cendana, was the biggest investor in the raise, with $15 million, according to a report by Fortune.
- This is cofounders Salvador Gala and Mahesh Ramakrishnan’s second fund, and at $61.74 million, it is more than triple the size of their first fund.
- The growth-oriented venture firm plans to use the capital to accelerate decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) projects focused on telescopes, solar energy, and more.
Escape Velocity, a growth-oriented crypto venture firm, has raised $61.74 million for its second fund. The fund closed in December and attracted some of the marquee crypto investors, including the likes of A16z’s Marc Andreessen and Micky Malka of Ribbit Capital.
According to the report by Fortune, Fund of funds, Cendana, was the biggest investor in the raise, with $15 million.
The new fund is more than triple the size of Escape Velocity’s first fund of $20 million, announced in 2022, which attracted participation from the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin, and Framework Ventures.
The firm’s activity in DePINs since its first fund has seen it invest in projects like the solar energy startups Daylight and Glow.
Although DePIN was popular when it first emerged as a major vector in crypto, it has since fizzled significantly, partially affected by the crypto bear market and the shift towards AI from the venture capital perspective.
However, Escape Velocity’s Ramakrishnan, who is one of the biggest staunch supporters of the segment, believes the future remains bright, telling Fortune that it’s only a matter of time before one of the main players breaks into the mainstream.
“A lot of what you’ve seen in the last three years are DePIN projects that have launched tokens before they have anything—they’re launching tokens on the basis of hype and on the basis of an idea,” he said.
According to information on its website, Escape Velocity is also looking to back startups in AI and Advanced Analytics, Health and Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Materials, Supply Chain and Logistics, and Fintech and Insuretech, among others.
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