Canonical Crypto Closes $20 Million to Back Developers Building infrastructure on the Blockchain

New "picks and shovels" VC fund led by serial entrepreneur and founder of Trusted Anand Iyer will invest in pre-seed and seed-stage start-ups

SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Canonical Crypto, a newly launched venture fund focused on developer infrastructure on the blockchain, today announced it has raised $20 million in capital in an oversubscribed round for its inaugural fund. Leading the firm is founder and general partner Anand Iyer, a longtime Silicon Valley operator and investor, who most recently was a visiting partner at Pear VC, where he led their crypto investments.

Canonical Crypto will invest in and work with developers, primarily those making the transition from web2 to web3. Canonical's main areas of focus will be in developer infrastructure - those looking to build tools and services to support the new wave of infrastructure that is necessary to create better decentralized applications. The new fund will specialize in nurturing early-stage teams and actively supporting them with crypto-native primitives.

"We are dedicated to partnering with founders who are building the tooling and infrastructure to enable the next wave of web3 and web3 assets," said Iyer. "As tech, digital, and crypto natives, we are the new kind of investors founders are looking for today. We have the right knowledge and skills to help developers turn apps into businesses, gain access to the world's top talent, and forge the future fabric of the internet."

The new fund is backed by family offices and individuals from the venture capital and tech communities, including Shan Aggarwal, Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Judith Elsea,  Lux Capital, Mar Hershenson, Haseeb Qureshi from Dragonfly Capital, Dan Romero, Semil Shah, Amy Wu from FTX Ventures and Bilal Zuberi, among others.

"There are many funds starting up in the crypto/web3 space, but Anand's initiative stands out," said Mar Hershenson, Founding Managing Partner of Pear. "He has a strong track record of building and scaling companies, having worked as an operator and tech founder at companies such as Trusted and Microsoft. He also has extensive expertise in what it will take to mature the web3 developer stack. This, in addition to his commitment to supporting founders based on highly specialized expertise, make investing in Canonical Crypto a win-win."

The geographic-agnostic firm expects to make 40 to 50 investments in its first fund, writing checks that range in size from $250,000 to $500,000, primarily focused on pre-seed and seed stage companies. Canonical Crypto will take a very active role in the journey for developers moving from web2 to web3.

"While many venture capitalists claim to know crypto, Anand really knows the nuances cold, from tokenomics to the details of specific tokens," said Osama Khan, Founder of Burrata. "Founders like me are always looking for the highest value per dollar invested — not the biggest check, but the value and time that will be invested in us. Anand is uniquely capable of delivering on that promise, both in his in-depth knowledge and in the fact that almost no one is as plugged into the community as he is. Through Canonical Crypto he'll bring his experiences, knowledge and network to help builders create tomorrow's greatest companies."

Canonical Crypto has already made initial investments, backing companies such as Formfunction (1/1 NFT marketplace for Solana); Thirdweb (provides low-code solutions for building web3 dapps); Notifi (provides web3 communication infrastructure; and Vybe Network (delivers data infrastructure solutions for the Solana community).  

"Few in the industry can say they've had successful careers in developer evangelism, DeFi training, and crypto investing like Anand," said Semil Shah, General Partner at Haystack. "We want to see web3 mature and thrive despite current market conditions, and Canonical Crypto has the right combination of skills and resources to make it happen by supporting innovative developers building the new foundation for web3."

Led by longtime Silicon Valley operator and investor Anand Iyer, Canonical Crypto is forging the future of web3 by funding and nurturing developer-entrepreneurs who are building the tools and services needed for successful decentralized applications. Initial investments include Formfunction, Thirdweb, Notifi, and Vybe Network. For more information, please visit www.canonical.cc.

Media Contact:
Michael Celiceo,
CodePR
[email protected]

SOURCE Canonical Crypto