Binance, WazirX announce $50M fund to foster growth of Blockchain startups in India

Global blockchain company Binance and Mumbai-based cryptocurrency startup WazirX on Tuesday said that they have jointly set up a $50 million fund under ‘Blockchain for India’ (backed by BNB, BUSD and WRX digital assets).

The fund will incubate and invest in blockchain projects and startups focussed on solving industrial and social problems through the use of blockchain technology.

In a statement, the companies said that given the tech talent that India has to offer, this Blockchain fund is expected to help fuel the growth of many Indian Blockchain startups and entrepreneurs while encouraging the sustainable growth of the Blockchain startup ecosystem in India.

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Binance acquires Mumbai-based cryptocurrency startup WazirX

In November of 2019, Binance acquired WazirX with the vision of promoting the use and adoption of Blockchain technologies in India.

The investments will be made predominantly in areas including – fiat-to-digital assets gateway solutions, trading platforms, payment and remittance solutions, digital asset wallets, stablecoins, DeFi platforms, decentralised applications (dApps), and more.

Speaking on the launch of the fund, Nischal Shetty, Founder and CEO of WazirX, said,  

“We started WazirX with the aim to involve everyone into this technology revolution, and the Blockchain for India fund marks a big step in this direction. India has the biggest tech talent pool in the world. With this fund, we want to encourage and enable more and more founders and teams to come in and BUIDL. This initiative also shows the incredible potential that the Indian blockchain ecosystem has to offer. Apart from funding transformative blockchain projects in India, we look forward to collaborating with other investment funds to grow the ecosystem even further.”

The ‘Blockchain for India’ fund is expected to make investments in both equity and token, ranging from $100,000 to $5 million. The fund will also partner with venture funds in India that are actively investing and supporting the Blockchain ecosystem.

Additionally, the initiative will look to provide mentorship and support to universities and student organisations interested in setting up university blockchain technology incubators.

Under the Blockchain for India initiative, the selected startup founders and teams will get direct access to Binance’s global Blockchain ecosystem comprising of Binance Chain, Binance Cloud, Binance DEX, Binance Launchpad, Binance Research, Binance Academy, amongst other platforms. 

In addition, investee companies are also expected to not only benefit from knowledge and resource sharing but also receive direct mentorship from other founders and leaders within Binance.

(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)