Uniswap Labs launched venture capital unit to support Web3 enterprises
The newly launched Uniswap Labs Ventures will also collaborate with the governance of projects of the MakerDAO, Aave, Compound, and Ethereum Name Service protocols.
Uniswap Labs, the developer of the DeFi protocol, announced the launch of its venture capital unit— Uniswap Labs Ventures (ULV). The new division was launched in an effort to support Web3 enterprises.
As per the company's blog post, its newly-launched VC firm will invest in companies at various stages of Web3, including to develop infrastructure to developer tools. In 2020, Uniswap Labs had raised $11 million in a Series A financing led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
"At Uniswap Labs our goal is to unlock universal ownership and exchange for everyone, starting with bringing millions of people into the emerging Web3 economy. We’re proud of the foundational products and infrastructure we’ve built so far and are excited for the journey ahead. But, we know that no team can achieve this mission alone," said the company in a statement.
Hayden Adams, Founder of Uniswap, took to Twitter to announce the launch in a detailed Twitter thread. He also explained that the newly launched arm will also collaborate with the governance of projects of the MakerDAO, Aave, Compound, and Ethereum Name Service protocols.
As per the company's blog, Teo Leibowitz is named as the lead of Uniswap Labs Ventures. He said, "The growth of Web3 companies supporting each other through venture investments reflects the principles of collaboration that are so fundamental to the industry’s open-source ethos."
Besides the launch of its venture capital unit, the company has also invested in 11 firms including Tenderly, LayerZero, MakerDAO, Aave, Compound Protocol, and PartyDAO.
The announcement was made just a week after Uniswap Labs, Paradigm, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), and Union Square Ventures were charged in a class-action complaint over allegations of participating in "rampant fraud" on the exchange.
Crypto firms have been diversifying funds through their VC firms, recently crypto exchange FTX and DeFi protocol Cake also launched their venture capital firms. Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm of the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange, has also backed up decentralised finance projects and companies building blockchain networks.
Edited by Kanishk Singh