a16z To Fund And Mentor Crypto Startups With ‘Crypto Startup School’
- Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has relaunched the Crypto Startup School with plans to expand it into a full accelerator program.
- The participants will work with domain experts on topics including protocol design and regulatory policies as well as get mentorship from industry leaders in the blockchain industry.
- a16z will also invest 500,000 USD in each crypto startup which will have applied for the new program to expand their services.
Crypto-focused American venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has recently relaunched the Crypto Startup School with plans to expand it into a full accelerator program.
The Crypto Startup School program, which made its debut in February 2020 during a time when several crypto firms gained sky-high market values amid the rising popularity of the crypto and blockchain industry, aims to “help builders get started on new web3 projects.”
According to an official blog post by one of the most influential firms in the crypto industry, the program’s relaunch focuses primarily on tailoring to the specific requirements of Web3 developers and helping their ideas grow amid the crypto bear market.
The program’s participants will work with domain experts on topics including protocol design and regulatory policies, as well as get mentorship from industry leaders in the blockchain sector.
The announcement further reads:
“With the newly relaunched cohort, in addition to the educational and mentorship components, participants will now receive $500k in seed funding to build their company. The program will begin on March 6, 2023, and last for 12 weeks, with teams participating in-person in Los Angeles, CA.”
Notably, during its operating time in 2020, the project made investments in a number of profitable cryptocurrency businesses, including Phantom, Flashbots, Goldfinch, Notional Finance, Teller, Afriex, and FanCraze, each of which went on to raise around $300 million in capital.
The founder of a16z Chris Dixon stated:
“This one will be different than the last one in that we will also provide capital and take equity, similar to an accelerator and Startup School combined.”
According to the blog, the relaunched Crypto Startup School program will culminate with a Demo Day for teams “to present and gain greater visibility among the broader web3 community.”
On Tuesday, Dixon also appeared in an interview with The Business Journals to talk about the ongoing market conditions and share his thoughts on the same:
“If you want to do something substantive as an entrepreneur or investor, I think you have to be prepared to build through ups and downs. If you just run around to the new hot thing, I don’t think you’re going to do things that are that interesting.”
Additionally, PROOF, a podcast for in-depth NFT coverage, raised $50 million in Series A led by a16z showing that the venture capital’s dedication is not limited to DeFi.
Recognizing the massive potential of Web3, the investment firm has recently started focusing more on the sector. In May this year, ia16z launched its fourth crypto fund to back startups in the Web3 ecosystem.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
