Crypto investor Katie Haun raises $1.5 billion, the largest debut fund ever by a female VC

Crypto investor Katie Haun has raised $1.5 billion for her new fund after leaving Andreessen Horowitz and breaking a record in the process.

Haun Ventures' startup marks the largest debut venture fund ever raised by a single founding partner, according to Pitchbook. Former investment banker Mary Meeker held the previous record with a fund of $1.3 billion after parting ways with Kleiner Perkins.

"Honestly, it feels like a lot of pressure. But I think that motivates everybody on the team," Haun told CNBC in his first broadcast interview since leaving Andreessen Horowitz. "Web3 is the new age of the Internet and deserves a new age of investors."

The term Web3, or Web 3.0, loosely refers to general computing applications built on top of the blockchain, the same technology that underlies bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Examples include NFTs, which are traceable certificates of ownership attached to digital files such as artwork or videos, and decentralized finance applications, in which self-executing "smart" contracts can be used to replace middlemen such as lawyers and bankers in certain types. of transactions. But in general, the space is still in a very early and experimental phase.

Haun Ventures will invest in both seed capital and, in some cases, the cryptocurrencies issued by those startups, also known as tokens.

"That's something I've learned from participating in the implementation of three other crypto funds: There's still a ton of potential in crypto-equity and Web3 business models, but also in token business models," he said. "I don't think you can really be a crypto investor without holding tokens."

Haun's fund will be divided into two segments: $500 million for early-stage companies and protocols, and $1 billion for "accelerator" or later-stage projects.

Haun, a former federal prosecutor, became the first female general partner at Andreessen in 2018, where she co-led its multiple cryptocurrency funds alongside Chris Dixon. Andreessen Horowitz will be a limited partner in Haun's newest fund, while Marc Andreessen, the firm's founder, and Dixon personally contributed to her new endeavor.

His exit caught many in Silicon Valley by surprise. While it was a "dream job," Haun said the game was about taking more risks and "getting out of your comfort zone."

"Obviously there is a relationship there and there are friendships there. We still intend to collaborate closely with Andreessen Horowitz," he said. “One of the unique things about the size of our fund is that we don't have to lead every deal, we can play nice with a lot of other crypto investors – founders don't want a single investor at their cap table, even in early rounds.”

Haun Ventures' nine-person team includes Chris Lehane, a former Airbnb executive and Clinton administration official, Tomicah Tillemann, a former staffer for President Joe Biden, and Rachael Horwitz, who led communications teams at Twitter, Google, Facebook and Coinbase. Several employees left Andreessen Horowitz with Haun for the new fund. She said the smaller team allows the company to be more "agile" and act as "venture contributors" as well as venture capitalists.

"Gone are the days when founders just want capital," he said. "One of the things Haun Ventures will do for our founders is actively contribute to the projects we invest in."

The launch comes during a bear market for bitcoin. The world's largest cryptocurrency is down roughly 40% since its peak in November, with smaller cryptocurrencies like ether seeing deeper losses. Haun, who has invested during past recessions or “crypto winters,” said there is still a lot of developer activity going on and up.

“When I think about the implementation of the first two crypto funds, it was during a period of immense volatility – it was definitely a crypto winter with prices down 70% and projects being born during that cycle,” he said, singling out Solana. and the NFT exchange OpenSea. "One of the things I've learned as an investor with a long-term view of the space is that great products and great protocols will be created, no matter what the prices are."

Crypto exchange Coinbase, of which Haun is a part, has seen it drop roughly 58% from its peak last year. Still, Haun said valuations of private start-ups are not yet affected.

“There is a bit of a lag. We are still seeing very high valuations on crypto projects. The last time this happened, with the macro market corrections, it took a while for that to translate to crypto. I think the same could be true here ," she said.

While cryptocurrencies may be struggling to regain momentum, dollars fluid in private companies it is at all-time highs. Blockchain startups brought in a record $25 billion in venture capital dollars last year, according to recent data from CB Insights. That figure is eight times higher than the previous year.

That rush of venture dollars has sparked some controversy on Twitter.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey ⁠, two of the world's best-known tech billionaires ⁠, are among those calling "Web3" into question. Dorsey argues that venture capitalists and their limited partners are the ones who will ultimately end up owning Web3 and "will never escape their incentives," he tweeted, calling it a "centralized entity with a different label."

"I see it as Web3 finally getting some of the raves it deserves in the space," Haun said. "If I could choose between Jack Dorsey offering some criticism versus some of the myths that we've heard perpetrated for so long in space, I'd definitely choose the former. So I think that debate is healthy."