Crypto investor Katie Haun raises $1.5 billion for Web3 venture fund

Katie Haun, crypto investor and board member for Coinbase and OpenSea announced that she had raised $1.5 billion for her new fund, Haun Ventures.

On Tuesday, March 22, Haun posted an article on Twitter, briefly introducing the firm and sharing that the funds would be used to invest in Web3 projects.

Introducing @HaunVentures, a firm built for the next generation of the internet. We’ve raised $1.5 billion across two funds to invest in web3. An exciting first step, but the real work begins now. https://t.co/tBeE4OEJkD

— Kathryn Haun (@katie_haun) March 22, 2022

The firm will invest through two funds, a $500 million early-stage fund, and a $1 billion acceleration fund. The two funds represent the largest debut on record for investment vehicles led by a female General Partner, according to data from PitchBook.

Haun stated that the firm will invest in “every layer of the web3 tech stack”, and seeks to back projects in both their early and growth stages, adding that the firm aims to have the projects it supports reach over 1 billion people.

The firm is also interested in shaping public opinion and government policy regarding web3 projects and crypto.

“We will partner with our portfolio to lead a global campaign for web3 that combats misperceptions, engages policymakers, highlights positive use cases, and wins the hearts and minds of leaders across all sectors.”

The Haun Ventures team consists of Chris Lehane, former Communications VP at Airbnb and Press Secretary for Vice President Al Gore, Sam Rosenblum, Former Director of Business Development at Coinbase, and Jared Cohen, Founder of Jigsaw, Google’s tech incubation company, serving as an advisor.

Haun has also brought talent with her from Andreessen Horowitz, with Tomicah Tillemann and Rachael Horwitz, both former partners, and Nick Pacilio, its former Head of Media Relations for crypto also joining her team.

Related: $100M fund aims to support the growth of decentralized machine economy

Previously, Haun served as a federal prosecutor for 10 years at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) where she says she created one of the government’s first cryptocurrency task forces:

“In the course of that work, the vast potential of these technologies quickly became clear. Like any tool, they could be used for good or for bad, but we had just started to scratch the surface of the good.”

Haun left her role at the DOJ and pursued a career in crypto, joining the board of directors for Coinbase in 2017, and in June 2021 co-led with Andreessen Horowitz a $2.2 billion crypto-focused venture fund, the largest ever of its kind at the time.

In December last year, Haun announced her departure from Andreessen Horowitz to focus on her own crypto and Web3 focused fund.

Venture capital firms are increasing their focus on crypto, last year research found that VC funding reached new heights in every quarter of 2021, with $25.2 billion going to blockchain startups, a 713% increase from $3.1 billion in 2020.