The total investment in Web3 firms increased by 55% in the first quarter of 2024, signalling the return of venture capital (VC) interest to crypto, reports Cointelegraph.
In addition to an increase of over 55% in total investment, the number of Web3 VC investment deals rose 36% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, according to a Q1 on-chain report by QuickNode and Artemis.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and gaming-related Web3 protocols took the lion’s share of the investment.
According to the report:
“[This indicates] that investments are increasing for the first time in over a year, and suggesting a favourable shift in VC sentiment for web3. In particular, AI and Gaming have garnered the most resounding revival of venture capital enthusiasm among the categories.”
Further showcasing VC interest in Web3, crypto-focused VC firm Paradigm led a $225 million funding round into Monad Labs, which is building a new layer-1 blockchain network set to compete with Solana. The round was announced on 9 April.
Two of the quarter’s largest early-stage rounds included a $42 million Series B round by Berachain and a $35 million pre-seed round for 0G Labs, a data availability blockchain for AI protocols.
