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The caller money arrives arsenic firms similar Haun Ventures rise $1 cardinal and VC firms accommodate to an AI-driven displacement successful capital.
May 5, 2026, 12:00 p.m. 3 min read
Venture superior heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has launched a $2.2 cardinal crypto fund, doubling down connected blockchain startups amid a surge successful task superior into artificial intelligence.
The caller vehicle, called 'Crypto Fund 5,' volition put successful crypto entrepreneurs astatine each stages, with superior deployed implicit a decade, according to company's spokesperson. The steadfast said it is targeting founders gathering applicable applications connected crypto infrastructure, particularly successful areas similar payments, fiscal services, and decentralized systems.
The firm's partners spot the existent crypto marketplace arsenic an accidental to put successful founders gathering projects that are "durable" and lasting adjacent erstwhile the hype rhythm dies down.
"We're astatine 1 of those quieter moments now. And the awesome coming done is 1 of the astir encouraging it has been successful years," according to a blog by the firm's partners, published connected Tuesday.
"The founders we're backing with this $2.2 cardinal money are moving connected the portion of the rhythm that gets little attraction and produces much of the lasting value: turning caller infrastructure into products radical usage each day," according to a blog by the firm's partners.
What the money is investing in
The money volition absorption connected sectors wherever these capabilities construe into tangible and lasting products.
One of the areas wherever a16z is seeing that signifier is stablecoin. The integer dollar market, which precocious surged to $320 cardinal successful marketplace cap, has seen its adoption proceed to turn done downturns, with users relying connected it for cross-border payments, savings, and mundane transactions. This is peculiarly existent erstwhile compared to bequest systems, which are "slow, expensive, and unreliable," a16z said.
Other areas that are seeing "meaningful growth" see perpetual futures, blockchain-based lending, prediction markets, and tokenized assets.
The caller money is launching astatine a clip erstwhile task superior firms are recalibrating their strategies amid an AI backing boom. Recent manufacture trends amusement generalist investors shifting superior toward AI startups, forcing crypto-focused funds to sharpen their positioning.
And this is wherever a16z is seeing the usage of crypto' relation arsenic a fiscal and coordination furniture for AI systems, much important than ever.
"Software is getting much analyzable and harder to trust. AI systems are almighty and mostly opaque. The infrastructure the internet runs connected is much consolidated than ever. In that environment, the properties that crypto networks were designed to supply go much valuable, not less," the blog said.
While the caller money is astir fractional the size of its 4th fund, which raised $4.5 cardinal successful 2023, it's inactive larger than the caller $1 cardinal raised by Huan Ventures (founded by a erstwhile a16z partner) and $650 cardinal raised by different salient crypto VC firm, Dragonfly Capital.
These caller raises are apt signs that, portion sentiment is not moving arsenic precocious arsenic it did successful the 2021 bull market, it present reflects a spread betwixt the hype and underlying activity.
"We judge while sentiment whitethorn beryllium low, the fundamentals of the crypto manufacture are astatine an all-time high," according to the spokesperson.
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