ai6z crypto will complete $9.51B total funding after the Fifth raise
-Last raise was in 2022 of $4.5B
-Estimated projects funded: 60+
-Estimated ROI: ~1.8x (on paper)
-Highest ROI from a single project ~2.1x (Sui)
Post-funding returns from the Fourth (IV) phase have been the lowest compared to the previous three phases
~ A common belief behind the lower ROI is that the VC valued projects according to the 2021 bull-market valuations
But many of those projects couldn’t achieve the expected valuations from retail during the 2024–25 cycle, and the shorter market cycle also pushed valuations down significantly
Now a16z crypto is targeting to raise $2B as its Fifth fund
This would be the third-largest raise among all its previous funds
If they complete raising this amount, we are likely going to see another wave of new projects appearing on the timeline
and yes, many new opportunities may open again for airdrop farmers to work on projects
But if we look at the other side:
-Too much involvement of VCs in projects pushing more power towardas them
-Retail becoming exit liquidity
-Projects can be valued higher than what they actually deserve
- A large chunk of supply vested to VCs can be sold in the OTC/Pre-market nowadays helping VCs to get out even before access to real token
This scenario mostly plays out when the market is not in a strong bull phase, and retail investors often end up exiting at a loss
~ Attached images below show the sources and performance of a16z crypto from previous raises and the current ROI of projects.