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Venture capital giant a16z raises $7.2 billion for venture fund, focusing on generative AI and gaming sector

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Venture capital giant a16z raises $7.2 billion for venture fund, focusing on generative AI and gaming sector

Legendary venture capital firm a16z Andreessen Horowitz announced yesterday that it has raised a massive $7.2 billion venture fund to invest in various technology sectors, including gaming and artificial intelligence. However, the statement did not mention anything about the cryptocurrency field.

a16z's New Fund Does Not Mention Crypto Sector

a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz stated in a blog post on Tuesday that the company has raised $7.2 billion as part of its latest investment strategy.

The article mentioned that the fund's investments cover industries such as American Dynamism, Games, Apps, Infrastructure, and Growth in the U.S.

Among them, the "Growth" fund, which focuses on early-stage startups, received the largest investment of $3.75 billion; while the "Infrastructure" and "App" sectors received $1.25 billion and $1 billion respectively; the remaining $1.2 billion was evenly distributed between "Games" and "American Dynamism."

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As a fund that supports companies related to U.S. interests, American Dynamism focuses on investments in areas such as aviation, defense, security, education, and manufacturing; while Infrastructure emphasizes AI, computing, and data fields; and Apps focus on consumer, enterprise, and fintech applications.

Ben also emphasized that each industry fund will have its own experts and management team to increase the likelihood of success for each fund:

An excellent team, with the right help, connections, and expertise at the right time, can make the difference between success and failure.

However, it is worth noting that the statement did not seem to mention investments in the crypto sector.

Partner Andrew Chen: Will Also Invest in Web3 Games

However, a16z's General Partner, Andrew Chen, who focuses on managing Games Fund One, revealed in a tweet that the $600 million investment in the gaming industry will be used to create a second game fund covering more diverse areas:

From AI, Web3 games, VR/AR, 3D tools, game apps to studios, the fund's future valuation target is $300 billion.

He also added, "Generative AI is changing many products, especially games and interactive entertainment content."

Reportedly, Games Fund One is established by a16z, the first fund dedicated to the gaming industry, focusing on game studios, consumer services, and infrastructure.

Andrew stated that some of the funds will be used for this month's SPEEDRUN accelerator program, providing $750,000 in funding to 40 gaming startups:

We will focus on games that can integrate generative AI.

Venture Capital Firms Actively Participating in Industry Financing

Previously, a16z has actively participated in various investments, including a $40 billion AI fund established in partnership with the Saudi Arabian government, the Espresso sorting project in the crypto sector, and the EigenLayer staking protocol that just launched its mainnet.

Earlier this month, another venture capital firm, Paradigm, also revealed that it is seeking to raise an $850 million risk fund, emphasizing a focus on the cryptocurrency sector.

Paradigm Seeks to Raise $850 Million Cryptocurrency Fund, Crypto Financing in March Grows Over 50%