As NFTs and digital assets grow in popularity, more and more venture capital firms are investing in them. Shima Capital has made a significant impact very early on, and there will undoubtedly be other VC firms forming to provide funding and help out great ideas down the road.
What are the top 10 VC firms investing in NFTs right now? While not all of them exclusively invest in NFTs, they understand the opportunity.
As long as firms research correctly and do not shy away from some of the risks involved with NFTs, they can make investors very happy in a short amount of time.
Shima Capital
Launched just over a year ago, Shima Capital focuses on cryptocurrency and Blockchain startups. Headlined by Yida Gao, they have been working with several businesses to help them grow early.
Along with a financial investment, Shima Capital also focuses heavily on enabling businesses and helping them grow with knowledge and expertise as much as possible.
Animoca Brands
The Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands is a venture capital and software gaming company. They look to develop digital property rights. They have close to 100 NFT investments right now, and they are growing fast.
This Fall, they received $110 million for development capital. They are hoping to make more acquisitions and invest wisely with this money.
Genesis Block Ventures
Genesis Block Ventures isn’t afraid to invest at different stages for a company. If they invest early on, they want to play an active role in helping companies reach their goals.
They pulled off a significant early-stage venture funding round for Beoble this year. They want to integrate social functionalities such as messaging to make it much easier for everyone involved.
AU21 Capital
The main focus of AU21 Capital is to look for companies in the blockchain and artificial intelligence sectors as well. Based in San Francisco, they have already made quite a few investments worldwide.
One of their most significant investments is into Sidus Heroes. They believe this can revolutionize the decentralized gaming industry with a play-to-earn setup.
NGC Ventures
The Singapore-based NGC Ventures has been around for a few years, continually investing in Blockchain and financial technology companies. One of their most significant investments was into PANONY. They provide Blockchain consulting services and are looking to grow as the industry takes off.
Sfermion
Like Shima Capital, Sfermion invests primarily in early-stage Blockchain sectors and NFT opportunities. They played a significant role in funding Quivr, which aims to help people have better access to their digital identity. As they continue to grow, they are securing solid financing all around.
Exnetwork Capital
Over in the Philippines is the Exnetwork Capital firm. They have just under 50 investments linked to NFTs, and their most notable one to this point is putting money towards Enjinstarter. They are trying to put together a marketplace that helps game developers build digital asset strategies that help them out.
Magnus Capital
Most of the focus for this Amsterdam-based venture capital firm is on cryptocurrency. They’ve put that money towards a few different things, with a recent investment into MetaFi being pretty big. They have been around for less than a year, so there’s still time to grow.
HG Ventures
Most of the work done by HG Ventures now includes early-stage and seed-stage funding. They teamed up with a few other calm investors to raise money for Portal this year.
With Portal, traders can pull off fast trades and have the privacy they want. It will take place on a decentralized platform so that the average person can have more confidence.
ZBS Capital
It’s been about five years of investing for ZBS Capital. While they have dabbled in traditional finance and marketing sectors, they are more interested in Blockchain now.
MeMusic has been the most significant investment for them to this point. This Blockchain-based platform will allow everyone involved in the music industry to have transparent payouts. It’s something that many companies have been trying to pull off, but no one’s successfully put it together.
Why More Companies are Looking at Early-Stage Investing With These Industries
Early-stage investing opportunities are nothing new, but they are popping up more and more with any type of new technology. Web3 companies certainly qualify, and many venture capital firms feel there’s no other way to invest than to get in early.
Shima Capital is a startup in many ways, so it shouldn’t be a massive surprise that they have a soft spot for going in that direction. Being willing to take chances early on can help everyone involved.
Early-stage investing from a venture capital firm isn’t for every entrepreneur. Some don’t want to give up a stake in their company or receive outside funding. One of the quickest ways to succeed is to go this way. Picking the right venture capital firm can make a difference.
How Shima Capital Views the Future
It’s impossible to predict the future for any venture capital firm, but Shima Capital feels like NFTs will continue to be a sharp investment for those doing proper research. Like anything, they are NFTs that won’t hold value, but the industry still has opportunities for venture capital firms to succeed.
It comes down to the team’s decision-makers for every firm. The ones putting in the research and understanding the positives will find success. The average investor might feel overwhelmed with NFT talk or Web3 discussions, but it will become common knowledge. Yida Gao feels this is the beginning of a new wave of investing opportunities.