Crypto VC Paradigm closes $1.2B Fund III to back 'technical frontier' startups

Paradigm has closed a $1.2 billion third venture fund to invest in what it calls the "technical frontier," expanding its mandate beyond crypto into sectors like robotics and AI, founder Matt Huang announced.

The new vehicle is Paradigm's third venture fund and fourth overall. It comes in slightly below the $1.5 billion the firm had been seeking to raise, as reported by the Wall Street Journal in February, according to earlier SEC filings.

Paradigm said it will continue to invest in crypto and "the reinvention of markets and the financial system," while also backing AI and robotics startups. The firm highlighted ongoing work on blockchain tools like Foundry and Reth, agent tools such as Centaur, and security projects including EVMbench, a collaboration with OpenAI.

Fund III has already begun deploying capital, with investments including drone delivery company Zipline and space startup True Anomaly, showing the broader remit beyond digital assets. "There's so much else happening right now that's pretty hard to ignore," managing partner Alana Palmedo told Bloomberg.

Paradigm was founded in 2018 by Huang, a former Sequoia partner, and Fred Ehrsam, co-founder of Coinbase. The new fund positions the firm to keep backing core crypto infrastructure and applications while competing for deals at the intersection of AI, autonomy and other deep-tech categories.