0
0
TON Ventures Launches $40M Fund
The fund created by former TON Foundation senior builders wants to build out TON's footprint.
0
0
TON Ventures, a new venture capital fund created by former senior members of the TON Foundation, has launched with a $40M fund to support Telegram’s blockchain ecosystem.
What’s the scoop?
- Leadership: The fund is led by Ian Wittkopp, former head of TON’s accelerator program, and Inal Kardan, former head of gaming at the TON Foundation.
- Early-Stage Focus: Initial investments will focus on early-stage projects within Telegram’s ecosystem, with funding sizes up to $500K.
- Targeting Mass Appeal: The fund aims to support mass-appeal applications on Telegram, leveraging the platform’s 900M+ monthly active users.
- Rapid Ecosystem Growth: Telegram’s ecosystem has seen rapid growth in crypto-powered mini-apps, particularly games that offer crypto rewards.
Bankless Take:
While casual gaming has been the main point of traction for TON so far, TON Ventures hopes to drive expansion beyond that, something many seem hungry for. Development across multiple verticals, including an expansion in payments and commerce using crypto-native features, a new mini app store, and a Web3-enabled browser could help Telegram achieve its goal of being the West's WeChat.
Telegram Launches App Store, Browser with Native Crypto Support on Bankless
Telegram added a Web3 browser and mini-app store, boosting crypto integration for nearly 1B users.
David C