Paradigm shifts its crypto-only focus to include AI

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Crypto venture capital firm Paradigm, one of the most established and active players in the space, is going beyond just blockchain and emphasizing a broader range of “frontier technologies” that includes artificial intelligence, two sources familiar with the matter said. Block.

The change is subtly visible on the company’s website, with the company now calling itself a “research-driven technology investment firm” as opposed to one that has specifically invested in “disruptive crypto/Web3 companies and protocols.” “. The review appears to have gone live around May 3, according to the Wayback Machine operated by the Internet Archive.

A line saying “we believe crypto will define the next few decades” was removed from the homepage, which now makes no mention of web3 or blockchains. A source who was not authorized to speak publicly said the change did not mean the company was turning away from crypto, but rather highlighted its reach into adjacent areas.

The company’s portfolio section on the website still lists dozens of companies associated with crypto, decentralized finance, and NFTs.

A website version from May 2, according to archive.org.

The site on May 25.

The person familiar with the strategy said the company has not changed its mandate and continues to focus on crypto and web3, with no practical change. The updated copy of the website was meant to emphasize its technical research, the person said, noting that Paradigm has backed companies that have explored new technologies as part of their core strategy, such as AI Arena. .

The company did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

Crypto Industry Challenges

The wider attention comes as the crypto industry still faces aftershocks from last year’s crisis marked by the collapse of the FTX exchange. Paradigm was an investor in FTX and canceled its $290 million investment in the company after it filed for bankruptcy in November.

Paradigm was co-founded in 2018 by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia partner Matt Huang. In November 2021, the company raised a $2.5 billion fund, which at the time was the largest crypto-focused venture capital fund ever. Its portfolio includes top companies including Uniswap, OpenSea and Fireblocks, according to The Block Pro’s offerings dashboard.

Paradigm has invested in over 100 crypto startups to date, according to the dashboard.

After a troubled year, crypto VC investments have slowed. Venture capitalists invested around $2.8 billion in crypto investments in Q1 2023, up from around $3.5 billion in Q4 2022, according to data tracked by The Block Research.

Can crypto and AI work together?

The new focus comes amid an increase in attention to AI this year, particularly with the widespread adoption of OpenAI’s ChatGPT language model. And there has also been a lot of discussion in the industry about how AI and blockchain technology can be integrated.

Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of stablecoin issuer Circle, said on Thursday that he was already hearing about “AI Bots running on-chain wallets and using USDC.”

“AI and Blockchains are made for each other,” he wrote on Twitter. “Data provenance, machine-generated and enforced contracts, and machine-to-machine exchange of value.”

Allaire was responding to a lengthy message from Hunter Horsley, the CEO of crypto investment firm Bitwise, who said he had spent a lot of time talking with AI engineers over the past few days.

“AI can be an enabler for crypto in this cycle,” Horsley wrote, adding that the technology would create new demand for crypto and blockchains. “Feeling more and more convinced that these two disparate technologies are going to have linked futures, and that crypto is going to become much more important as AI begins to proliferate.”

© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended for use as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.

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