In early December 2021, a Kickstarter crowdfunding startup acquired an funding supply in trade for remodeling right into a web3 firm.
In keeping with Fortune, the information got here as a shock as a result of the Kickstarter crew had spent years accumulating capital within the firm, and lots of had already given up hope of ever promoting it.
“However a dozen years after its launch, Kickstarter had misplaced its cachet of cool and churned by way of CEOs. The Kickstarter of 2021 had little to supply would-be traders however complications.”
Fortune
In keeping with an individual aware of the deal, Kickstarter board members approached enterprise capitalist Chris Dixon in the summertime of 2021 a couple of new funding in Kickstarter, with the proposed blockchain pivot supplied as an incentive for the deal. For Dixon, the prospect of bringing a well-known identify like Kickstarter into the web3 realm was too tempting to cross up.
Individuals aware of the deal say the stealth spherical totaled $100 million and was led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In trade for a16z’s generosity, Kickstarter tried to turn into a web3 firm. The grand however unlikely plan would transfer the whole platform to a blockchain referred to as Celo, one other a16z portfolio firm, the place it might function as an open-source protocol moderately than counting on the proprietary code mannequin utilized by most tech companies.
Nevertheless, no a part of the platform was transformed to run on the blockchain. Following public outcry, Kickstarter shaped a group advisory board, and the corporate in the end determined to shift its focus away from blockchain.
Final week, crypto.information reported that a16z is within the ultimate levels of elevating $6.9 billion to enter the AI area. The corporate plans to finish the gathering in April 2024, and half of the funds will go to the central fund. The enterprise agency doesn’t disclose particulars on this a part of the belongings.