Solana
Colosseum, the Solana-focused startup accelerator, raises $60 million to invest in early-stage projects
Colosseum, the recently launched startup accelerator that runs hackathons for the Solana ecosystem, has raised $60 million for a fund that will invest in early-stage projects, the company announced Tuesday.
The fund, which was oversubscribed, will focus on pre-seed investments in startups selected from the winners of the Solana Hackathons. “It is clear that there is market demand for new and specialized venture capital products in the crypto space, and we are delighted to have a diverse group of investors on board, including founders of “ecosystems and former hackathon participants, to bring our vision of the Coliseum to life,” said Clay Robbins. , co-founder of Colosseum, in a press release.
When asked what attracted investors to the fund, given the large amount of money raised by Colosseum, Robbins said: “Many of Colosseum’s LPs are ecosystem agnostic , but believe in the team’s immediate thesis that the Solana ecosystem has the most potential. invest with an eye toward both the current focus on the future and what the model can become – so not necessarily an ecosystem-focused fund, but more so that model.
The accelerator views hackathons – events where developers and founders come together to innovate – as the “melting pot” for crypto innovation and business creation. According to the release, it held its first Solana hackathon earlier this year, which attracted more than 8,000 participants.
“Our hackathons are designed to level the playing field for builders around the world to experiment with crypto product development and launch on-chain startups,” explained Matty Taylor, co-founder of Colosseum and former head of the growth of the Solana Foundation.
Colosseum has funded 11 companies and deployed $250,000 so far, Robbins added.
Among the investors, Bonk DAO – a 12-person board of Solana energy brokers that manage $124 million worth of BONK tokens – said earlier this year that it planned to invest $500,000 in the fund.