Cryptocurrency exchange FTX and blockchain and gaming technology developer Animoca Brands were among the limited partners that committed to New York-based venture capital firm 6th Man Ventures’ $145m second fund, The Block has reported.
The fund will focus on three main areas in the crypto-sphere, namely metaverse and play-to-earn gaming, Web3 networks and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) as well as infrastructure. It will target pre-seed, seed and series A rounds with investments typically between $1m and $2m but can go up to $4m.
6th Man has already amassed $140m for the vehicle and is reported to be in the closing stages of reaching the final $145m mark.
Fund II has already made around 20 investments but does not expect to deploy its entire war chest until five years after the vehicle closes, with a returns horizon of 10 years, significantly longer than typical crypto funds.
“We think that is a real advantage in this market. We do not have to rush,” 6th Man Ventures’ co-founder Mike Dudas told The Block.
Galaxy Vision Hill, Three Arrows Capital, Sino Global Capital and AngelList were among the fund’s other LPs, as were private investors Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, Bill Ackman, Tushar Jain, Kyle Samini, Ben Forman, Raj Gokal, Kevin Colleran and Sam Lessin. FTX made its commitment through its corporate venturing subsidiary, FTX Ventures.
6th Man’s portfolio includes blockchain gaming developers Blockade Games and DefiLand, digital assets management platforms CoinStats and TokenSets, crypto tax software provider CoinLedger, Web3 development tool providers RabbitHole and Macro as well as metaverse platform Wider Worlds.
FTX Ventures was set up as FTX’s own crypto-focused fund earlier this year, capitalised to the tune of $2bn and led by Lightspeed Venture Partners alum Amy Wu. It folded in a $100m gaming fund that FTX had launched with blockchain technology developer Solana in November last year.
Animoca Brands itself formed a $200m fund in December last year with crypto exchange Binance’s Smart Chain subsidiary, targeting investments in gaming finance and play-to-earn gaming. More recently, Animoca Brands launched a Japanese subsidiary and formed the $30m Guild Accelerator Program based in Hong Kong in February.
