Uniswap Labs has announced the launch of its investment arm to invest in other crypto companies and expand its presence in Web3.
Launch Of Uniswap Labs Ventures
Uniswap Labs is the parent company behind the renowned decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Uniswap. Its new division, Uniswap Labs Ventures, has been launched to fund the crypto and other web3 companies across various stages of development. The initiative will extend support in the fields of infrastructure, developer tools, and consumer-facing applications. The company announced the launch on Twitter,
“At Labs, we want to onboard millions of users into the web3 economy, with the goal of unlocking universal ownership & exchange for all…Today we’re proud to announce the launch of Uniswap Labs Ventures! And in keeping with our ethos of decentralization and community engagement, ULV will be participating in the governance of portfolio protocols. To start, these protocols include AAVE, Compound Finance, MakerDAO, and ENS Domains.”
Crypto-Native Venture Funds On The Rise
The announcement also mentioned that as a crypto native studio, the Uniswap team is more than sufficiently equipped to understand and fulfill the scaling needs of Web3 companies. Additionally, the team also mentioned that the investment arm would actively participate in on and off-chain governance. Many other crypto-native companies are organizing and launching investment ventures exclusively dedicated to funding other companies in the space. For instance, crypto exchange FTX and DeFi protocol Cake have both launched similar venture funds to support web3 initiatives. Industry experts believe this growing trend of web3 companies launching venture funds indicates a more collaborative mindset than a competitive one.
Uniswap’s Onboarding Decisions
The funding for the investment arm will come from cash drawn directly from the company’s balance sheet, even though Uniswap Labs has not yet revealed the amounts or percentage to be dedicated to the investment fund. Other than Uniswap’s COO, Mary-Catherine Lader, strategy lead Matteo Leibowitz will also be heading the investment arm. The parent company had previously hired the former senior spokesperson for the Obama campaign, Hari Sevugan, to help navigate the stormy waters of crypto regulations. This onboarding followed soon after the SEC launched a civil investigation on Uniswap Labs back in September 2021.
By the end of the year, the company had launched all three Uniswap V3 contracts on Polygon, in accordance with the votes of the token holders, which fared overwhelmingly in favor of a governance proposal that approved the deployment.
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