IDEO CoLab Ventures reveals that it raised $21 million last year to invest in crypto startups

IDEO CoLab Ventures has today revealed that it raised $21 million last year to invest in crypto and blockchain startups.

Ian Lee, managing director at IDEO CoLab Ventures, told The Block that the firm was "waiting for the right time—like now" to announce the raise, "when more institutions and corporations have started to embrace crypto and blockchains."

IDEO CoLab began raising for its $21 million fund in 2018, and closed it in 2019, said Lee. The fund is backed by IDEO, Avanta Ventures (the venture capital arm of CSAA Insurance Group), current "senior executives" of Coinbase and Twitter, among others, said Lee, without disclosing names.

The venture firm has invested in over 30 startups to date, averaging $300,000 to $500,000 per investment, said Lee. Its current portfolio includes startups such as Ethereum scaling startup Optimism, smart contracts audit firm OpenZeppelin, blockchain protocol developer NEAR, and decentralized futures exchange Futureswap, among others.

"Over 75% of our investments have products live in the market (mainnet + live testing)," said Lee. "Over 50% of our investments to date have raised or circulated tokens at a higher valuation."

IDEO CoLab is planning to raise its next fund "soon," Lee told The Block.