Community investing DeFi project scores $20 million raise led by a16z

Syndicate, a decentralized finance (DeFi) organization focused on investing, has announced a $20 million Series A fundraise.

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (also known as a16z) led the round, alongside an array of over 150 investors.

That bevy of backers includes celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Snoop Dogg, alongside investment firms like Coinbase Ventures and Bill Ackman’s Table Management.

Founded in 2021, Syndicate’s vision is to mesh a decentralized protocol with a social network, with the aim of “transforming how the world creates and shares value,” according to a press release. To get there, the Syndicate team is developing legal tech solutions and a social networking platform that will allow users to both raise funds and invest them.

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Examples of the projects that recently launched on Syndicate include Audacity, a fund focused on investing in black and African founders, and the NFT investment fund Delphi INFINFT.

Syndicate staged an $800,000 community raise from around 100 of its members in June.

The DeFi organization said the latest capital injection will be used to speed up the development of its decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) powered technologies, integration with Web3 projects and fintech startups, and to continue work on legal and operational tools.

For a16z, the Series A raise comes days after the publication of fresh information about how its token delegation program works. The Silicon Valley heavyweight has invested heavily in the space in recent years, and has been exploring ways to distribute some the influence it has amassed within DeFi communities.

About Author

Ryan Weeks is deals editor at the The Block, focused on fundraising, M&A and institutional trends in the crypto space, among other things. He is particularly interested in investigative work — so please send tips! Ryan previously worked at Financial News, Dow Jones as a fintech correspondent in London. Prior to that, he wrote for several different publications, including Sifted, AltFi and Wired. Beyond journalism, Ryan is a keen reader and writer. He enjoys all things active, especially running, rugby, climbing and tennis.