Alphabet, Samsung among top 40 cos that invested $6 bn in blockchain firms
A total of 61 blockchain/crypto companies received investments across 71 investment rounds
Forty corporations invested in companies in the blockchain/crypto space during September 2021 to mid-June 2022. Samsung is the most active, having invested in 13 companies. UOB came in next with seven investments, followed by Citigroup with six investments, and Goldman Sachs with five, says a report.
The investors active in the biggest funding rounds are Alphabet ($1,506 million in 4 rounds), Blackrock ($1,171 million in 3 rounds), Morgan Stanley ($110 million in 2 rounds), Samsung ($979 million in 13 rounds), Goldman Sachs ($698 million in 5 rounds), BNY Mellon ($690 million in 3 rounds), and PayPal ($650 million in 4 rounds).
The 40 companies invested approximately $6 billion into blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022. Because some rounds involve participation from multiple investors, it is unclear how much each company invested in a project, as per a study by crypto intelligence platform Blockdata.
Talking to Bizz Buzz, Raj Kapoor, chief advisor, eCryptoverse, says: "Emerging trends are a clear indication in the shift in investment strategy. For starters, large corporates are already supportive of the blockchain landscape, as indicated by the funding trend over the years. Now they are trying to ferret out some good low hanging opportunities and are on the vigil for innovative companies and portfolios that add value to their core business growth and consolidation as they now want to look away from standalone trends and focus on macro segments that can provide them with synergistic growth."
Innovation fuels excitement and corporates feel it is something they want to support the best they can. The web has always evolved, and it's going to continue to evolve. Open-source are a great technology bet as they are community propelled and ever evolving and well supported mitigating costs and resources, he said.
According to Kapoor, "Web3 companies are built on the premise that future companies will live on the blockchain, operate with the same idea that supports crypto currencies and thereby be free from monopolistic interventions. Web3 companies aim to give people ownership of their digital property and dissolve the influence of Big Tech - that resonates with investors and corporates who now see a sunrise opportunity of a revolutionary technology."
Although it is not on the current list of leading investors, MasterCard is still actively participating in inorganic technology integration and development. Prior to September 2021, Mastercard was among the top three active investors based on the number of deals it participated in. However, since then, MasterCard has mainly conducted incubator and accelerator programs for 4 blockchain startups. In September 2021, it also acquired CipherTrace, a crypto intelligence company to bolster its cybersecurity solutions to stay on top of digital assets.
In the context of banks, while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs retained their spot among the leading investors, United Overseas Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BNY Mellon, and Morgan Stanley made considerable jumps to find themselves on the list as well.
A total of 61 blockchain/crypto companies received investments across 71 investment rounds. These blockchain companies are active across more than 20 industries and 65 use cases. Nineteen companies offer some form of non-fungible tokens (NFT) solutions and services. Many of these belong to industries such as gaming, arts and entertainment, and distributed ledger technology (DLT).
In all, 12 firms are marketplaces, with some supporting the buying and selling of NFTs. Eleven organizations provide gaming services. There is considerable overlap among use cases for the companies that offer NFT solutions, marketplaces, and gaming.
Interestingly, seven companies offer blockchain services. ConsenSys secured one of the highest funding amounts ($450 million deal that involved Microsoft) in the analyzed time period. Five companies focus on infrastructure. Four companies focus on blockchain development platforms, dApps, smart contracts, asset management/tokenization, and scaling solutions.
Three companies, the report says, offer custody solutions and secured high-value deals - Fireblocks ($550 million deal involving Alphabet), Circle ($550 million round with participation from Blackrock), and Anchorage Digital ($350 million deal involving PayPal and Blackrock).
