Katie Haun, a crypto investor, raises $1.5 billion in her debut fund, surpassing the previous record for the largest fund ever launched by a female VC.

• Katie Haun, a crypto investor, has secured $1.5 billion in funding for her new company following her departure from Andreessen Horowitz last year.
• Pitchbook reports that the largest initial fund ever raised by a solo female founding partner has been achieved.
• "Haun believes that the pressure felt during the development of Web3 is what motivates the team. He thinks that Web3 represents a new era of the internet and requires a new era of investors."

Katie Haun, a former crypto investor at Andreessen Horowitz, has successfully raised $1.5 billion for her new fund, breaking a record in the process.

Pitchbook reports that Haun Ventures' launch is the largest debut venture fund ever raised by a solo female founding partner, surpassing the previous record held by Mary Meeker with a $1.3 billion fund after leaving Kleiner Perkins.

"According to Haun, the feeling of pressure is real, but it motivates the team. She believes that Web3 represents a new era of the internet that requires new investors."

Web3, or Web 3.0, refers to general computing applications built on blockchain technology, which is also used in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Examples include NFTs, which are ownership certificates attached to digital files, and decentralized finance applications that use self-executing smart contracts to replace intermediaries in certain transactions. However, the space is still in its early and experimental stages.

Haun Ventures will invest in both start-up equity and tokens issued by those start-ups.

"Through my experience in deploying three other crypto funds, I have learned that there is still a lot of potential in crypto and Web3 equity business models, but also token business models. In my opinion, being a successful crypto investor requires holding tokens."

The Haun fund will allocate $500 million for early-stage companies and protocols and $1 billion for "acceleration," or later-stage projects.

In 2018, Haun, a former federal prosecutor, became Andreessen's first female general partner and co-led the firm's multiple cryptocurrency funds alongside Chris Dixon. Now, Andreessen Horowitz will be a limited partner in Haun's newest fund, while Marc Andreessen, the firm's founder, and Dixon all personally contributed to her new endeavor.

Her departure from Silicon Valley took many off guard, despite it being a "dream job." Haun explained that she left to take a bigger risk and step out of her comfort zone.

"Clearly, there is a connection and friendships involved. Despite this, we still plan to work closely with Andreessen Horowitz. Our fund's size allows us to collaborate with other crypto investors without leading every deal. Founders prefer not to have a single investor on their cap table, even in the early stages."

Haun Ventures' team comprises nine individuals, including Chris Lehane, a former Airbnb executive and Clinton administration official, Tomicah Tillemann, a former staffer for President Joe Biden, and Rachael Horwitz, who led communications teams at Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Coinbase. Several employees left Andreessen Horowitz to join Haun for the new fund. She stated that the smaller team enables the firm to be more "nimble" and act as "venture contributors" in addition to venture capitalists.

""Haun Ventures will actively contribute to the projects we invest in, rather than just providing capital," she said."

Despite the bear market for cryptocurrencies, including a 40% drop in Bitcoin from its November peak and even deeper losses for smaller cryptocurrencies like ether, Haun, who has a history of investing during "crypto winters," believes there is still significant developer activity and potential for growth.

"During the crypto winter, when prices were down 70%, I deployed the first two crypto funds. Despite the immense volatility, I remember Solana and OpenSea as promising projects. As an investor with a long-term perspective, I've learned that great products and protocols will still be built, regardless of the market conditions."

Coinbase, a crypto exchange where Haun serves on the board, has experienced a 58% drop from its high last year. However, Haun stated that private start-up valuations remain unaffected.

"Although there is a slight delay, we continue to observe high valuations in crypto projects. Historically, when the macro market experiences corrections, it takes time for this to reflect in the crypto market. I believe the same may occur again," she stated.

Despite cryptocurrencies' struggles to regain momentum, private companies are experiencing an all-time high in dollar inflows. According to CB Insights' recent data, blockchain start-ups raised a record $25 billion in venture capital dollars last year, which is eight times more than the previous year.

That flood of venture dollars has sparked some controversy on Twitter.

Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, two of the world's most renowned tech billionaires, have expressed doubts about "Web3." Dorsey contends that venture capitalists and their limited partners will ultimately control Web3, and it will never be free from their motivations, as he tweeted, labeling it a "centralized entity with a different name."

"Haun believes that Web3 is receiving the criticism it deserves, and he prefers Jack Dorsey's critiques over the myths that have been perpetuated in the space for a long time. He thinks that this debate is beneficial."