- With many projects preparing for TGES, the eight-year Fund I aims to deploy the remaining funds by the end of the year.
- The Stanford Ecosystem is the primary source of founder investments for pre-seed and seed-stage blockchains created by venture fund Blockchain Builder.
Blockchain Builder, a venture fund for Stanford Blockchain Ecosystem, has announced that an overly subscribed $28 million Fund I has been successfully shut down. The Pre-Seed and Seed Stage Fund is investing in outstanding innovators from other well-known universities and Stanford’s pioneering crypto community.
Three graduate students at Stanford, Gil Rosen, Kun Peng and Steven Willinger, founded the fund. The fund has invested more than $16 million in 40 blockchain projects, including AI, infrastructure, Defi, Depin, Payments and RWA.
With many projects preparing for TGES, the eight-year Fund I aims to deploy the remaining funds by the end of the year. Modular AI Blockchain 0G (Hack VC, Bankless, Delphi Digital), Open Access AI Cloud Hyperbolics (Variant, Polycaine, Topology), Blockless Layer-1 Pod (A16Z, 1KX), and Supercomputer Venture Nexus Lab (Light Speed, Pantera, Dragon-Free Portfrio Company.
Co-founder Kun Peng said:
“Blockchain builders emerged from their first-hand experience expanding the Stanford blockchain ecosystem. They launched Stanford Blockchain Accelerator, taught MS&E 447 blockchain entrepreneurial spirit, created the Stanford Summit (Base) Conference Series, and will guide new founders for success.”
Babylon founder Professor David Tse said:
“Stanford has an extensive history of blockchain research and innovation, including coursework like my TSE Lab, Blockchain Research Center, and EE 374 courses on Blockchain Infrastructure. I also handle the Bass Events and the MS&E 447 Entrepreneurial Course, but Stanford Blockchain originators are cultivating Ecnups assent accounts.
The fund’s management has a wealth of knowledge in both traditional finance and cryptocurrency. Previously, Willinger participated in product and partnerships with BlockStream and Google/Google X, managed Coinbase Ventures and invested in Capital One Ventures. A frequent angel investor, Rosen bootstrapped companies with 100 employees, built distributed computing infrastructure for the IRS, JPMorgan and the London Stock Exchange, and later worked for the AI platform NGDATA. Peng, meanwhile, has a rich founding experience in Web3, including infrastructure, NFT, Defi, Crypto analytics and indexes.
Co-founder Gil Rosen said:
“Our deep Stanford bonds provide early access to potential founders who value our hands-on approach. Roll up your sleeves and jump into strategy, GTM and fundraising details. Perfectly position them in a competitive follow-on round led by tier-1 investors.”
The team is working with Ethereum Foundation, Solana, Starkware, Base (Coinbase) and others to support founders across the country, thus funding II. It also expands support for new IC3-Cornell accelerators, including Berkeley, Carnegie Melon, Princeton, Yale and UCL.
The Stanford Ecosystem is the primary source of founder investments for pre-seed and seed-stage blockchains created by venture fund Blockchain Builder. Under the direction of veteran builders and operators who are passionate about early ventures, the team adds practical support to their capital commitments to ensure the success of their founders. To develop the next generation of blockchain builders, the team is working on projects such as Stanford’s blockchain accelerator, the Bass Conference series, MS&E 447 and strategic partnerships with top universities.
