Blockchain data indexing protocol The Graph has launched a $205 million ecosystem fund to lure new developers to its platform, offering further evidence that venture capital firms were still keen to support growth funds centered around decentralized applications.
The ecosystem fund was financed by Digital Currency Group, Multicoin Capital, Reciprocal Ventures, Gumi Cryptos Capital, NCG and HashKey. The fund’s stated purpose is to accelerate the growth and development of key projects in The Graph’s ecosystem.
HashKey Capital managing director Deng Chao said the company will provide resources and guidance to decentralized application developers and projects looking to gain access to institutional markets. Digital Currency Group, better known as DCG, already serves as a delegator for The Graph and will further support the ecosystem’s development around decentralized finance and the Metaverse.
Miko Matsumura of Gumi Cryptos Capital described The Graph as “an essential part of the Web3 stack,” referring to the network’s focus on developing application programming interfaces for the next iteration of the internet.
The Graph Foundation has awarded considerable funding to its developer network in an effort to expand its development capabilities. In December, the foundation announced a $60 million grant to Semiotic AI in a bid to scale the network’s research and development capacity around artificial intelligence. The same month, open-source API platform The Guild was awarded $48 million in funding to advance The Graph’s subgraph features.
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After a record-breaking 2021, venture capital funding for blockchain and cryptocurrency projects continues to ramp up this year. Cointelegraph has recently reported on several nine-figure funding rounds, including $200 million raises for Alchemy and Aleo, a $450 million round for Polygon and $109 million in investments for cryptocurrency wallet Phantom.
