Wednesday, 31 May 2023, Bengaluru, India
Introduction:
The Block was informed by two persons with knowledge of the situation that VC firm Paradigm Broadening is broadening its focus away from just cryptocurrencies to include “frontier” technologies like AI.
The corporation appears to have deleted references to cryptocurrencies and web3 from the top page of its website earlier this month, signaling a redesign, in the wake of high-profile failures in the industry and mounting regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
According to two people familiar with the issue who talked to The Block, Paradigm, one of the most well-known and active organisations in the cryptocurrency market, is concentrating on a wider range of “frontier tech” that includes artificial intelligence in addition to blockchain.
The change is hardly noticeable on the company’s website, where it now describes itself as a “research-driven technology investment firm” as opposed to one that focuses on “disruptive crypto/Web3 companies and protocols.” The change appears to have gone live around May 3 according to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
The statement “we believe crypto will define the next few decades” has been removed from the homepage, and neither web3 nor Blockchains are mentioned anymore. According to a person who was not authorized to talk publicly, the adjustment did not indicate that the corporation was abandoning cryptocurrency but rather that it was emphasizing its reach in related fields.
On the company website, in the portfolio area, there are still many companies listed that are related to cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance, and NFTs.
According to the individual who is familiar with the plan, there has been no change in the company’s concentration on crypto and Web 3. The source explained that the modified website material was intended to emphasize its technological research and pointed out that Paradigm had sponsored businesses like AI Arena that have studied new technologies as part of their primary strategy. Requests for additional feedback from the corporation were not immediately fulfilled.
Challenges Facing the Cryptocurrency Industry:
The increased focus comes as the cryptocurrency market is still reeling from last year’s crisis, which culminated in the collapse of the FTX exchange. Paradigm, a shareholder in the company, wrote off its $290 million investment when FTX declared bankruptcy in November.
In 2018, Matt Huang, a former partner at Sequoia, and Fred Ehrsam, a co-founder of Coinbase, formed Paradigm. The company raised a $2.5 billion fund in November 2021, making it the largest venture firm now exclusively focused on cryptocurrency. According to The Block Pro’s Deals Dashboard, their portfolio includes well-known brands including Uniswap, OpenSea, and Fire Blocks.
AI may act as a stimulant for cryptocurrency, according to Horsley, who also said that the technology will spur new interest in blockchains and encryption. Feeling more and more certain that these two seemingly unrelated technologies will coexist in the future and that, as AI becomes more prevalent, crypto will become significantly more significant.
