#Paradigm募资12亿美元押注AI Crypto venture capital firm Paradigm closes $1.2 billion fund, accelerating investments in AI, robotics, and deep tech

Crypto venture capital firm Paradigm today announced the closing of its fourth fund, raising $1.2 billion. The fundraising marks the top crypto VC's formal expansion of its investment scope from crypto assets into frontier tracks including AI, robotics, autonomous hardware, and deep tech. Paradigm managing partner Alana Palmedo said: "$1.2 billion, to invest in steep exponential curves. Eight years ago, we were backed by people who believed in the crypto frontier. Now, as the frontiers of AI, crypto, space, deep tech, and energy are converging, we are doubling down. Thank you to our partners." Paradigm was co-founded in 2018 by Matt Huang and Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, becoming one of the most influential venture capital firms in crypto. Previously, the firm raised a $2.5 billion crypto fund in 2021 (one of the largest venture funds in crypto at the time) and completed an $850 million early-stage blockchain fund in 2024.

While continuing its deep involvement in crypto, this fourth fund will significantly expand investments outside the crypto space.
Specific investment directions disclosed by Paradigm in the announcement include:
AI field: Nous Research (which developed the Hermes agent);
Autonomous hardware: drone developer Zipline;
Space & defense: space defense startup True Anomaly;
Crypto: decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, prediction market platform Kalshi, and stablecoin public chain Tempo co-founded with Stripe.

Additionally, Paradigm highlighted its internally incubated projects, including Ethereum development tools Foundry and Reth, AI agent project Centaur, and EVMbench, a blockchain security benchmark tool co-developed with OpenAI. In its statement, Paradigm elaborated on its investment philosophy: "Our approach is to go deep — research, build, and invest alongside founders, initially in crypto, now extending to AI, robotics, and other frontiers."
Against this fundraising backdrop, the crypto industry is actively building financial infrastructure for AI agents. Giants like Coinbase and Stripe have successively launched payment tools, enabling AI agents to complete transactions through wallets, stablecoins, and other financial instruments, minimizing human intervention. Paradigm stated, "This era belongs to those who are open-minded enough to discard existing playbooks and frequently reconstruct their perception of reality — a philosophy we share with the founders we back."

The strategic significance of this fundraising lies in its clear declaration of the transformation of a top-tier crypto VC into a "general deep-tech fund" — the integration of AI agents and crypto payment infrastructure is giving rise to a new value chain from on-chain finance to autonomous AI actions. For entrepreneurs, building infrastructure at the intersection of AI and Web3 will become the most capital-intensive competitive frontier. The early moves by giants like Coinbase and Stripe also signal explosive growth in the "economic autonomy" track for AI agents.