Paradigm, the venture capital firm originally created to finance cryptocurrency companies, said on Wednesday that it has closed a $1.2 billion fourth fund designed to expand its investment remit into artificial intelligence and robotics.
The firm framed the new vehicle as a response to recent shifts in the technology funding landscape - specifically, an uptick in financing for AI startups and a reduction in crypto-related investment activity. Paradigm, which began operations in 2018, said the fund will be used to back founders at multiple stages across a broader set of technology sectors, including autonomous systems, manufacturing and space defense.
Paradigm pointed to several companies already in its portfolio that reflect the firm’s wider focus. Those holdings include Zipline, which is known for autonomous drone delivery; SendCutSend, a rapid manufacturing company; True Anomaly, which develops orbital space defense capabilities; and Nous Research, the developer of an AI agent technology referred to as Hermes Agent.
Despite the expanded mandate, Paradigm said it will continue to allocate capital to cryptocurrency projects. The firm listed several crypto-related investments that will remain within its financing scope, among them Hyperliquid and its ecosystem builder Trade[XYZ], Tempo - described as a stablecoin and blockchain project co-founded with Stripe - and the prediction markets exchange Kalshi.
In addition to direct investments, Paradigm said it will keep building and researching technology infrastructure. The firm cited internal and collaborative tooling such as Foundry, Reth and Centaur. It also mentioned security-focused work, including EVMbench, which was developed in collaboration with OpenAI.
The fund and the broadened strategy were announced in a Wednesday blog post by Paradigm partners Matt Huang and Alana Palmedo. The partners framed the fourth fund as supporting a multi-sector approach while maintaining activity in the firm’s original area of focus.
Summary
Paradigm has raised $1.2 billion for a fourth fund that expands the firm’s investment focus from primarily cryptocurrency to include AI and robotics, while continuing to back crypto projects and developing supporting infrastructure and security tools.
- Key points
- Paradigm closed a $1.2 billion fourth fund to back AI, robotics and related technology sectors in addition to crypto.
- The firm will invest across stages in sectors such as autonomous systems, manufacturing and space defense, while maintaining crypto commitments.
- Portfolio examples include Zipline, SendCutSend, True Anomaly and Nous Research; crypto investments named include Hyperliquid, Trade[XYZ], Tempo and Kalshi.
- Risks / Uncertainties
- A decline in crypto-related investments has been noted and could affect activity and returns in the crypto sector - an explicit trend cited by the firm.
- The firm’s shift to a broader technology mandate introduces uncertainty about future portfolio composition between crypto and non-crypto sectors.