Key Takeaways
- • Katie Haun's Haun Ventures, which raised $1.5 billion across two crypto-focused funds by March 2022, has slowed its deployment pace and now plans to spend its capital over about three years rather than the roughly two years originally touted.
- • As of mid-June 2023, Haun Ventures had deployed around 30% of its capital into about two dozen positions, split almost evenly between digital tokens and traditional equity, according to Fortune.
- • Limited partners, including Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, have not expressed concern over pacing; one LP told Fortune, "If this goes to zero, like, it's not going to crush our portfolio."
- • Haun Ventures' portfolio includes NFT platform Zora, a $32 million extension to a Series B round for privacy-focused blockchain Aleo, and crypto data analytics firm Artemis.
- • Haun has largely withdrawn from media since the November 2022 collapse of FTX and declined multiple interview requests, with the firm also declining to comment on its management fees.
Summary
Fortune's Anne Sraders reports that Katie Haun, a former Department of Justice prosecutor and venture capitalist, departed Andreessen Horowitz in early 2022 to launch her own crypto fund. By March 2022, she had raised $1.5 billion across two funds, which Fortune describes as the largest sum ever raised by a solo female VC. The fundraising took place near the peak of the crypto boom, and the subsequent collapse of projects including Terra and FTX, along with a broader venture pullback driven by rising interest rates and high valuations, has since changed the environment in which the firm operates.
According to Fortune's reporting, Haun Ventures has proceeded more cautiously than originally planned. Haun had initially touted a roughly two-year deployment schedule; the firm now plans to take around three years. As of mid-June 2023, it had deployed about 30% of its capital across roughly two dozen positions, including stakes in liquid tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether as well as smaller-cap tokens tied to projects. The firm declined to name the holdings it has. Its bets have been split almost evenly between digital tokens and traditional equity, and according to partner Sam Rosenblum, it has emphasized startup investments so far in 2023. Disclosed investments include NFT creation platform Zora, a $32 million extension to a Series B round for Aleo, and crypto data analytics platform Artemis. Fortune reports the firm plans to announce more deals soon.
Fortune reports that Haun's limited partners, which include large institutions such as the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, have not shown significant concern about pacing. Fortune notes that pressure to deploy capital will persist because, like other venture funds, Haun Ventures charges a management fee, with the industry average around 2%. Haun Ventures declined to comment on its fees.
Haun has also retreated from public view. Since the FTX collapse in November 2022, she has largely avoided the media and rebuffed multiple interview requests from Fortune. Fortune notes that her earlier glowing media portrayals drew criticism from some former law enforcement colleagues. Fred Wilson, cofounder of Union Square Ventures, told Fortune that when Haun Ventures returns to raise a second fund, it will need a clear story about how it responded to the changing market.
According to Fortune's reporting, Haun Ventures has proceeded more cautiously than originally planned. Haun had initially touted a roughly two-year deployment schedule; the firm now plans to take around three years. As of mid-June 2023, it had deployed about 30% of its capital across roughly two dozen positions, including stakes in liquid tokens such as Bitcoin and Ether as well as smaller-cap tokens tied to projects. The firm declined to name the holdings it has. Its bets have been split almost evenly between digital tokens and traditional equity, and according to partner Sam Rosenblum, it has emphasized startup investments so far in 2023. Disclosed investments include NFT creation platform Zora, a $32 million extension to a Series B round for Aleo, and crypto data analytics platform Artemis. Fortune reports the firm plans to announce more deals soon.
Fortune reports that Haun's limited partners, which include large institutions such as the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, have not shown significant concern about pacing. Fortune notes that pressure to deploy capital will persist because, like other venture funds, Haun Ventures charges a management fee, with the industry average around 2%. Haun Ventures declined to comment on its fees.
Haun has also retreated from public view. Since the FTX collapse in November 2022, she has largely avoided the media and rebuffed multiple interview requests from Fortune. Fortune notes that her earlier glowing media portrayals drew criticism from some former law enforcement colleagues. Fred Wilson, cofounder of Union Square Ventures, told Fortune that when Haun Ventures returns to raise a second fund, it will need a clear story about how it responded to the changing market.
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