Ethereal Ventures is a venture capital firm that specializes in early-stage investments in Web3 companies and decentralized protocols. Founded in 2021 as a spin-out from ConsenSys Labs, the firm was co-founded by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin and Min Teo, and it focuses on supporting founders at the pre-seed and seed stages who are building foundational infrastructure for the decentralized web. ^[3]

Overview

Ethereal Ventures operates as a venture capital firm with a dedicated focus on the blockchain and Web3 sectors. The firm provides capital to companies in their earliest stages of development, including pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding rounds. Its investment thesis is built on the conviction that permissionless, decentralized networks will fundamentally reshape global systems of information and value exchange. The firm leverages its deep connections within the Ethereum ecosystem, a direct result of its origins within ConsenSys, to provide its portfolio companies with strategic guidance, technical expertise, and access to an extensive industry network. ^[1]

The firm's strategy is founder-centric, prioritizing teams with strong technical backgrounds and long-term vision. It invests directly in decentralized networks and partners with the global teams building them. By focusing on the foundational layers of Web3, including core infrastructure, developer tooling, and decentralized finance (DeFi). Ethereal Ventures aims to accelerate the development of a more open, transparent, and user-owned internet. ^[2]

Investment Thesis and Strategy

Ethereal Ventures' investment thesis is centered on the belief that "permissionless networks are driving a paradigm shift for civilization, bringing sovereignty, ownership and access to communities everywhere." The firm's strategy is to invest directly in these networks and partner with the teams building them at the earliest stages of their journey. ^[1]

Key pillars of the firm's investment strategy include:

• Founder-Centric Approach: The firm places a strong emphasis on the quality of the founding team, seeking out visionary entrepreneurs with deep technical expertise and a commitment to building decentralized systems.
• Early-Stage Focus: Ethereal Ventures primarily invests at the pre-seed and seed stages. This allows the firm to engage with companies at their inception, helping to shape their initial strategy, product development, and community-building efforts.
• Infrastructure-First Philosophy: A significant portion of the firm's portfolio is dedicated to the foundational building blocks of Web3. This includes Layer 1 and Layer 2 scaling solutions, interoperability protocols, developer tools, and data availability layers that enable a new generation of decentralized applications.
• Long-Term Partnership: The firm operates as a long-term partner to its portfolio companies, offering strategic guidance, technical support, and access to its network.

Portfolio and Notable Investments

Ethereal Ventures has built a portfolio of over 150 companies, focusing on projects that provide foundational infrastructure and tooling for the decentralized web. The firm is recognized for backing projects that have become critical components of the multi-chain ecosystem. ^[1]

• Celestia
• EigenLayer
• LayerZero
• MetaMask
• Scroll

Other Investments

The firm's portfolio also includes other key projects across the Web3 stack, such as Linea, a developer-ready zkEVM rollup incubated by ConsenSys; Kiln, an enterprise-grade staking platform; Parsec, a data analytics platform for DeFi; and Pymlico, a Web3 infrastructure provider. Recent investments have included participation in a $15 million Series A round for Hemi and a $20 million seed round for 1Money. ^[2]