Variant raises $222 million fund targeting early stage crypto, AI startups that expand 'autonomy'

Major crypto VC Variant Fund has raised a new $222 million fund targeting startups "at the earliest possible stage," according to an announcement on Wednesday.

Variant founder Jesse Walden noted that the firm has further clarified its investment thesis for projects that "expand autonomy." This theme covers its previous investments in protocols like Ethereum and Solana and developer infrastructure like Blockaid, but also covers newer projects around AI.

"Variant invests in technology that expands autonomy. We focus on new markets, infrastructure, and applications that give users more agency through increased access, knowledge, and ownership," Walden said.

Walden noted the firm has made recent investments in agentic memory project Honcho, digital identity solution Octet, and here.now, "a 'cloud for agents' that enables ownership and composability of generated artifacts."

The news comes after peer VCs a16z announced a new $2.2 billion crypto fund, its fifth, and Haun Ventures an $1 billion fund for blockchain and AI. Crypto investing in general has yet to recover from its all-time highs reached in 2022, though recent quarters have seen more deals and more capital flowing than during the slowest days of the post-FTX Crypto Winter.

According to The Block Pro's data, some $4.41 billion in VC investments were made in the first quarter of 2026, and $1.63 billion so far in the second quarter.