Israeli VC fund Pitango launches DAO to invest in Web3 startups
Israel’s largest venture capital fund, Pitango has launched First Labs, a web3 lab designed to create bridges between the Web 3.0 universe and the traditional economy.
With nearly $3 billion in assets under management and investments in over 250 companies, Pitango is the latest venerable venture capital firm to increase its focus on crypto. In turn, First Labs will support investment in early stage companies spanning web3 technologies, tokenization, NFTs, and metaverses.
Having exited stealth mode, First Labs intends to launch its first program to accelerate web3 teams within two months.
Through a variety of funding mechanisms, First DAO by First Lab will incorporate the structure of a decentralised autonomous organisation over time. It combines traditional venture capital with an open governance mode, gradually assigning stewardship to its community.
From an operational perspective, the First-DAO aims to build a hybrid DAO that bridges participants from the web 2.0 and web 3.0 by developing an incentivized foundation for on-chain projects with a multi-chain approach. Its community members will play a pivotal role in the developments of ideas and concepts around the projects it supports in the First Labs Program.
Ayal Itzkovitz, Managing Partner at PItango First, said: “We’ve been involved in the crypto space in the last five years and have been following it closely. We believe that the time is ripe to bring the VC and crypto native community together in a new, modern, and relevant vehicle that will foster innovation and support sustainable venture building in the Web 3.0 space”
Aviv Barzilay, Head of First Labs, added: “From liquidity mining to token engineering, First Labs is designed to answer the unique needs of the crypto space. Our platform will allow founders and community members to connect, and will empower web2 companies to make the leap into web3 with confidence. Having partnered with top crypto-native companies and domain experts, First Labs has the expertise to unlock the web3 universe and everything it has to offer.”
The First DAO operates based on a hybrid model that is designed to govern and include community as part of the value chain. By involving the community, it reshapes existing models of venture capital and rethink topics such as voting rights and ownership.
First Labs plans to use its capital to invest in companies building Web3 and have sustainable growth models through equity and/or token-based investments. The debut start-up fund has secured backing from partners at big names involved with the crypto business in order to help projects realize their potential by introducing them to its extensive partner network.
