Ian Wittkopp and Inal Kardan, both former members of the TON Foundation, have revealed the establishment of their profit-oriented venture capital firm, TON Ventures, with an initial investment of $40 million. The primary objective of this fresh initiative is to develop the upcoming wave of Telegram mini apps.
Formerly leading the TON accelerator program was Ian Wittkopp, and overseeing gaming at the TON Foundation was Inal Kardan. They expressed their intention to utilize these funds for investing in startups that leverage the TON blockchain network. TON Ventures will specifically target early-stage initiatives with investments totaling $0.5 million or lower.
“The fundraise was very informal over a period where it began to make sense to make the move and go independent, but the full amount was raised around a month ago,” said Wittkopp. He also mentioned that the fund's size might grow in the future with the addition of more partners. Wittkopp revealed that the investors in the fund, who are individual private investors, are committed to backing the long-term expansion of the TON ecosystem, without specifying their names.
TON Ventures has provided support to several startups such as Tradoor, Catizen, and Evaa Protocol. Additionally, they have engaged in later-stage "strategic" transactions involving major protocols joining the TON ecosystem. Wittkopp expects that the $40 million fund will be fully invested within a year because of the high interest from Tier 1 builders.
TON Ventures is planning to invest in early-stage startups operating within the TON ecosystem. Wittkopp mentioned that the initial phase of adoption of Telegram and TON blockchain will involve "billion-dollar companies" in gaming, decentralized finance (DeFi), and regulated financial products utilizing the TON blockchain network.
VC firms have been closely monitoring the progress in the TON ecosystem because of the distinctive connection between the TON blockchain and the popular messaging platform Telegram. The primary benefit of the TON ecosystem lies in Telegram's extensive user base, which exceeds 900 million monthly active users.
Games such as Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, created on the TON blockchain and accessible as mini-apps through Telegram, have attracted considerable attention, despite worries about bot involvement.
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