Colosseum, a startup accelerator that specializes in organizing hackathons for the Solana ecosystem, has successfully raised $60 million for its fund dedicated to investing in early-stage projects. The company has already allocated $2.75 million to support 11 different companies.
The fund, which received an overwhelming response from investors, will primarily focus on making pre-seed investments in startups that have emerged as winners from Solana Hackathons. Clay Robbins, one of the co-founders of Colosseum, expressed excitement about the strong demand for innovative venture products in the crypto space. He highlighted the diverse group of investors, including ecosystem founders and hackathon alumni, who have joined forces to support Colosseum’s vision.
Robbins emphasized that many of Colosseum’s Limited Partners (LPs) are open to various ecosystems but recognize the enormous potential of the Solana ecosystem. Institutional LPs are not just investing in the current state of the ecosystem but are also looking towards the future and the evolution of the accelerator model.
The accelerator views hackathons as essential platforms for driving crypto innovation and fostering the creation of new companies. This year, Colosseum hosted its first Solana hackathon, attracting over 8,000 participants from around the world. Matty Taylor, another co-founder of Colosseum and former head of growth at Solana Foundation, highlighted the role of hackathons in empowering builders globally to experiment with crypto product development and launch on-chain startups.
With regards to investments, Colosseum has already funded 11 companies and deployed $2.75 million. Notably, Bonk DAO, a council of Solana influencers managing $124 million in BONK token assets, announced earlier its intention to invest $500,000 in the fund.
It’s essential to note that the fund actually deployed $250k to each of the eleven companies, totaling the investment at $2.75 million. This correction was made to provide accurate information to our readers.
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