The VC firm exits stealth to announce its $40M fund for early-stage infrastructure startups in web3, crypto, and blockchain

SAN FRANCISCO – May 23 – Early-stage venture firm Dispersion Capital announced today its $40 million fund to back foundational web3 infrastructure. 

Dispersion Capital has already invested in 20 companies, with a majority receiving follow-on financing since Dispersion’s investment.

Patrick Chang, Dispersion Capital’s managing partner and founder, is a seasoned VC with established web3 credentials and nearly two decades of experience. Prior, he led Samsung Next’s blockchain investments, evolving its web2 focus with defining investments into powerhouse web3 startups, including Dapper, Flow, and Alchemy.  

Patrick founded Dispersion Capital, a deeply researched and thesis-driven fund, with a vision to advance cutting-edge infrastructure needed for a multichain, multi-currency, and multi-platform world. As such, Dispersion Capital funds developer-forward companies driving foundational infrastructure for web3.

Dispersion Capital’s fund has garnered support from web2 and web3 pioneers like Faction Lightspeed, Wemade, Circle Ventures, Ripple, Alchemy Ventures, Hashkey, Cherubic Ventures, Forte, NGC, and individual GPs at top venture firms and infrastructure executives, among others.

“Since 2021, thousands of talented, experienced, and creative developers have emerged in the Web3 space, poised to build the next generation of applications. However, their potential is limited by the immaturity of the infrastructure. To unlock the true power of these developers and enable the creation of groundbreaking applications, Dispersion Capital is dedicated to enabling the future robust and mature infrastructure that goes beyond protocols and networks,” said Patrick Chang, the founder of Dispersion Capital. “This encompasses platforms, dev tools, and more, empowering developers to build the next generation of groundbreaking applications. Just as ChatGPT captured the imagination of AI, we aim to bring that transformative moment to blockchain through new infrastructure that unleashes the true power of applications.”

“Patrick was an instrumental force in establishing Next’s presence as an investor in web3 and blockchain, leading our investments in Dapper Labs, Flow, Alchemy, and Forte, among others. His tenacity and conviction in the space guided us to make non-obvious choices as early-stage investors that continue to bolster our reputation in the market,” said Brendon Kim, MD and Head of Investments at Samsung Next. “After nearly a decade of working closely with Patrick and witnessing firsthand the passion and impact he brings to every project, we know he has a unique ability to spot the best and most ambitious founders before others and is well-positioned to scale the next generation of web3 infrastructure. We look forward to co-investing with Patrick and are excited to see what he will accomplish with Dispersion Capital.” 

“We are excited to see Patrick lean into his expertise in web3 and spin up his own fund. He’s been an early supporter in Alchemy during his time at Samsung Next and I can see many developer-focused companies benefiting from his guidance,” said Paul Almasi, Head of Alchemy Ventures. “The launch of Dispersion Capital brings an additional source of capital to the web3 infrastructure space. Alchemy Ventures is proud to team up and support developers across the entire industry.” 

“Finding promising tech at the early development stage requires talent and intuition. Having seen the outcomes of Patrick’s previous investments, we knew we wanted to be part of the Dispersion Capital fund,” commented Eric Jeck, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Business Development at Ripple. “Patrick’s expertise in technology investment and his forward-thinking approach to the emerging dispersion economy are unparalleled. We believe that by working together, we can significantly impact the growth of decentralized infrastructure and accelerate startups that are creating world-class products, leveraging blockchain technology, such as the XRP Ledger, to build real-world utility. Dispersion Capital’s vision of the dispersion economy aligns with our vision of the digital future. We are excited to help accelerate it.”

“Dispersion Capital’s focus on investing in a multichain, interoperable ecosystem that supports developers closely aligns with our vision at Circle Ventures,” said Wyatt Lonergan, Head of Circle Ventures. “We are excited to invest in Patrick’s new fund and partner with Dispersion Capital to invest in and support the next generation of leading web3 companies.”

“ZettaBlock owes a great deal of its success to Patrick, who has been an investor and mentor since our inception. He has been an integral part of our team, providing invaluable guidance and support throughout our journey. Patrick is an OG in the web3 space, his extensive network and deep understanding of the industry has been instrumental in accelerating our growth. However, it is rare to have an investor who has deep web3 experience and web2, as he understands enterprise b2b sales and go to market extremely well. What sets Patrick apart is his exceptional dedication to our success – he’s not just a source of capital, but a true partner who is available 24/7 to offer insights on every aspect of our business, from the market and competitive analysis to product development, marketing, sales, and more,” said Chi Zhang, CEO and co-founder of ZettaBlock. “Patrick’s guidance and tireless support have been nothing short of transformative for ZettaBlock, and we are fortunate to have him as a critical investor, partner, mentor, and advisor.”

Dispersion Capital will support builders in solving infrastructure gaps for the mass adoption of web3. Projects seeking funding can now submit their pitch at dispersion.xyz. 

About Dispersion Capital

Dispersion Capital is an early-stage venture firm for decentralized infrastructure. 

Our mission is to pioneer a multichain, multi-currency, and multi-platform world. We invest in foundational technologies for decentralized businesses, focusing on the tools for developers to deploy this reality. We focus exclusively on specific layers of web3, including fintech and gaming infrastructure, security, data, and platforms challenging legacy industries. The most prominent players in web2 and web3 are behind us, including Faction, Lightspeed, Circle Ventures, Ripple, Wemade, and more. Learn more at dispersion.xyz.

About Patrick Chang

Patrick Chang is the founder and managing partner of Dispersion Capital. With his deep background in enterprise and web3 infrastructure, Patrick’s mission is to fund disruptive technology to help developers build the underlying foundation for the decentralized web.

Patrick is a prominent early investor in web3’s most pioneering innovators and protocols. He has invested in nine companies at the inception stage that later became unicorns and three more with large acquisitions. These include Alchemy, Dapper Labs, Flow, Forte, Syndicate, Theta, Blockstack(STX), Branch Metrics, and Volterra. Patrick also led investments in cutting-edge infrastructure technology at prestigious firms, including Cota Capital, Investor Growth Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, and Foundation Capital. With nearly two decades of experience in web2 and web3, Patrick began his career in tech investment banking and M&A, working for Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers. 

About the Dispersion Economy

Dispersion Capital is driving toward the “Dispersion Economy,” an evolution of the decentralized economy.  For decentralized tech to become as useful and widespread as the internet, it needs to be possible for developers to build functional, accessible, and scalable applications. 

What does this look like? It is a constellation of decentralized applications, services, platforms, companies, and DAOs and is dispersed evenly throughout the ecosystem. No more blockchain lock-in. Available and usable everywhere, to everyone. This is the dispersion of blockchain’s game-changing decentralization. The Dispersion Economy is powered by a world where the tech is scalable, the access is decentralized, and its impact is dispersed worldwide. 

Dispersion Capital is finding and funding the fundamental tech layers to make this future possible. Strictly builder and developer-focused, its investments will ensure they have the tools to deploy on dispersed, decentralized infrastructures.

For information regarding this press release, please email [email protected].