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- a16z declares first worldwide workplace in London amid U.S. crypto tensions.
- The agency invests $43m in UK-based AI and crypto startup, Gensyn.
- The brand new department is meant to foster expertise via blockchain golf equipment and academic packages.
VC agency Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is venturing into the U.Okay. crypto scene, establishing its first abroad workplace in London. This transfer comes amidst rising regulatory tensions within the U.S., resulting in the agency eyeing the U.Okay. as a doubtlessly extra hospitable setting for cryptocurrency ventures.
The brand new department will spearhead a16z’s crypto fund operations below the management of Basic Companion Sriram Krishnan. The agency underpins its transfer with a $43 million funding in Gensyn, a UK-based AI and crypto startup touted because the “Airbnb for GPUs.” This funding follows a collection of earlier injections into different UK-based crypto ventures resembling Arweave, Aztec, and Unbelievable.
In response to a current submit on a16z’s web site, the London workplace is meant to develop into a hub for nurturing crypto expertise. The corporate additionally introduced plans to collaborate with universities in establishing blockchain golf equipment and operating its Crypto Startup College accelerator program. These initiatives intention to assist entrepreneurs of their journey to construct web3 startups.
The agency’s growth to the U.Okay. is strategically timed as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and lawmakers like MP Lisa Cameron actively pursue crypto and blockchain rules. A16z hopes its U.Okay. enterprise can assist information these regulatory discussions, envisioning the U.Okay. as a future international chief in crypto know-how.
Brian Quintenz, Head of Coverage at a16z crypto and ex-commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Buying and selling Fee, emphasised the U.Okay.’s intent to implement a regulatory framework that upholds a excessive normal of buyer safety whereas fostering decentralization. This push in direction of regulatory readability and a willingness to embrace blockchain innovation place the U.Okay. as a horny funding vacation spot for crypto corporations and enterprise capitalists.