Multicoin Capital Rules Out Pure AI Investments, Keeps Crypto Focus

Multicoin Capital general partner and venture capital co-head Spencer Applebaum said the firm will keep its investments centered on crypto and avoid pure artificial intelligence projects as several peers expand beyond the sector.

Applebaum said Multicoin sees its strongest advantage in crypto. He also said many investors are stretching to find connections between crypto and AI. Paradigm, Framework Ventures and Haun Ventures have broadened their investment focus beyond crypto.

Multicoin’s position still leaves room for crypto projects that serve AI users. The firm has invested through its hedge and venture funds in Grass, a decentralized bandwidth network used by AI labs. Grass encourages users to share unused internet bandwidth, which the network uses to collect and process publicly available web data.

Multicoin raised a $422 million venture fund in 2022. It has deployed that fund gradually as startup valuations fell after the collapse of FTX.

The Hyperliquid (HYPE) token remains the largest holding in Multicoin’s hedge fund, Applebaum said. The firm has $2.7 billion in assets under management.