Hack VC

Hack VC Research Document Executive Summary Hack VC is a crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2014, making it one of the earliest institutional Web3 investors. Based in San Francisco, the firm uniquely combines traditional venture investment with R&D capabilities through its hack.labs() division, along with ecosystem building through hack.summit(), a developer community of 130,000+ engineers across 157 countries. The firm deploys capital across DeFi, Web3 infrastructure, AI/blockchain integration, and financial infrastructure, with a particular focus on technical founders building at the earliest stages. Investment Thesis Hack VC invests in crypto-native teams of VCs, founders, developers, and builders solving fundamental problems in Web3. Their core philosophy is partnering "on- and off-chain at the earliest stages with hackers building the future of the Internet." The firm emphasizes: Technical Excellence : Preference for engineering-first teams with deep domain expertise Early-Stage Participation : Focus on supporting projects from ideation to global scale Active Involvement : Beyond capital provision, the firm leverages its network, research capabilities, and technical expertise Ecosystem Building : Understanding that Web3 adoption requires community and developer support The firm believes in the long-term transformation of the Internet through decentralized technologies, with particular conviction in: Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain infrastructure DeFi protocols and financial primitives Web3 × AI convergence (emerging focus) Interoperability and cross-chain solutions Privacy and encryption technologies Distinctive Capabilities hack.labs() - Internal R&D Division: On-chain crypto network participation and validation Venture studio for incubations of portfolio companies Quantitative research division with proprietary trading desk First-user testing ground for portfolio company products This positions Hack VC uniquely as both investor and protocol participant hack.summit() - Developer Ecosystem: 130,000+ developers from 157 countries One of the largest Web3 developer communities Enables direct relationship with technical founders and community validation Source of deal flow and co-investment opportunities Stage Focus Hack VC targets early-stage investments with concentration at: Seed : Primary focus, $5M-$10M check sizes Series A : Selective follow-ons and initial investments, $10M-$25M range Pre-Seed : Exceptional teams with significant traction or platform partnerships The firm maintains a target check size range of $5M-$10M for seed-stage investments but demonstrates flexibility for exceptional teams and follow-on rounds. Recent Activity & Fund Status 2025 Deployment: Deployed approximately $50M across 29 deals Maintained selective approach while staying deeply involved with founders Recent notable investments include Donut (Nov 2025), Opinion Labs (Feb 2026) Investment Pace: 262 cumulative portfolio companies 14 new investments in the last 12 months (as of Nov 2025) Latest investment: Opinion Labs (Feb 4, 2026), Series A in prediction market platform Fund Status: Actively deploying, maintaining measured pace focused on quality over quantity. The firm emphasizes strategic selectivity while maintaining deep founder relationships. Portfolio Composition & Sector Coverage Hack VC's 260+ portfolio encompasses three primary categories: 1. Web3 Infrastructure (Majority) Layer 1/2 Blockchains : Mysten Labs (Sui), Berachain, Initia, Eclipse, Fhenix, Conduit, Rio Network, Aligned Layer Interoperability & Bridging : Hyperlane, Across, AltLayer, Symbiosis, TAC Rollup & Scaling : Gelato, Conduit, Metadrop, SOON, Miden Core Protocol Innovation : EigenLayer (restaking), Babylon (Bitcoin security), O(1) Labs (ZK), Spacemesh 2. DeFi Protocols (Major Focus) Lending/Liquidity : Morpho, Kamino, Goldfinch, Ajna Labs, Cega Derivatives & Perpetuals : Vertex Protocol, Perpetual Protocol, Kine, Elixir, Variational, MYX Stablecoins & Currency : Stable, 1Money, Noble, M^0 Yield & Liquidity Management : Hyperdrive, Rio Network, MilkyWay, AlloyX, Summer 3. Web3 × AI (Emerging Focus) AI Infrastructure : Ritual (AI coprocessor), Grass (data infrastructure), Exabits (compute network), io.net (GPU networks) AI Agents : PIN AI, Theoriq, Zero Gravity, Donut (agentic browser), Glue (work chat) Privacy-Preserving AI : Nocturne Labs, Fhenix, Demox Labs 4. Financial Infrastructure Market Access : Dinari (asset tokenization), NonCo (brokerage), Republic (private markets), Amber Group Trading Infrastructure : Theo (institutional), Dexterity Capital (HFT), Bitwave (tax/compliance), Veridise (security) Custody & Services : Anchorage, MobileCoin, Doormat (key management), EthSign (signing) Team & Partnership Quality Leadership: Alexander Pack, Managing Partner : Co-founder, formerly at Dragonfly (multi-billion Web3 fund in China/US), Bain Capital Web3 lead, hundreds of Web3 startups seeded Ed Roman, Special Advisor & Co-founder : 10+ years angel/seed investing (250+ deals), 3x founder with 2 exits, board observer at Pluralsight Daniel Bulaevsky, Partner, GC, COO : Legal/governance expertise, Stanford JD, former partner at KLAROS Group Roshun Patel, Partner : Leads hack.labs(), DeFi/infrastructure focus, ex-VP DeFi at Genesis Global Trading Sean Brown, Partner : Infrastructure & mechanism design focus, led product at UMA Protocol, founding member Across Protocol Herbie Fu, Partner : Co-founder Infinity Ventures Crypto (Headline Asia's crypto arm), founder 8 Decimal Capital, MIT dropout Research & Quant Division: Harrison Dahme, Partner, CTO : 10+ years AI/ML experience (since 2010), 9 patents, crypto since 2017, ex-CTO crypto AI company Peyman Momeni, Research Partner : Founder Fairblock (cryptography), applied crypto/AI research across multiple institutions Shane Barratt, Research Partner : PhD Stanford convex optimization, extensive MEV/trading/HPC experience, proprietary trading firm operator Chris Maree, Research Partner : Web3 dev & mechanism research, leads research at UMA Protocol, decentralized derivatives focus Ian Masters, Senior Quant Trader : Quantitative market modeling, low-latency infrastructure, ex-Five Rings Capital quant developer Borna Shoa, Partner : Leads liquid strategies, DeFi/market microstructure expert, ex-exchange architect Nebula Labs Venture Partners: Niraj Pant, Venture Partner : Co-founder Ritual (AI co-processor), ex-GP Polychain Capital (6 years) Scott Moore, Venture Partner : Co-founder Gitcoin, advisor to ENS/zkSync Nicole Sun, Venture Partner : Organizer crypto hacker houses, co-founder Zuzalu Min Kim, Venture Partner : Head of Ecosystem Halborn, ex-CMO Polygon Operations & Finance: Alex Botte, Partner, Global Head of Investor Relations : Ex-Runa Digital Assets, 8 years at Two Sigma/AQR Peter Hans, Partner, Global Head of Business Development : Ex-Head Digital Assets Fidelity, ex-CSO Arca (grew $4M to $600M+) Jigar Shah, VP Finance : Ex-Assistant Controller Digital Currency Group Decision Making & Process Decision Structure: Partnership-based approach with specialized expertise channels: Investment decisions leverage sector-specific partners (DeFi, infrastructure, AI) Research and quant team provide technical due diligence hack.labs() provides protocol participation validation Timeline: Decision timeline typically 2-4 weeks for seed rounds, depending on technical complexity and founder background validation Warm Introductions: Strongly preferred but not required. Network references and hack.summit() community relationships carry significant weight. Process Involvement: The firm typically involves 2-3 partners in diligence depending on sector (infrastructure partners, quant team for DeFi mechanics, CTO for AI/crypto intersection) Founder & Company Profile Preferred Founder Characteristics: Technical expertise required (engineering, research, or deep domain knowledge) Previous experience in Web3, particularly building or researching infrastructure Comfort with on-chain mechanics, mechanism design, and decentralized systems Community building capability (especially for protocols) Long-term vision-aligned founders with patience for Web3 adoption cycles Ideal Company Profiles: Protocol/infrastructure teams with technical differentiation Products solving genuine pain points in developer experience or DeFi mechanics Teams with existing community engagement or network effects potential Projects with clear tokenomics and incentive alignment Companies building at core protocol layers rather than consumer-facing abstractions Geographic Focus: Global with strong network in SF Bay Area, NYC, and emerging hubs. International portfolio reflects Web3's borderless nature, with particular strength in crypto-native geographies. Notable Portfolio Outcomes Significant Exits: Mir Protocol : Acquired by Polygon (zero-knowledge scaling) Lumina : Acquired by BitGo (digital asset OS) ErisX : Acquired by CBOE (institutional crypto derivatives exchange) Major Active Holdings: Ethereum (from earliest stages) Maker/MakerDAO (foundational DeFi lending) Filecoin (decentralized storage network) Cosmos (interoperable blockchain network) 1inch (DeFi liquidity aggregation) Mysten Labs/Sui (Layer 1 with Move VM) Portfolio Depth: 260+ investments spanning 11+ years demonstrates sustained conviction and successful pattern matching. The portfolio includes foundational protocols alongside emerging infrastructure (EigenLayer, Berachain) and AI-blockchain convergence plays (Ritual, Grass, io.net). Competitive Advantages Technical Depth : CTO partner with AI/crypto expertise, research team, and proprietary trading desk provide differentiated technical diligence Community Access : 130,000-member developer network enables early deal flow and product validation Protocol Participation : hack.labs() allows the firm to become first users, validators, and advisors—building deeper relationships than traditional LPs Infrastructure Expertise : Deep experience from earliest stages (Bitcoin, Ethereum) creates pattern recognition advantage Staying Power : Sustained funding and measured deployment style indicate strong LP backing and patient capital Investment Preferences Summary Stage : Seed primary, Series A selective Check Size : $5M-$10M typical (flexible for follow-ons) Sectors : Web3 infrastructure, DeFi, Web3 × AI convergence Lead Tendency : Primarily lead position, selective participation in larger rounds Geographic : Global, SF/NYC network core Decision Timeline : 2-4 weeks Warm Intro : Preferred (hack.summit() relationships valuable) Involvement : Board/advisor seat typical, technical advisement Current Market Position As of February 2026, Hack VC is actively deploying with measured selectivity. The firm's 12-year track record of Web3 participation (since 2014), sophisticated team spanning trading/research/operations, and unique hack.labs() + hack.summit() model position it as a premier destination for infrastructure and DeFi founders with technical depth. The emerging focus on Web3 × AI convergence reflects the firm's ability to evolve with market dynamics while maintaining core conviction in technical infrastructure and community building.