D1 Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
D1 Ventures is a specialized crypto and blockchain venture capital fund focused on powering the future of the open economy. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Beijing, D1 Ventures has positioned itself as a leading investor in decentralized infrastructure, DeFi protocols, and blockchain-based applications. The firm explicitly backs eccentric and unconventional founders who are building the next generation of Web3 applications, with a particular emphasis on market-building services including narrative design and meme propagation as core offerings alongside capital.
Sector Focus
D1 Ventures maintains a highly diversified portfolio across blockchain and crypto sectors:
Primary Focus Areas:
- Blockchain Infrastructure & L1/L2s: NEAR, Moonbeam, Boba Network, Aurora, Polkadot, Arweave, Gear
- DeFi Protocols: Pendle Finance, Dodo, DAM, Sommelier, Orderly Network, Slingshot, Magpie Protocol
- Gaming & Metaverse: Above Land, AITV, Bedlam, Cradles, Lumiterra, OPGames, Portal Fantasy, Fusionist
- Infrastructure & Tooling: The Graph, Arkam Intelligence, Gelato Network, Koii Network, Subsquid, SubQuery
- Social & Identity: Joystream, Subsocial, The Arena, MyShell, Shinkai, Sepana
- Privacy & Security: Mystiko, Risc0, Ruby Protocol
- Cross-Chain Solutions: Connext/Everclear, Rango, Gas, T3rn
Stage Focus
D1 Ventures is primarily an early-stage investor with strong focus on seed and Series A:
- Seed: 32 investments (average $3.78M)
- Series A: 13 investments (average $7.27M)
- Angel: 1 investment
- Later Stages: Selected follow-ons (Series D: 1, Series E: 1)
Check Size
Typical investment range: $100K - $10M+
- Pre-seed to Seed: $100K - $5M
- Series A: $5M - $15M
- Follows selective larger rounds for strong performers
Lead Tendency
D1 Ventures demonstrates a lead orientation:
- Acts as lead or co-lead in majority of their seed rounds
- Participates in larger Series A and Series D rounds with other tier-1 investors (Spark Capital, NewView Capital, Altimeter Capital)
- Strong board participation and value-add approach
- Market-building services position them as active, engaged investors
Recent Activity
Fund is actively deploying with focus on emerging opportunities:
- October 2024: Led $8.325M Seed in Arena (SocialFi), co-led with Blizzard and 4 others
- August 2024: Participated in $9.536M Series A in Rivalz (AI Data Provenance), with Delphi Ventures and 36 co-investors
- April 2024: Participated in $664M Series D in Sigma (cloud analytics), with Spark Capital and others
- May 2023: Led $2.278M Seed in Tanssi (appchain infrastructure) with Arrington Capital and 5 others
- May 2023: Led $5.727M Seed in Moondance Labs (Polkadot development) with Arrington Capital and 5 others
Fund Status: Actively deploying (recent investments in 2024, no 2025/2026 investments tracked yet as of research date)
Portfolio Highlights
Unicorns in Portfolio:
- Sigma (2014): AI-powered reporting and analytics platform, raised $662M total, became unicorn in 2024
- Boba Network (2021): L2 scaling solution for Ethereum
Notable Recent Acquisitions:
- Scopely (acquired April 2023): Mobile game developer, $1.02B in total funding
- SolanaFM (acquired September 2024): Solana blockchain explorer
- KnownOrigin (acquired June 2022): NFT marketplace
Major Portfolio Companies (87 total):
- NEAR Protocol: Layer 1 blockchain, $542M funded, Series D
- The Graph: Blockchain indexing protocol, $60M funded, Series B
- Polkadot: Interoperable blockchain network
- Arweave: Permanent data storage protocol
- Orderly Network: Decentralized exchange on NEAR, $25M funded
- Litentry: Decentralized identity aggregator on Polkadot
- Moonbeam: EVM-compatible Polkadot parachain
- MyShell: AI-native apps discovery platform
Team
Leadership (3 Partners):
- Jennifer Liu: Partner, Based in Chaoyang (Beijing area), focus on portfolio strategy and market analysis
- Tamara Frankel: Partner, Based in Aliso Viejo (California), US-based partner for US market reach; publicly visible as thought leader (published deep dives on Polkadot, DeFi scaling, meme economics)
- Yuchen Shi: Partner, Focus unclear from available data
Team Structure: 6-person team total (3 partners + 3 operational/investment support staff), strategically positioned across Beijing and US (California) to capture both Asian and US crypto markets.
Investment Process & Criteria
Decision Process
Partnership-based decision making with significant involvement from all three partners. No evidence of committee-based approach; appears to be collaborative partnership model.
Founder Preferences
D1 Ventures explicitly backs "autistic and eccentric founders" - unconventional founders with deep technical expertise and contrarian viewpoints. Strong preference for:
- Technical founders with proven crypto/blockchain expertise
- Builders with bold visions for Web3 infrastructure
- Founders comfortable with non-traditional narratives and market-building approaches
- Teams building in underexplored Polkadot and NEAR ecosystems
Warm Introduction Preference
Likely important but not absolute requirement; fund has made significant investments across multiple ecosystems suggesting proactive outreach and relationship building capability.
Geographic Focus
Investments by Country:
- United States: 14 investments (largest category)
- Singapore: 5 investments
- United Kingdom: 4 investments
- China: 3 investments (home market)
- Germany: 3 investments
- Other regions: 17 investments across 23+ locations
Geographic Strategy: Global with emphasis on tech hubs (US, Singapore) and emerging crypto centers, comfortable investing globally across multiple continents.
Typical Involvement
Based on investment patterns and team structure:
- Board seats/Advisor positions: Active in portfolio (thought leaders appear publicly)
- Value-add services: Market-building, narrative design, strategic advising
- Co-investor network: Strong relationships across tier-1 funds (SevenX most frequent co-investor with 10 companies, also common with Delphi Ventures, Arrington Capital, Spark Capital)
Notable Co-Investors
Frequent Co-Investors:
- SevenX (10 co-investments)
- Delphi Ventures
- Arrington Capital
- Electric Capital
- Spark Capital
- NewView Capital
- Binance Labs (invested before D1 in 2 companies)
- MetaWeb Ventures (invested before D1 in 2 companies)
- OKX (invested after D1 in 3 companies)
- Digital Currency Group (invested after D1 in 2 companies)
Post-Investment Investors: 102 investors have invested after D1 in their portfolio companies, indicating strong validation and momentum.
Industry Presence & Thought Leadership
Published Research & Articles:
- Deep dives on Polkadot/Kusama ecosystems
- DeFi 3.0 and economic models
- Layer 2 scaling solution analysis
- Yield farming and liquidity mechanics
- Memetics and culture in crypto
- Early Layer 1 landscape analysis (NEAR focus)
Tamara Frankel appears as visible thought leader with published research on ecosystem dynamics.
Anti-Thesis
Less clear from available data, but inferred from portfolio:
- Likely avoids pure financial speculation plays without product focus
- Unlikely to invest in casino/gambling-focused gaming projects
- Skeptical of non-technical teams in infrastructure plays
- Probably skeptical of highly centralized projects
Fund AUM & Size
Specific AUM not disclosed publicly, but based on:
- 87 portfolio companies over 6 years
- ~8 new investments annually
- Average seed size ~$3.78M, Series A ~$7.27M
- Participation in $664M Series D Sigma round
Estimated AUM likely in $100M-$500M range, though exact figures not publicly available.
Thesis on Open Economy
D1 Ventures' tagline "Powering the Future of Open Economy" reflects:
- Deep belief in decentralization and blockchain as enabling infrastructure
- Focus on protocols and systems that enable permissionless participation
- Market-building approach: understanding that crypto adoption requires narrative, community, and cultural shifts
- Positioning within broader Web3 movement alongside builders, not passive capital providers
Notable Traits
- Creative Brand: ASCII art website, minimalist design, non-traditional aesthetic
- Market Intelligence: Published original research on ecosystem dynamics
- Founder-Friendly: Explicit embrace of unconventional founders suggests unconventional terms/approach
- Multicultural: Beijing HQ with US presence (California), team diversity (Asian, European names)
- Ecosystem Specialists: Heavy concentration in Polkadot (17+ investments), NEAR (12+ investments), strong understanding of specific ecosystems
- Long-term Players: Fund established 2019, active deployment through 2024, suggesting staying power
Investment Decision Timeline
Based on portfolio velocity: Likely 2-4 weeks for signals to strong leads, 4-8 weeks for full due diligence and decision on quality Series A rounds, faster (1-2 weeks) for exceptional seed opportunities in their focus areas.