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:

1. Technical Excellence: Preference for engineering-first teams with deep domain expertise
2. Early-Stage Participation: Focus on supporting projects from ideation to global scale
3. Active Involvement: Beyond capital provision, the firm leverages its network, research capabilities, and technical expertise
4. 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

1. Technical Depth: CTO partner with AI/crypto expertise, research team, and proprietary trading desk provide differentiated technical diligence
2. Community Access: 130,000-member developer network enables early deal flow and product validation
3. Protocol Participation: hack.labs() allows the firm to become first users, validators, and advisors—building deeper relationships than traditional LPs
4. Infrastructure Expertise: Deep experience from earliest stages (Bitcoin, Ethereum) creates pattern recognition advantage
5. 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.