ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media East Network reports, Hong Kong Cyberport disclosed that its community startups successfully raised over HKD 3.7 billion in funding in the year ending September 2024, an increase of 23% year-on-year. Recent high-profile financing completed by Cyberport companies includes KLOOK, Leapstack, Buy&ship, MediConCen, DeBox, among others, with a cumulative total of over HKD 41.2 billion in funding.In addition, HashKey Group, the second licensed virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong, has become the eighth unicorn company in Cyberport, reflecting the investment potential of Web 3.0 technology applications attracting investor support, as well as the effectiveness of Cyberport's efforts to promote the development of the Web 3.0 industry.Hong Kong Cyberport stated that the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum, CVCF, is scheduled to be held from October 24 to 25, focusing on how emerging technologies such as Web 3.0 and AI can help startups and investors break boundaries.

ChainCatcher news, according to Hong Kong media Ming Pao, the Vice Chairman of the Asian Financial Technology Association and a part-time lecturer at the University of Hong Kong's School of Professional and Continuing Education, Chan Wing-fung, stated that asset tokenization has become the hottest application of blockchain in the financial industry. The use of "post-quantum cryptography (PQC)" technology can maintain and even enhance the security of blockchain. Recently, a fintech startup in Hong Kong also announced plans to issue the world's first post-quantum stablecoin, using post-quantum encryption technology to protect transactions and assets. This stablecoin is pegged to the US dollar at a 1:1 ratio and uses post-quantum encryption algorithms to ensure transaction security.

ChainCatcher news, DefiLlama data shows that venture capital funds invested over $659 million in cryptocurrency startups last month, a 3% increase compared to August. Most of the funds were directed towards blockchain infrastructure development, with approximately $457 million raised in September in this sector, accounting for 71.5% of the total financing in the entire crypto ecosystem during the same period, which is on par with August's performance. The blockchain gaming industry saw a significant month-over-month growth, with venture capital funds investing $63 million in blockchain games in September, nearly half of which went to Balance Games, which raised $30 million from companies such as Animoca, a16z, Aptos Labs, and DWF Labs.

ChainCatcher news, Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko shared key points for startup survival on the X platform.He emphasized that the only reason startups fail is running out of funds, and avoiding fund depletion can ensure the company's survival. Yakovenko warned entrepreneurs to be highly cautious of long-term contracts, such as long-term office leases or data center agreements, as these are equivalent to debt. He suggested keeping contract expenditures below 20% of total expenses; otherwise, it can be very dangerous.Yakovenko also pointed out that large teams can quickly deplete funds. He recommended that each employee should justify their value through profit or revenue. If the company has an 18-month cash reserve, it needs to achieve profitability or refinance within 6-12 months; if it is not profitable after 6 months, it may need to cut expenses by 33%; after 9 months, a 50% cut may be necessary. Considering that contract expenditures cannot be reduced, this could lead to layoffs of 50% or even 70%.

ChainCatcher news, TON Accelerator announces the launch of TON:Acc, a new incubation program aimed at supporting startups building on TON.In the first batch of projects for TON:Acc, TON Ventures will select five projects to provide up to $2.5 million in investment to accelerate their development. Over the next three months, these projects will receive support, funding, and expertise to help them develop their business from an idea to a viable product.TON Ventures also plans to launch the TON:Acc Portal ecosystem incubation platform, providing validation, acceleration programs, and mentorship opportunities for early-stage projects.

ChainCatcher message, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong posted on X: "Joining Coinbase is one of the best ways to learn how to start a business. We have invested in about 40 startups founded by former employees.Many outstanding founders also launch products internally at Coinbase (and benefit from the distribution). Founders of startups with enough autonomy within large companies can work wonders."

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, venture capital firm Lemniscap has announced that it has raised $70 million to support early-stage Web3 startups. The fund will invest in various blockchain sectors, including zero-knowledge proof infrastructure, consumer applications, emerging Bitcoin ecosystems, and secure and decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN).Since its establishment in 2017, Lemniscap has invested in over 130 Web3 projects, including well-known protocols such as Avalanche, Fairblock, and Celestia. The company emphasizes a focus on long-term success rather than short-term gains, providing funding and strategic guidance to the startups in its portfolio.According to Pitchbook data, crypto startups raised $2.7 billion in the second quarter of 2024, with total funding for the year expected to reach $10.8 billion, surpassing the $10.1 billion raised in 2023. Although the number of deals has decreased by 12.5%, the scale of investments in potential projects is increasing.

ChainCatcher news, the blockchain platform Fetch.ai, based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, is establishing a center in San Francisco, California, to advance AI technology.The new center's innovation lab will attract early-stage startups dedicated to AI agent solutions, which refer to software that uses artificial intelligence to perform specific tasks or make decisions for users or other systems.According to Fetch.ai, the company will allocate $10 million annually for projects building AI agents on the platform. Funding will be milestone-based, with a cap of $1 million for each project. By 2032, the autonomous AI agent market is expected to reach $88.1 billion.

ChainCatcher news, Jason Zhao, co-founder of the blockchain startup Story, stated that the Layer 1 network customized for intellectual property management is expected to launch later this year.The project is backed by prominent venture capital firms, including Paris Hilton's 11:11 Media, Samsung Ventures, and Andreessen Horowitz.Jason Zhao mentioned that Story was founded in 2023 and has already accumulated over 50 clients who are looking to integrate IP-centric tools into their businesses, including some well-known NFT projects.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, the crypto trading firm and market maker Auros stated in an interview that its newly established venture capital division plans to invest over $50 million of its own capital in early-stage digital asset companies over the next two years. To lead the investment efforts, the company has appointed Julien Auchecorne as the head of Auros Ventures. Auchecorne previously worked at the hedge fund Brevan Howard and the digital asset service platform XBTO International, as well as other crypto and traditional investment firms.Auros CEO Ben Roth stated that prior to establishing the venture capital division, Auros had already invested in a dozen projects since the third quarter of 2023, deploying nearly $20 million in investments. When discussing the company's funding allocation strategy, Auchecorne explained that Auros plans to primarily make "concentrated bets" on seed and Series A financing stage projects.

ChainCatcher news, a16z Crypto's General Counsel Miles Jennings wrote about how to organize decentralization in startups. He proposed three main decentralization frameworks and explained the importance and implementation methods of each framework.Technical Decentralization: Creating a trustless and autonomous ecosystem through blockchain and smart contract protocols. For example, Ethereum needs to protect the system from attacks by validators and node operators, while simple smart contract protocols can achieve technical decentralization by being deployed and immutable.Economic Decentralization: Introducing digital assets makes the Web3 ecosystem more complex. For example, Ethereum uses its digital assets to reward service providers, creating a decentralized economic system. If too much value is concentrated in one person's hands, it could jeopardize the security and utility of the entire system.Legal Decentralization: Decentralization can reduce the risks associated with asset transactions. For instance, decentralized exchanges eliminate the need for intermediaries, making traditional intermediary rules no longer applicable. For digital assets, if the Web3 system can eliminate information asymmetry and reliance on the efforts of managers, then securities laws may no longer apply.Jennings emphasized that in a Web3 system, these three types of decentralization must be considered in conjunction, as changes in one aspect may affect the others, and a delicate balance must be found.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, crypto startups have raised over $100 billion in funding since the end of May 2014. According to DefiLlama data, as of June 16, 2024, the total funding in the cryptocurrency industry reached $101.35 billion. Looking back to May 2014, the funding for industry startups in the first month was only $17.14 million. A decade later, in May 2024, the monthly funding amount increased to $280.25 million.In October 2021, funding for cryptocurrency startups reached a historical peak of over $7 billion, with the second peak being $3.67 billion in February 2022. Research shows that nearly half of the cryptocurrency funding comes from U.S. investors, with the UK and Singapore ranking second and third, respectively.

ChainCatcher news, venture capitalist Tim Draper, who has invested in Coinbase, Ledger, and Tezos, stated that in light of the situation during the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, startups should start using Bitcoin as a way to hedge against risks.

ChainCatcher news, the artificial intelligence inference network Aizel Network announced on the X platform that it has received approval from Google Cloud to join the Google for Startups Cloud program, gaining up to $350,000 in Google Cloud support as well as additional technical and business resources.By joining this program and leveraging Google Cloud's support, Aizel Network aims to accelerate its development in the fields of AI and Web3.