Former TON Foundation Executive Launches $40 Million TON Ventures Fund

A new venture capital firm, Open Network Ventures, has officially launched a $40 million fund to support early-stage crypto projects within the TON ecosystem, according to Cointelegraph. The new venture capital firm was founded by a former senior member of the TON Foundation and aims to connect investors with builders to foster growth and innovation at TON.

The press release states that TON Ventures will focus on consumer apps that utilize Telegram's social platform: “TON Ventures will focus on Telegram's social graph, the Telegram mini-App, and the tools and infrastructure to support founders in building mass-appeal apps. ” In addition to the financial support provided by New Ventures, selected projects will be able to “leverage the team's global resources and extensive experience.” Selected projects will also receive a number of benefits, including “Telegram advertising, media support, strategic partnerships,” and more.

Early members of the TON Foundation and “former TON builders” founded the new venture capital firm, combining their previous experience backing successful TON Web3 games such as Gatto and Catizen, with former head of gaming at the TON Foundation, Inal Kardan, who will lead TON Ventures.