OpenSea, the operator of an online marketplace for crypto collectibles and NFTs, launched OpenSea Ventures, a corporate investment arm led by OpenSea’s co-founder Alex Atallah to support emerging protocols, companies, and ideas that plan to improve the web3 ecosystem through NFTs, decentralized systems, and new blockchain applications. 

OpenSea Ventures’ investments will primarily focus on four main areas: 1) applications with multichain capabilities for both fungible and non-fungible items, 2) projects that create and support NFT-related protocols, 3) social and gaming projects that facilitate crypto and NFT distribution, and 4) NFT aggregators and analytics support providers for OpenSea and other NFT marketplaces. In addition to funding, portfolio companies will have access to OpenSea’s venture partners such as a16z, Standard Crypto, Animoca Brands, Electric Capital, and Alchemy Ventures.

The company also announced its Ecosystem Grants program to support developers, creators, and members to fund community ideas to expand the web3 ecosystem. Under this program, resources will be allocated to three main areas: 1) development of tools to improve the user experience in trading NFTs and enhance the creativity of NFT creators, 2) projects to support, onboard, and educate new users in the NFT space, and 3) projects that improve NFT accessibility and inclusivity.