On December 10, 2024, OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, a leading global crypto asset exchange and on-chain technology company, announced a $5 million investment in TON Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on accelerating the growth of The Open Network (TON) blockchain ecosystem. The investment aims to build a network of experienced developers to promote the implementation of best practices in TON application development.
This initiative complements the $10 million Telegram Growth Hub launched by OKX Ventures in partnership with The Open Platform and Folius Ventures, which focuses on increasing technical expertise and development standards. With direct access to Telegram’s 950 million monthly active users, and successful mini-apps such as Notcoin, OKX Racer, and Catizen, TON demonstrates strong potential for mass adoption.
TON Ventures is led by former TON Foundation executives Ian Wittkopp (Head of Acceleration Program) and Inal Kardan (Head of Games), and is focused on supporting early consumer applications built on TON, with a focus on decentralized finance, games, creator economy, and infrastructure projects. The fund has achieved significant results in early investments, including supporting the development of platforms such as DeLabs and Goat Gaming, promoting the construction of creator economy infrastructure such as Memetics, and helping the Telegram community create a mini economy. In addition, TON Ventures has invested in AI applications such as Grably, which uses TON and Telegram to obtain data to support AI models.
Jeff Ren, Partner at OKX Ventures, said: “As one of the early supporters of TON, our investment and partnership with TON Ventures further demonstrates our commitment to cultivating an ecosystem of experienced developers who understand both technical best practices and the user experience requirements of Telegram native applications. This investment, along with our recently launched Telegram Growth Hub, reflects our long-term belief in TON’s potential to drive mainstream adoption of on-chain technology. We look forward to working closely with the founding team of TON Ventures, whose expertise in the ecosystem will be an important driving force in scaling the next generation of TON native applications.”
Ian Wittkopp, Partner at TON Ventures, said: “The OKX Ventures team was one of the earliest supporters of TON’s core values, which is to combine Telegram’s social network with TON’s blockchain technology to create a vibrant ecosystem of Web3 consumer applications that will attract millions of users. They have done a great job in attracting top developers and providing financial support, which has driven the rapid development of the TON ecosystem. We are very excited to deepen our partnership with the OKX Ventures team and look forward to working closely together for many years to come.”
TON Ventures has successfully raised $40 million in initial funding, led by founders Ian and Inal with their deep ecosystem expertise. The fund typically provides investments of up to $500,000 for early-stage projects, while also being flexible to larger investment opportunities. In the coming months, TON Ventures will focus on supporting the development of mid-core gaming experiences, expanding monetization tools for creators, and driving further growth in the TON decentralized finance space.
About OKX Ventures
OKX Ventures is the investment arm of OKX, a leading global crypto exchange and Web3 technology company. It focuses on discovering high-quality blockchain projects around the world, supporting cutting-edge technological innovation, promoting the healthy development of the blockchain industry, and investing in projects with long-term value. OKX Ventures is committed to supporting entrepreneurs in the blockchain industry, helping them build innovative companies, and providing global resources and rich experience for projects. For more information, please visit the OKX Ventures official website .
About TON Ventures
TON Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on driving innovation in The Open Network (TON) ecosystem, supporting early-stage innovative startups built in the unique design space of TON and Telegram. TON Ventures provides financial investment, operational support, ecosystem expertise, and opportunities for projects to connect with top industry partners around the world. By facilitating close collaboration between investors and projects, TON Ventures is committed to accelerating the mass adoption of decentralized technologies and empowering the next generation of Web3 entrepreneurs. For more information, please visit: tonventures.io .
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