- Venture capital group Andreessen Horowitz zeroed on crypto to destroy the excessive concentration of Big Tech power that the firm was instrumental in creating, the Financial Times reports.
- Chris Dixon, the founder of Andreessen’s crypto arm, said the internet had led to power concentration among a handful of companies, including Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) Facebook, and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), which the venture capital group backed.
- He acknowledged the unexpected level of concentration, undesirable from societally and from a business point of view.
- Andreessen explored a new investment strategy built around crypto and digital tokens to replace the traditional equity investments made by VC firms.
- Proponents of the Web3 movement claim decentralization will shift the balance of power away from centralized platforms and towards users.
- However, critics warned against Andreessen and others’ exploiting new technology to create a new generation of internet gatekeepers.
- Dixon believes blockchain technology safeguards against anti-competitive activity by building rules into computer-coded smart contracts.
- Andreessen has raised over $7.6 billion since its crypto fund launch in 2018.
- Dixon found crypto as an opportunity for new entrepreneurs and start-ups, as Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
- Dixon acknowledged that the crypto meltdown had made Web3 investments more appealing.
- Metaverse avatar platform Ready Player Me raised $56 million in Andreessen-led funding.
- Amazon shelled out $4.98 million, up 2.5% year-on-year, on lobbying during Q2, driven by a possible enactment of a ruling to crack down on tech giants.
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