Variant

San Francisco, United States · VC · DeepTech Purist

About

Variant Variant was founded in 2020 by Jesse Walden after his tenure as a partner at a16z crypto, and the fundraising trajectory shows rapid scaling: Fund I at $22.5M, Fund II at $110M, Fund III at $450M (split $150M seed plus $300M opportunity fund), with Fund IV targeting $250M as of September 2025. The portfolio is a roster of crypto's most important companies: Uniswap, Phantom, World (formerly Worldcoin), Morpho, Flashbots, Farcaster, Blockaid, and Blackbird. Walden's thesis centers on the "

Industries

Stage focus

SeedSeries A

Geography

USGlobal

Notable investments

  • Uniswap
  • Phantom
  • Farcaster
  • Flashbots

Raising from Variant?

I've worked with founders across the industrial stack. If Variant is on your list, I can help you map the introduction path, sharpen the narrative, and run a tight process.

Talk to Dan