Hack VC Research Document
Executive Summary
Hack VC is a crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2014, making it one of the earliest institutional Web3 investors. Based in San Francisco, the firm uniquely combines traditional venture investment with R&D capabilities through its hack.labs() division, along with ecosystem building through hack.summit(), a developer community of 130,000+ engineers across 157 countries. The firm deploys capital across DeFi, Web3 infrastructure, AI/blockchain integration, and financial infrastructure, with a particular focus on technical founders building at the earliest stages.
Investment Thesis
Hack VC invests in crypto-native teams of VCs, founders, developers, and builders solving fundamental problems in Web3. Their core philosophy is partnering "on- and off-chain at the earliest stages with hackers building the future of the Internet." The firm emphasizes:
- Technical Excellence: Preference for engineering-first teams with deep domain expertise
- Early-Stage Participation: Focus on supporting projects from ideation to global scale
- Active Involvement: Beyond capital provision, the firm leverages its network, research capabilities, and technical expertise
- Ecosystem Building: Understanding that Web3 adoption requires community and developer support
The firm believes in the long-term transformation of the Internet through decentralized technologies, with particular conviction in:
- Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchain infrastructure
- DeFi protocols and financial primitives
- Web3 × AI convergence (emerging focus)
- Interoperability and cross-chain solutions
- Privacy and encryption technologies
Distinctive Capabilities
hack.labs() - Internal R&D Division:
- On-chain crypto network participation and validation
- Venture studio for incubations of portfolio companies
- Quantitative research division with proprietary trading desk
- First-user testing ground for portfolio company products
- This positions Hack VC uniquely as both investor and protocol participant
hack.summit() - Developer Ecosystem:
- 130,000+ developers from 157 countries
- One of the largest Web3 developer communities
- Enables direct relationship with technical founders and community validation
- Source of deal flow and co-investment opportunities
Stage Focus
Hack VC targets early-stage investments with concentration at:
- Seed: Primary focus, $5M-$10M check sizes
- Series A: Selective follow-ons and initial investments, $10M-$25M range
- Pre-Seed: Exceptional teams with significant traction or platform partnerships
The firm maintains a target check size range of $5M-$10M for seed-stage investments but demonstrates flexibility for exceptional teams and follow-on rounds.
Recent Activity & Fund Status
2025 Deployment:
- Deployed approximately $50M across 29 deals
- Maintained selective approach while staying deeply involved with founders
- Recent notable investments include Donut (Nov 2025), Opinion Labs (Feb 2026)
Investment Pace:
- 262 cumulative portfolio companies
- 14 new investments in the last 12 months (as of Nov 2025)
- Latest investment: Opinion Labs (Feb 4, 2026), Series A in prediction market platform
Fund Status: Actively deploying, maintaining measured pace focused on quality over quantity. The firm emphasizes strategic selectivity while maintaining deep founder relationships.
Portfolio Composition & Sector Coverage
Hack VC's 260+ portfolio encompasses three primary categories:
1. Web3 Infrastructure (Majority)
- Layer 1/2 Blockchains: Mysten Labs (Sui), Berachain, Initia, Eclipse, Fhenix, Conduit, Rio Network, Aligned Layer
- Interoperability & Bridging: Hyperlane, Across, AltLayer, Symbiosis, TAC
- Rollup & Scaling: Gelato, Conduit, Metadrop, SOON, Miden
- Core Protocol Innovation: EigenLayer (restaking), Babylon (Bitcoin security), O(1) Labs (ZK), Spacemesh
2. DeFi Protocols (Major Focus)
- Lending/Liquidity: Morpho, Kamino, Goldfinch, Ajna Labs, Cega
- Derivatives & Perpetuals: Vertex Protocol, Perpetual Protocol, Kine, Elixir, Variational, MYX
- Stablecoins & Currency: Stable, 1Money, Noble, M^0
- Yield & Liquidity Management: Hyperdrive, Rio Network, MilkyWay, AlloyX, Summer
3. Web3 × AI (Emerging Focus)
- AI Infrastructure: Ritual (AI coprocessor), Grass (data infrastructure), Exabits (compute network), io.net (GPU networks)
- AI Agents: PIN AI, Theoriq, Zero Gravity, Donut (agentic browser), Glue (work chat)
- Privacy-Preserving AI: Nocturne Labs, Fhenix, Demox Labs
4. Financial Infrastructure
- Market Access: Dinari (asset tokenization), NonCo (brokerage), Republic (private markets), Amber Group
- Trading Infrastructure: Theo (institutional), Dexterity Capital (HFT), Bitwave (tax/compliance), Veridise (security)
- Custody & Services: Anchorage, MobileCoin, Doormat (key management), EthSign (signing)
Team & Partnership Quality
Leadership:
- Alexander Pack, Managing Partner: Co-founder, formerly at Dragonfly (multi-billion Web3 fund in China/US), Bain Capital Web3 lead, hundreds of Web3 startups seeded
- Ed Roman, Special Advisor & Co-founder: 10+ years angel/seed investing (250+ deals), 3x founder with 2 exits, board observer at Pluralsight
- Daniel Bulaevsky, Partner, GC, COO: Legal/governance expertise, Stanford JD, former partner at KLAROS Group
- Roshun Patel, Partner: Leads hack.labs(), DeFi/infrastructure focus, ex-VP DeFi at Genesis Global Trading
- Sean Brown, Partner: Infrastructure & mechanism design focus, led product at UMA Protocol, founding member Across Protocol
- Herbie Fu, Partner: Co-founder Infinity Ventures Crypto (Headline Asia's crypto arm), founder 8 Decimal Capital, MIT dropout
Research & Quant Division:
- Harrison Dahme, Partner, CTO: 10+ years AI/ML experience (since 2010), 9 patents, crypto since 2017, ex-CTO crypto AI company
- Peyman Momeni, Research Partner: Founder Fairblock (cryptography), applied crypto/AI research across multiple institutions
- Shane Barratt, Research Partner: PhD Stanford convex optimization, extensive MEV/trading/HPC experience, proprietary trading firm operator
- Chris Maree, Research Partner: Web3 dev & mechanism research, leads research at UMA Protocol, decentralized derivatives focus
- Ian Masters, Senior Quant Trader: Quantitative market modeling, low-latency infrastructure, ex-Five Rings Capital quant developer
- Borna Shoa, Partner: Leads liquid strategies, DeFi/market microstructure expert, ex-exchange architect Nebula Labs
Venture Partners:
- Niraj Pant, Venture Partner: Co-founder Ritual (AI co-processor), ex-GP Polychain Capital (6 years)
- Scott Moore, Venture Partner: Co-founder Gitcoin, advisor to ENS/zkSync
- Nicole Sun, Venture Partner: Organizer crypto hacker houses, co-founder Zuzalu
- Min Kim, Venture Partner: Head of Ecosystem Halborn, ex-CMO Polygon
Operations & Finance:
- Alex Botte, Partner, Global Head of Investor Relations: Ex-Runa Digital Assets, 8 years at Two Sigma/AQR
- Peter Hans, Partner, Global Head of Business Development: Ex-Head Digital Assets Fidelity, ex-CSO Arca (grew $4M to $600M+)
- Jigar Shah, VP Finance: Ex-Assistant Controller Digital Currency Group
Decision Making & Process
Decision Structure: Partnership-based approach with specialized expertise channels:
- Investment decisions leverage sector-specific partners (DeFi, infrastructure, AI)
- Research and quant team provide technical due diligence
- hack.labs() provides protocol participation validation
Timeline: Decision timeline typically 2-4 weeks for seed rounds, depending on technical complexity and founder background validation
Warm Introductions: Strongly preferred but not required. Network references and hack.summit() community relationships carry significant weight.
Process Involvement: The firm typically involves 2-3 partners in diligence depending on sector (infrastructure partners, quant team for DeFi mechanics, CTO for AI/crypto intersection)
Founder & Company Profile
Preferred Founder Characteristics:
- Technical expertise required (engineering, research, or deep domain knowledge)
- Previous experience in Web3, particularly building or researching infrastructure
- Comfort with on-chain mechanics, mechanism design, and decentralized systems
- Community building capability (especially for protocols)
- Long-term vision-aligned founders with patience for Web3 adoption cycles
Ideal Company Profiles:
- Protocol/infrastructure teams with technical differentiation
- Products solving genuine pain points in developer experience or DeFi mechanics
- Teams with existing community engagement or network effects potential
- Projects with clear tokenomics and incentive alignment
- Companies building at core protocol layers rather than consumer-facing abstractions
Geographic Focus: Global with strong network in SF Bay Area, NYC, and emerging hubs. International portfolio reflects Web3's borderless nature, with particular strength in crypto-native geographies.
Notable Portfolio Outcomes
Significant Exits:
- Mir Protocol: Acquired by Polygon (zero-knowledge scaling)
- Lumina: Acquired by BitGo (digital asset OS)
- ErisX: Acquired by CBOE (institutional crypto derivatives exchange)
Major Active Holdings:
- Ethereum (from earliest stages)
- Maker/MakerDAO (foundational DeFi lending)
- Filecoin (decentralized storage network)
- Cosmos (interoperable blockchain network)
- 1inch (DeFi liquidity aggregation)
- Mysten Labs/Sui (Layer 1 with Move VM)
Portfolio Depth: 260+ investments spanning 11+ years demonstrates sustained conviction and successful pattern matching. The portfolio includes foundational protocols alongside emerging infrastructure (EigenLayer, Berachain) and AI-blockchain convergence plays (Ritual, Grass, io.net).
Competitive Advantages
- Technical Depth: CTO partner with AI/crypto expertise, research team, and proprietary trading desk provide differentiated technical diligence
- Community Access: 130,000-member developer network enables early deal flow and product validation
- Protocol Participation: hack.labs() allows the firm to become first users, validators, and advisors—building deeper relationships than traditional LPs
- Infrastructure Expertise: Deep experience from earliest stages (Bitcoin, Ethereum) creates pattern recognition advantage
- Staying Power: Sustained funding and measured deployment style indicate strong LP backing and patient capital
Investment Preferences Summary
Stage: Seed primary, Series A selective Check Size: $5M-$10M typical (flexible for follow-ons) Sectors: Web3 infrastructure, DeFi, Web3 × AI convergence Lead Tendency: Primarily lead position, selective participation in larger rounds Geographic: Global, SF/NYC network core Decision Timeline: 2-4 weeks Warm Intro: Preferred (hack.summit() relationships valuable) Involvement: Board/advisor seat typical, technical advisement
Current Market Position
As of February 2026, Hack VC is actively deploying with measured selectivity. The firm's 12-year track record of Web3 participation (since 2014), sophisticated team spanning trading/research/operations, and unique hack.labs() + hack.summit() model position it as a premier destination for infrastructure and DeFi founders with technical depth.
The emerging focus on Web3 × AI convergence reflects the firm's ability to evolve with market dynamics while maintaining core conviction in technical infrastructure and community building.