
When Val Vavilov cofounded his Bitcoin mining company, Bitfury, in 2011, the original cryptocurrency was worth less than $30, a sliver of its roughly $91,000 price today. Since then, Bitfury’s mining ventures spun off into two Nasdaq-listed companies whose combined worth tops $9 billion, while also launching two companies that offer AI infrastructure. Bitfury’s next step? It wants to use its money to invest in the next crop of ethical tech innovators.
The company announced on Tuesday that it would launch a $1 billion investment initiative, where it aims to support mission-driven founders. It aims to spend $200 million in the next year and the rest of the fund in the next several years.