Back in early 2022, the crypto industry was at near-peak frenzy. And Katie Haun, the Department of Justice prosecutor-turned-venture capitalist, was riding high. Haun had just announced she was leaving Andreessen Horowitz to strike out on her own with a first-time crypto fund, which landed her a glossy Fortune magazine cover. By March, she had raised a whopping $1.5 billion across two funds to invest in crypto projects—the largest sum ever raised by a solo female VC. Then the industry blew up.
Since Haun’s funds launched, crypto has nosedived. Numerous projects including Terra and FTX imploded, sending the industry into a downward spiral; meanwhile the venture industry has gone through its own painful pullback amid rising interest rates and unrealistic valuations. And since late last year, Haun has largely avoided the media. This all had me and my colleague Leo Schwartz wondering: Whatever happened to Katie Haun and her $1.5 billion fund?
Leo and I spent the past few months digging, and in our latest feature, we explore how Haun has been navigating the crisis. When she was raising her funds pre-crypto crash, she touted a roughly two year deployment schedule. But as we reported:
Haun Ventures has proceeded more cautiously and now plans to take around three years to spend its cash. As of mid-June, the firm had deployed around 30% of its capital in about two dozen positions, which includes stakes in publicly traded, liquid tokens. Those can include prominent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether, as well as smaller-cap tokens tied to projects that are often included as part of VC investments alongside traditional equity. Haun Ventures declined to name any it holds.
Over that time, the firm’s bets have been split almost evenly between digital tokens and traditional equity, although it has been emphasizing startup investments so far in 2023, according to [Haun Ventures] partner [Sam] Rosenblum.
Among Haun Ventures’ investments so far is NFT creation platform Zora, as well as an investment in a $32 million extension to a Series B round for Aleo, a privacy-focused blockchain network, and an investment in Artemis, a crypto data analytics platform, both of which we reported for the first time. (The firm plans to announce more deals soon.) So far, Haun’s LPs don’t seem too worried about the firm’s pacing. Her investors are massive firms, including the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, taking a flier on crypto: “If this goes to zero, like, it's not going to crush our portfolio,” one LP told us. But as we wrote:
While some may appreciate the firm’s relative caution, there will still be pressure for Haun Ventures to do something with its capital since the firm, like other venture funds, charges a management fee. The industry average for such fees is around 2%. Haun Ventures declined to comment on its fees.
Haun’s relative caution isn’t relegated to just her investing, however. Since the collapse of FTX in November, Haun, who had once courted the media, has largely retreated from the limelight. And over the course of reporting this story, she rebuffed multiple interview requests. It’s in contrast to how Haun has helped publicly boost not only crypto, but her career. And as we report in the story, previous glowing media portrayals have drawn criticism from some of her former colleagues in the law enforcement world.
I’ll let you dig into the full feature here. As for what’s next for Haun Ventures? I think Fred Wilson, cofounder of Union Square Ventures, summed it up best: “When they go back to raise a second fund,” he told us, “they’re going to want to have a really tight story around what they did and how they reacted to the changing market.”
Carlyle earnings slump: The private equity titan reported earnings on Wednesday, and, like Blackstone a couple weeks ago, it suffered hefty year-over-year losses. Carlyle Group’s distributable earnings (those they can pay to shareholders) fell 26% compared to the second quarter in 2022; revenue, meanwhile, is now about half what it was a year ago, as the PE giants continue to feel the strains of the tough dealmaking environment.
Union Square Ventures’ markdowns: VCs have been trimming the values of their portfolios as the downturn continues to batter tech valuations. Union Square Ventures, considered a top-performing VC, has reportedly cut the value of seven of their funds by almost 26% this year, Business Insider reported, according to investment returns for UTIMCO, which they obtained through a public records request. The downturn spares no one.
See you tomorrow,
Anne Sraders
Twitter: @AnneSraders
Email: anne.sraders@fortune.com
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