Web3 fundraising in August 2025 totalled $5.7 billion across 143 deals, showing steady market activity even as infrastructure slowed and IPOs returned to the spotlight. At the same time, from regulated exchanges to AI agent marketplaces and storytelling protocols, August captured a cross-section of the market’s current directions. Altogether, the August 2025 Web3 fundraising snapshot highlights the key themes: bullish public listings, frozen infrastructure, and experiments at the edge.
Author: Robert Osborne | X | LinkedIn | Substack
Web3 Fundraising Market August 2025: IPO Summe
Figure 1: Web3 capital deployed and deal count across all venture stages, Jan 2018 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised (Disclosed): $5.7b
- Disclosed Deals: 112
- Total Deals: 143
Beyond the Bullish IPO (see below), deal flow was stable, with balanced distribution across early-stage startups, token launches, and infrastructure.
Market Highlight: Bullish IPO ($1.11b, $5.41b valuation)
As a result, Bullish became one of the few regulated exchanges to make it to public markets. Importantly, the IPO was both a liquidity event and a signal that investors continue to view exchanges as viable long-term businesses, despite regulatory headwinds. Ultimately, whether this becomes “Coinbase 2.0” or simply another venue, billion-dollar raises are rare in crypto venture capital and shaped Web3 fundraising in August 2025.
New Web3 Venture Funds August 2025: Ecosystem Season
Figure 2: Number of Web3 venture capital funds launched and capital raised, Jan 2020 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
New Crypto Venture Funds in August 2025:
- Portal to Bitcoin Ecosystem Fund – $50m: Infrastructure-first, Bitcoin-layer bets.
- Unified Ventures Fund – $30m: Early-stage crypto investments across Asia.
- X Layer Ecosystem Fund (OKX) – $100m: Fuel for OKX’s L2 ecosystem.
- Emerging Crypto VC Fund (Scenius Capital) – $20m: Frontier-stage thesis-driven VC.
- Victus Global Fund – $10m: Focused on early Web3 adoption in emerging markets.
Overall, $210m raised across five Web3 venture funds. August leaned toward ecosystem-aligned vehicles: Bitcoin, L2 networks, AI frontier funds, and regional adoption plays.
Pre-Seed Web3 Fundraising August 2025: AI Agents Go On-Chain
Figure 3: Capital deployed and deal count at pre-seed stage, Jan 2018 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised: $9.82m
- Disclosed Deals: 5
- Median Round Size: $1.96m
Certainly, pre-seed rounds saw less capital allocation. Whilst, this stage was light in volume it was nevertheless bold in concept, with AI-native platforms leading the charge.
Pre-Seed Highlight: YOMIRGO ($5m)
YOMIRGO is building a marketplace for AI agents, issuance, trading, and collaboration governed by smart contracts. Consequently, positioned as a liquidity layer for autonomous digital workers, YOMIRGO reflects how early-stage Web3 fundraising in August 2025 is backing AI-crypto convergence.
Seed Web3 Fundraising August 2025: Subzero Is Hot
Figure 4: Capital deployed and deal count at seed stage, Jan 2018 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised: $125m
- Disclosed Deals: 24
- Median Round Size: $5.21m
Meanwhile, seed rounds held steady, with infrastructure projects dominating again
Seed Highlight: Subzero Labs ($20m)
Subzero Labs is building the Rialo Network, a new L1 designed for real-world data integration. Features include event-driven transactions, RISC-V smart contracts, and Solana VM compatibility. The goal, therefore, is to replace oracles and simplify dApp development. Backers include Pantera, Coinbase Ventures, and Mysten.
Series A Web3 Fundraising August 2025: Small but Strategic
Figure 5: Capital deployed and deal count at Series A stage, Jan 2018 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised: $28.6m
- Disclosed Deals: 3
- Median Round Size: $9.53m
As shown, Series A slowed in August 2025. However, experiments in AI x DeFi stood out.
Series A Highlight: USDai ($13.4m)
USDai is developing an overcollateralised stablecoin backed by GPU infrastructure. By using real compute as collateral, it addresses the AI hardware shortage while offering DeFi new yield primitives. Ultimately, this illustrates how August 2025 Web3 fundraising blended AI with financial innovation.
Private Token Sales August 2025: Creative Capital
Figure 6: Capital deployed and deal count for private token sales, Jan 2020 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised: $102.3m
- Disclosed Deals: 3
Highlight: Story Protocol ($82m)
Story Protocol is building blockchain-native IP rails for licensing, remixing, and AI content rights. With this in mind, its $82m raise is one of the largest private sales of 2025, signalling rising investor conviction in digital IP infrastructure.
Public Token Sales August 2025: Almanak Enters the Chat
Figure 7: Capital deployed and deal count for public token sales, Jan 2020 – Aug 2025. Source: Messari, Outlier Ventures.
- Total Capital Raised: $688.2m
- Disclosed Deals: 29
Highlight: Almanak ($8.45m)
Almanak is building a platform for autonomous agents to design and deploy on-chain trading strategies. As a result, by lowering barriers to quant finance, Almanak reflects how AI-driven DeFi platforms captured investor attention.
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Closing Reflections: Web3 Fundraising in August 2025
As shown above, Web3 fundraising in August 2025 balanced stability with standout highlights. Clearly, the Bullish IPO showed public markets still hold space for crypto exchanges. In summary, ecosystem-driven funds reinforced L2 and Bitcoin alignment. Meanwhile, AI-native infra and agent protocols dominated early rounds. Finally, token activity split: creative private sales like Story Protocol, and public launches experimenting with AI-DeFi hybrids like Almanak.
Overall, August 2025 demonstrated that investor capital remains available, but allocation favours projects at the intersection of AI, infrastructure, and ecosystem alignment. Finally, the month’s $5.7 billion total confirms that even in a cautious climate, Web3 venture capital continues to reward clarity, credibility, and conviction.
The post Web3 Fundraising in August 2025 Snapshot appeared first on Outlier Ventures.
