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Peter Thiel's Founders Fund takes a stake in crypto accelerator Alliance

Crypto accelerator Alliance has received an investment from Peter Thiel's venture capital firm, Founders Fund, which manages over $12 billion in total assets.

Founders Fund has made a "strategic long-term investment" in Alliance, the crypto accelerator said Wednesday, without disclosing the size of the investment.

It is a "minority stake," Alliance co-founder Imran Khan told The Block when asked — declining to specify the exact percentage. Khan said the transaction took place last October, with the partnership details finalized in January.

Though Alliance had already listed Founders Fund as an investor on its website around two months ago, Khan added that the news is now being publicly disclosed.

The Founders Fund-Alliance deal

As part of its investment, Founders Fund will provide support to Alliance's portfolio companies.

"We're investing in and partnering with Alliance DAO because we believe there is a need for crypto-specific accelerators," Joey Krug, partner at Founders Fund, told The Block. "Our partnership focuses on supporting Alliance rather than starting our own accelerator, which we think aligns better with founders' long-term interests. We'll act as a resource for Alliance companies, and look forward to investing in promising startups coming out of the program," Krug added.

Krug joined Founders Fund last year after spending nearly six years at the crypto venture capital firm Pantera Capital as co-chief investment officer.

Alliance Fund III

Founders Fund's investment in Alliance comes as the crypto accelerator is in the process of raising its third fund. Earlier this month, The Block reported that Brevan Howard Digital and Galaxy Digital each invested $10 million in Alliance Fund III's first close, with the fund aiming to raise an additional $80 million by July.

Khan clarified that Founders Fund hasn't invested in Alliance's funds but has taken a stake in the accelerator.

Besides Founders Fund, venture capital firm Initialized, an investor in companies like Coinbase and Talos and with assets under management of over $3 billion, also holds a minority stake in Initialized since 2022, Khan revealed.

Alliance was founded in 2020 and has accelerated 12 cohorts with over 200 startups. The accelerator has backed some high-profile startups, which have a combined valuation of billions of dollars, it said. Its portfolio includes projects such as Arbitrum, Immutable X, Axie Infinity and Tensor.

In addition to Founders Fund, Brevan Howard Digital and Galaxy Digital, Alliance's other investors include billionaire Mark Cuban, Jump Capital, Solana Labs co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Visa head of crypto Cuy Sheffield.