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Dune Ventures

North America, New York, United States, New York

Description

Dune Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm established in 2021, specializing in early-stage investments within the games and technology sectors. The firm was founded by Amy Wu, a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which notably served as a lead investor in Dune's inaugural fund. This strong backing underscores the firm's credibility and strategic positioning within the venture ecosystem.

Dune Ventures primarily targets pre-seed, seed, and select Series A rounds, focusing on "generational founders shaping games and technology." Their investment thesis is deeply rooted in the belief that interactive entertainment and consumer technology are ripe for disruption and innovation. The firm announced its first fund, Dune Ventures Fund I, with a total capital commitment of $25 million. This capital is strategically deployed to support promising startups at their earliest stages.

The firm is known for writing typical first checks ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million. This range allows them to provide substantial initial capital while maintaining a diversified portfolio across various emerging trends in gaming, Web3, creator economy, and social platforms. Dune Ventures aims to be more than just a capital provider, leveraging its founder's extensive industry network and operational expertise to offer strategic guidance and support to its portfolio companies, helping them navigate the complexities of scaling in competitive markets.

Investor Profile

Dune Ventures has backed more than 22 startups, with 2 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 5 rounds, about 23% of its total and boasts 1 exits across its portfolio.

Investment Focus Highlights

  • Concentrates on Seed, Series A, Initial Coin Offering rounds (top funding stages).
  • Majority of deals are located in United States, India, Colombia.
  • Strong thematic focus on Video Games, Gaming, Information Technology.
  • Typical check size: $500K – $1.5M.

Stage Focus

  • Seed (36%)
  • Series A (27%)
  • Initial Coin Offering (9%)
  • Pre Seed (9%)
  • Series B (9%)
  • Series Unknown (9%)

Country Focus

  • United States (73%)
  • India (9%)
  • Colombia (5%)
  • The Netherlands (5%)
  • United Kingdom (5%)
  • Singapore (5%)

Industry Focus

  • Video Games
  • Gaming
  • Information Technology
  • Software
  • Online Games
  • Pc Games
  • Virtual Reality
  • Blockchain
  • Web3
  • Content Creators
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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn who this investor regularly partners with—both firms and angels—and explore their latest activity.

Who does Dune Ventures frequently co-invest with?

March Capital
North America, California, United States, Santa Monica
Co-Investments: 3
Makers Fund
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 6
Animoca Brands
Asia, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, Cyberport
Co-Investments: 2
Variant
North America, New York, United States, Brooklyn
Co-Investments: 2
Peak XV Partners
Asia, Karnataka, India, Bengaluru
Co-Investments: 2
Transcend Fund
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 2
Galaxy Digital
North America, New York, United States, New York
Co-Investments: 3
BITKRAFT Ventures
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 4
Andreessen Horowitz
North America, California, United States, Menlo Park
Co-Investments: 2
PI
North America, Oregon, United States, Portland
Co-Investments: 2

Which angels does Dune Ventures often collaborate with?

NM
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
HL
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
Dennis Fong
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
Matthew Ball
North America, Canada
Shared Deals: 1
KL
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
KS
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
IA
North America, California, United States, Los Angeles
Shared Deals: 1
AO
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 1
Shared Deals: 2
RW
North America, California, United States, Los Angeles
Shared Deals: 1

What are some of recent deals done by Dune Ventures?

Starform

Seattle, Washington, United States

Starform was started by industry veterans with the goal of changing the way people play games together.

GamingVenture CapitalVideo Games
Series UnknownNov 12, 2024
Amount Raised: $6,000,000
Cartridge

Brooklyn, New York, United States

Cartridge is an infrastructure supplier for verifiable on-chain games and autonomous worlds.

Online GamesPC Games
Series AAug 4, 2024
Amount Raised: $7,500,000
Orbit Technologies

New York, New York, United States

Orbit Technologies develops non-invasive brain-computer interfaces to improve gaming and virtual reality experiences.

GamingVirtual Reality
Pre SeedNov 7, 2023
Amount Raised: $750,000
Joon Health

Oakland, California, United States

Joon Health is a behavior improvement platform for kids, starting with behavior disorders like ADHD, autism, anxiety, and depression.

AppsEducationSoftware
SeedJul 1, 2023
Absurd:Joy

Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Absurd:Joy is a remote collaboration application for flexible working.

Communications InfrastructureInformation TechnologyMeeting SoftwareVirtual Workforce
SeedMar 7, 2023
Amount Raised: $4,000,000
Voldex

Miami, Florida, United States

Voldex is a video game studio focused on user-generated-content.

Content CreatorsGamingPC GamesVideo Games
Series AJan 24, 2023
Convai

San Jose, California, United States

Convai enables characters in virtual worlds with human-like conversation capabilities.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)Machine LearningSoftware
SeedOct 1, 2022
Amount Raised: $5,000,000
UMA

London, England, United Kingdom

UMA is a developer of a game-based learning platform to create engaging and memorable learning experiences for pre-teens and teens.

E-LearningEdTechVideo Games
Pre SeedOct 1, 2022
Minteo

Bogotá, Distrito Especial, Colombia

Minteo is an NFT marketplace.

Cryptocurrency
SeedSep 29, 2022
Amount Raised: $4,300,000
Mighty Bear Games

Singapore, Central Region, Singapore

Mighty Bear is a Singapore-based studio building the next generation of massively multiplayer online mobile games.

Online GamesSportsVideo Games
Initial Coin OfferingJul 26, 2022
Amount Raised: $10,000,000