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Shima Capital

North America, NA - Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, San Juan

Description

Shima Capital is a prominent venture capital firm headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, dedicated to investing in early-stage blockchain and Web3 companies. Founded by Yida Gao, the firm has rapidly established itself as a key player in the nascent but rapidly evolving decentralized technology space. Shima Capital's investment thesis centers on identifying and nurturing foundational projects that aim to redefine digital ownership, finance, and online interactions, spanning areas such as decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, infrastructure, and the metaverse.

The firm primarily targets pre-seed and seed-stage opportunities, seeking out ambitious founders with innovative ideas and strong technical capabilities. Beyond capital infusion, Shima Capital distinguishes itself by offering extensive operational support to its portfolio companies. This includes strategic guidance on tokenomics design, assistance with talent acquisition and recruiting, and comprehensive support in marketing and community building, leveraging their deep industry network and expertise to accelerate growth and adoption.

A significant milestone for Shima Capital was the successful closing of its debut fund in August 2022, which secured an impressive $200 million in commitments. This substantial fund was backed by a diverse group of limited partners, including major crypto exchanges, family offices, and institutional investors, underscoring the confidence in Shima Capital's vision and investment strategy. By early 2023, the firm had already demonstrated a prolific investment pace, having deployed capital into over 100 projects, showcasing their commitment to building a robust and diversified portfolio within the Web3 ecosystem. Their typical initial check sizes for seed rounds generally range from $500,000 to $2 million, though they can participate in larger strategic rounds.

Investor Profile

Shima Capital has backed more than 141 startups, with 1 new investments in the last 12 months alone. The firm has led 34 rounds, about 24% of its total and boasts 1 exits across its portfolio.

Investment Focus Highlights

  • Concentrates on Seed, Series A, Pre Seed rounds (top funding stages).
  • Majority of deals are located in United States, Singapore, Hong Kong.
  • Strong thematic focus on Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Gaming.
  • Led 1 rounds in the past year.
  • Typical check size: $500K – $2M.

Stage Focus

  • Seed (67%)
  • Series A (9%)
  • Pre Seed (9%)
  • Series Unknown (9%)
  • Initial Coin Offering (5%)
  • Angel (1%)

Country Focus

  • United States (52%)
  • Singapore (8%)
  • Hong Kong (4%)
  • Canada (4%)
  • Israel (2%)
  • Japan (2%)
  • United Kingdom (2%)
  • Australia (1%)
  • South Korea (1%)
  • Liberia (1%)

Industry Focus

  • Blockchain
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Gaming
  • Web3
  • Financial Services
  • Fintech
  • Video Games
  • Software
  • Information Technology
  • Finance
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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 Shima Capital frequently co-invest with?

SV
North America, New York, United States, Brooklyn
Co-Investments: 8
Coinbase Ventures
North America, California, United States, Oakland
Co-Investments: 9
Infinity Ventures Crypto
Asia, T'ai-pei, Taiwan, Taipei
Co-Investments: 11
LD Capital
Asia, Shanghai, China, Shanghai
Co-Investments: 13
Animoca Brands
Asia, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, Cyberport
Co-Investments: 19
Hack VC
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 9
Genblock Capital
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Co-Investments: 9
BB
North America, Florida, United States, Weston
Co-Investments: 15
Double Peak Group
Asia, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Co-Investments: 9
The Spartan Group
Asia, Central Region, Singapore, Singapore
Co-Investments: 12

Which angels does Shima Capital often collaborate with?

Balaji Srinivasan
Asia, Central Region, Singapore, Singapore
Shared Deals: 6
PH
North America, California, United States, Beverly Hills
Shared Deals: 2
AS
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 2
RS
North America, New York, United States, New York
Shared Deals: 2
Sandeep Nailwal
Asia, Indonesia
Shared Deals: 4
Tekin Salimi
North America, New Providence, Bahamas, Nassau
Shared Deals: 2
MD
North America, New York, United States, New York
Shared Deals: 2
SR
Europe, Monaco
Shared Deals: 3
J‏
Shared Deals: 2
JK
North America, California, United States, San Francisco
Shared Deals: 3

What are some of recent deals done by Shima Capital?

Distinct Possibility Studios operates as a game development studio.

Developer PlatformGaming
Series UnknownJul 3, 2025
Amount Raised: $30,500,000
Goldilocks DAO

San Juan, NA - Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico

Goldilocks DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to creating custom defi infrastructure for Berachain.

CryptocurrencyDecentralized Finance (DeFi)Financial Services
SeedAug 15, 2024
Amount Raised: $1,500,000
Ava Protocol

San Francisco, California, United States

Ava Protocol is an intent-based Eigenlayer AVS that seamlessly enables private autonomous transactions for DeFi, NFTs, DePIN and RWA.

BlockchainCryptocurrencyFinTechPaymentsWeb3
SeedJun 11, 2024
Amount Raised: $4,500,000
Stashh

New York, New York, United States

Stashh provides a marketplace that facilitates the buying and selling of NFT collectibles and also includes minting, buying, and trading.

Financial ServicesMarketplaceTrading Platform
Series UnknownJun 4, 2024
Amount Raised: $3,300,000
Smart Transactions

New Castle, Delaware, United States

Smart Transactions is a protocol designed to execute transactions.

BlockchainInformation TechnologySoftware
SeedMay 30, 2024
Amount Raised: $5,500,000
Fortunafi

Miami, Florida, United States

Fortunafi brings institutional yield products to DeFi by rebuilding the capital markets stack from the ground up.

ConsumerFinancial Services
SeedMay 29, 2024
Amount Raised: $9,510,000
StripChain

Miami Beach, Florida, United States

Stripchain is an intent-based interoperability standard that enables chain abstraction.

BlockchainCryptocurrency
Series UnknownMay 22, 2024
Amount Raised: $10,000,000
Humanity Protocol

Hong Kong, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong

Humanity Protocol provide developers with unique-human authentication mechanisms.

BlockchainCyber SecurityWeb3
SeedMay 15, 2024
Amount Raised: $30,000,000
Shiba Inu Coin

New York, New York, United States

Shiba Inu Coin is an Internet Publishing Company.

InternetPublishing
Series UnknownApr 22, 2024
Amount Raised: $12,000,000
Uncharted

Los Angeles, California, United States

Uncharted is a cryptocurrency-based gaming platform helps game developers and companies.

CryptocurrencyGaming
SeedApr 22, 2024
Amount Raised: $1,700,000