Paradigm Raises $1.2 Billion in Shift From Crypto to AI

Cryptocurrency-focused venture capital firm Paradigm raised $1.2 billion in a new fund to invest in spaces like artificial intelligence and robotics, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday (July 8).

“Crypto was the first frontier for us, and it continues to be a really exciting one,” managing partner Alana Palmedo said, per the report. “But there’s so much else happening right now that’s pretty hard to ignore.”

The crypto market has been struggling, the report said. The price of Bitcoin is down nearly 30% this year. Meanwhile, venture funding in the AI sector made up 70% of startup investments worldwide during the second quarter of 2026.

Paradigm has already made numerous investments out of its new fund, including autonomous drone delivery startup Zipline International, valued at $7.6 billion in January, and space defense company True Anomaly, valued at $2.2 billion in April, according to the report.

Paradigm also builds tech of its own, in some cases to launch new companies. Earlier this year, the firm debuted an evaluation tool for AI agents with OpenAI. Managing partner Matt Huang also leads Tempo, a payments blockchain launched in conjunction with Stripe, the report said.

Paradigm is building a prediction markets platform, which is due to become its own independent company, Huang said, per the report. The tech is being developed on top of existing prediction markets platforms such as Kalshi and will not compete with them.

Paradigm never set out to concentrate only on crypto investments, but to capitalize on shifts in the tech landscape. At one time, that meant digital assets, but the focus has now moved to AI, Huang said, according to the report.

“It feels to us like it really changes everything if you’re a founder operating a company or an investor thinking about the future,” he said, per the report.

Meanwhile, it was reported in April that 40 cents of every venture capital dollar invested in crypto companies in 2025 went to companies developing products that combine AI and crypto. That was up from 18 cents of every dollar one year earlier.