OKX Ventures invests $5 million in TON Ventures

• This investment further demonstrates OKX Ventures' deep support for the TON ecosystem, following the launch of the $10 million "Telegram Growth Hub"

• The $5 million investment aims to build a network of senior developers to develop best practices for TON applications.

On December 10, 2024, OKX Ventures, the investment arm of OKX, a leading global crypto asset exchange and on-chain technology company, announced a $5 million investment in TON Ventures, a venture capital fund focused on accelerating the growth of The Open Network (TON) blockchain ecosystem. The investment aims to build a network of senior developers to promote the implementation of best practices for TON application development.

This initiative complements the $10 million Telegram Growth Hub launched by OKX Ventures in partnership with The Open Platform and Folius Ventures, which focuses on improving technical expertise and development standards. With direct access to Telegram's 950 million monthly active users and successful mini-apps such as Notcoin, OKX Racer and Catizen, TON demonstrates strong potential for mass adoption.

TON Ventures, led by former TON Foundation executives Ian Wittkopp (Head of Acceleration Program) and Inal Kardan (Head of Games), focuses on supporting early consumer applications built on TON, with a focus on decentralized finance, games, creator economy, and infrastructure projects. The fund has achieved remarkable results in early-stage investments, including supporting the development of platforms such as DeLabs and Goat Gaming, promoting the construction of creator economy infrastructure such as Memetics, and helping the Telegram community create a mini economy. In addition, TON Ventures has invested in AI applications such as Grably, which uses TON and Telegram to obtain data to support AI models.

OKX Ventures Partner Jeff Ren said: "As one of TON's early supporters, our investment and partnership with TON Ventures further demonstrates our commitment to cultivating an ecosystem of experienced developers who understand both technical best practices and the user experience needs of Telegram native applications. This investment, along with our recently launched Telegram Growth Hub, reflects our long-term belief in TON's potential to drive on-chain technology mainstream. We look forward to collaborating with the TON Ventures founding team, whose expertise in the ecosystem will be an important driving force in scaling the next generation of TON native applications."

TON Ventures Partner Ian Wittkopp said: "The OKX Ventures team was one of the first supporters to recognize TON's core values, which is to combine Telegram's social network with TON's blockchain technology to create a vibrant Web3 consumer application ecosystem that will attract millions of users. Their outstanding performance in attracting top developers and providing financial support has driven TON's The rapid development of the ecosystem. We are very excited to deepen our cooperation with the OKX Ventures team and look forward to close collaboration in the years to come."

TON Ventures has successfully raised $40 million in initial funding and is led by founders Ian and Inal with their deep ecosystem expertise. The fund typically provides investments of up to $500,000 for early-stage projects, while also being flexible to respond to larger investment opportunities. In the coming months, TON Ventures will focus on supporting the development of mid-core gaming experiences, expanding creators' monetization tools, and driving further growth in the TON decentralized finance sector.

About OKX Ventures

OKX Ventures is the investment arm of OKX, a leading global crypto asset exchange and Web3 technology company, focusing on discovering high-quality blockchain projects around the world, supporting cutting-edge technological innovation, promoting the healthy development of the blockchain industry, and investing in projects with long-term value. OKX Ventures is committed to supporting entrepreneurs in the blockchain industry, helping them build innovative companies, and providing projects with global resources and rich experience.

About TON Ventures

TON Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on driving innovation in The Open Network (TON) ecosystem, supporting early-stage innovative startups built in the unique design space of TON and Telegram. TON Ventures provides financial investment, operational support, ecosystem expertise, and opportunities for projects to connect with top industry partners around the world. By facilitating close collaboration between investors and projects, TON Ventures is committed to accelerating the mass adoption of decentralized technologies and empowering the next generation of Web3 entrepreneurs.