The Open Network Ventures (TON Ventures), a new venture capital firm founded by former senior members of the TON Foundation, has officially announced the launch of a $40 million fund to support early crypto projects within the TON ecosystem. TON Ventures will focus on consumer applications that leverage the Telegram social platform, including Telegram applets. In addition to providing financial support, selected projects will also receive a number of resources such as Telegram advertising, media support, and strategic partnerships.
TON Ventures is led by Ian Wittkopp, former director of TON Accelerator, and Inal Kardan, former head of gaming at the TON Foundation. It is worth noting that the TON core team recently launched the W5 smart wallet standard in cooperation with Tonkeeper, which supports gas-free transactions on the TON blockchain, further lowering the threshold for users to enter the TON ecosystem.