Equilibrium Group, a leading blockchain engineering firm, has launched Equilibrium Ventures, its new venture capital unit, alongside its first early-stage fund. Equilibrium Ventures Fund I is aiming to raise 30 million euros (approximately $32.5 million), with the firm already securing about 20% of this target in its initial close. Investment partner Mika Honkasalo revealed that $6.5 million has been raised so far, with the full close anticipated by the end of the year.

Founded in 2018, Equilibrium Group has been making strategic investments from its balance sheet since 2020. The establishment of a dedicated venture capital unit was always part of the company's long-term vision, according to Honkasalo, who previously worked at ParaFi Capital and The Block, and founded Access Protocol. He joined Equilibrium Group over a year ago to support its balance sheet investment program, which has now evolved into the venture fund.

The fund’s backers include Equilibrium Group itself and notable limited partners such as Sebastien Borget from The Sandbox, Mask Network, and Jigeum Capital. Equilibrium Ventures differentiates itself with its strong technical expertise, derived from its involvement in building high-profile blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, ZKsync, Starknet, and Celestia. The group has also incubated EUROe, an EU-regulated stablecoin, and Gevulot, a zero-knowledge proofing startup. The venture unit will leverage the skills of over 80 technical experts globally, positioning itself as an engineering partner for both founders and investors.

The Equilibrium Ventures team comprises three members: Mika Honkasalo, Henrik Sundvik (formerly of Bain & Company), and Christopher Ahn (formerly of Molten Ventures). They aim to invest in technology and infrastructure-focused startups, especially those working on advanced cryptographic technologies such as zero-knowledge fully homomorphic encryption.

"We anticipate an acceleration in two major trends that will drive mainstream adoption: faster, more capable blockchains and stronger connections to the real-world economy through assets and stablecoin payments," said Honkasalo. "We believe 'on-chain' will soon become as ubiquitous a term as 'online'."

Equilibrium Ventures Fund I has yet to begin deploying its capital but expects to fully invest the fund within the next 24 months. The fund plans to invest in both equity and token projects, primarily backing pre-seed and seed-stage startups, with some investments in Series A rounds. The typical investment size per startup will range from $250,000 to $1 million.

With the launch of Equilibrium Ventures, Equilibrium Group aims to play a crucial role in fostering innovative blockchain technologies and driving the next wave of digital transformation.