A16z Crypto invests $50 million in Solana's Jito via private token sale

A16z Crypto, the crypto-focused wing of Andreessen Horowitz, has invested $50 million into Jito, a core protocol on the Solana blockchain. The marquee venture firm received an unspecified allotment of tokens in exchange for its capital injection, fostering “long-term alignment” between the firms. 

“Jito is catalyzing growth for the entire Solana ecosystem through its pace of delivery and BAM's measurable impact on network efficiency,” a16z General Partner Ali Yahya said in a statement, referencing Jito's Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) launched in September. “We’re excited to back Jito and its stellar team’s efforts to accelerate the adoption of decentralized finance.”

The investment is likely one of a16z’s largest crypto investments in recent years, particularly following the post-FTX bear market, though determining the exact numerical value of their deployments is difficult due to limited public disclosures.

Fortune, first to report the news, noted a16z struck a $55 million deal with LayerZero and a $70 million deal with EigenLayer earlier this year. The venture firm also led smaller strategic investments like Poseidon’s $15 million and Catena Lab’s $18 million seed rounds, among numerous other deals.

During the pandemic-era bull market, a16z raised two multi-billion dollar funds to invest in crypto ventures, including its $2.2 billion Crypto Fund III and $4.5 billion Crypto Fund IV . 

Notably, in April 2024, the firm announced it had raised $7.2 billion to invest in American Dynamism ($600 million), Apps ($1 billion), Games ($600 million), Infrastructure ($1.25 billion), and Growth ($3.75 billion), leaving crypto unnamed directly. 

This is not the first time a16z has invested in the Solana ecosystem. In fact, the firm is one of the Solana Layer 1’s earliest backers . Jito is a Solana infrastructure provider that builds MEV and liquid staking tools. 

Jito supports some $2.7 billion in liquid staking activity, according to The Block’s data. Last month, VanEck filed for a JitoSOL exchange-traded fund .