/Investor DB

Starkware

operating company · company profile

Netanya · 27 people tracked

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Investment thesis

StarkWare focuses on developing STARK-based (zero-knowledge proof) technology to improve blockchain scalability, security, and trustlessness. Its products include StarkEx, a permissioned Validity-Rollup, and Starknet, a permissionless decentralized ZK-Rollup. The company positions itself as a technology developer serving the broader blockchain ecosystem rather than as a traditional investor.

Source: firm website, verified Sep 27, 2026.

HQ
Netanya, IL
Last 12 months
1 investment
Tracked investments
20
Unicorns
2
Acquisitions
3

Team · 27 people

from the firm's website
Alessandro Chiesa· Co-Founder, Scientific Advisor
Eli Ben-Sasson· Co-Founder, CEO
Uri Kolodny· Co-founder, Board Member
Avi Wigderson· Scientific Advisor
Jack Liu· Advisor
Joseph Lubin· Advisor
Madhu Sudan· Scientific Advisor
Moni Naor· Scientific Advisor
Noam Nisan· Scientific Advisor
Oren Katz· COO
Paul Veradittakit· Board Observer
Scott Aaronson· Scientific Advisor
Shafi Goldwasser· Scientific Advisor
Shubhangi Saraf· Scientific Advisor
Swastik Kopparty· Scientific Advisor
Tom Brand· Starknet General Managerin
Tom Glocer· Advisor

Founder mafia

5 people who came through Starkware went on to found or lead other companies.

What they invest in

from 14 of 20 portfolio companies

Crypto & Web3 ×7Fintech ×7AI & Machine Learning ×3Consumer ×3Developer Tools ×3SaaS ×3Cybersecurity ×1Data & Infrastructure ×1

HQs:United States×6Australia×1France×1Cayman Islands×1

Investments · 20 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 12024 · 42023 · 32022 · 42021 · 32018 · 116 dated

Argentargent.xyzin𝕏Apr 2022 · $40M

A consumer card program where members pick a community (such as a sports team) and earn points and a share of revenue for that community on everyday purchases like groceries, coffee, and games.

ConsumerFintech

Gerald Goldstein(Founder)Itamar Lesuisse(Founder)Julien Niset(Founder)

Co-investorsIndex VenturesMetaplanetParadigmAnimoca BrandsCreandumFabric Ventures+8 more

Cartridgecartridge.gg𝕏Aug 2024

Cartridge provides infrastructure for onchain games, including a game-native wallet and identity system (Cartridge Controller) and a deterministic onchain game engine (Dojo Engine).

Crypto & Web3Developer ToolsGaming

Co-investorsAlliance DAO (ex DeFi Alliance)Bitkraft Esports VenturesChapter OneFabric VenturesSpice CapitalDune Ventures+3 more

Decagondecagon.aiin𝕏Series A · Jun 2024 · $30M

Decagon provides AI agents that enable businesses to deliver personalized customer experiences at scale.

AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSSan Francisco, US

Jesse Zhang(Founder)inIvan Zhou(Director)inJesse Zhang Ashwin Sreenivas(Founder)

BoardAaref Hilaly(Director)inAshwin Sreenivas(Founder)in

Co-investors515 VenturesA*AccelACME CapitalAndreessen HorowitzAtacama Ventures+18 more

dYdXdydxopsdao.com𝕏Jun 2021 · $65M

The dYdX Operations subDAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that manages legal contracts, community infrastructure, and governance operations for the dYdX Chain through the Digital Operations Foundation, a Cayman Islands-based entity.

Crypto & Web3FintechCayman Islands, KY

Co-investorsKindred Ventures1confirmationAndreessen HorowitzDeFiance CapitalElectric CapitalKronos Research+4 more

Focus Treefocustree.appin

FocusTree is a mobile study app that offers a study timer with automatic distraction blocking, spaced-repetition flashcards, and social features like shared digital gardens and group challenges.

ConsumerEdTechSocialParis, FR

Gabin B(Founder)

Co-investorsFermionVOLT CAPITAL

Fordefifordefi.comin𝕏Nov 2022Acquired

Fordefi provides an MPC (multi-party computation) wallet with DeFi-specific features for institutional users such as blockchain investment funds, supporting multi-chain token strategies.

Crypto & Web3CybersecurityFintech

Josh Schwartz(Founder)inJosh shwartz(Founder)inDima Kogan(Founder)Michael Volfman(Founder)

Co-investorsDelta BlockchainDigital Currency GroupElectric CapitalLemniscapLightspeed Venture PartnersM12 (Microsoft's Venture Fund)+9 more

Gizagizatech.xyzin𝕏Jul 2023 · $3M

Giza builds infrastructure for autonomous financial agents that handle market participation—perception, memory, and execution—on behalf of users who define intent and constraints.

AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3Fintech

Co-investorsArrington CapitalCoinbase VenturesCoinFundEdessa CapitalGalaxy Digital Assets FundGalaxy Ventures+4 more

Matchboxdaomatchboxdao.comAug 2022

MatchboxDAO is a blockchain gaming DAO building and incubating on-chain games and developer tooling on StarkNet.

Co-investorsBitkraft Esports VenturesLemniscap1kxBig Brain HoldingsC Squared VenturesChapter One+7 more

ParaSpaceparaspace.com.auin

ParaSpace is a Brisbane-based, Techstars-backed startup providing an IoT device and app for digital safety and maintenance inspection checklists on heavy machinery in high-risk industries like construction and mining.

Brisbane, AU

Co-investorsTechstarsSequoia Capital

Paycrestpaycrest.ioin𝕏Jan 2026 · $404K

Paycrest is a payment routing protocol that unifies fiat and stablecoin payments, offering onramp and offramp via a single Sender API and on-chain Gateway smart contracts, with automatic routing across a network of liquidity providers.

Crypto & Web3Developer ToolsFintech

Co-investorsLava Ventures Ltd.MicrotractionHashed Emergent

Rocksetrockset.comin𝕏Series A · Nov 2018 · $19Macquired by OpenAI · Jun 2024

Rockset provides a real-time analytics database with data indexing and querying capabilities for users, developers, and enterprises to access live information for AI applications.

AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureSan Mateo, US

Venkat Venkataramani(Founder)inDhruba Borthakur(Founder)inTudor Bosman(Founder)inShruti Bhat(Founder)in

BoardJerry Chen(Board Member (Greylock Partners))inMike Vernal(Board Member)in

Co-investorsGreylock PartnersIcon VenturesKhosla VenturesSequoia CapitalGlynn Capital ManagementK5 Global

Snapshotsnapshot.orgNov 2021

Snapshot is an open-source, off-chain gasless voting client that DAOs use to run token- and NFT-based governance proposals.

Co-investorsCoinbase VenturesDeepTech VenturesLongHash Ventures1kx

Statsigstatsig.comin𝕏Series A · Aug 2021 · $10MAcquired

Statsig provides a feature management and experimentation platform that enables teams to control software releases through gradual rollouts and A/B testing.

Developer ToolsSaaSBellevue, US

Vijaye Raji(Founder)

Co-investorsICONIQMadrona Venture GroupMadrona Venture LabsScribble VenturesSequoia CapitalSunflower Capital Management Fund+3 more

Switchboardswitchboardinsure.comMay 2024 · $7.5M

Switchboard is a commercial insurance brokerage that uses carrier-matching technology, paired with experienced brokers, to find and compare coverage options across hundreds of standard, specialty, and wholesale carriers.

FintechInsurTechSaaS

Co-investorsGutter CapitalAptos LabsArche Capital VentureAscensive AssetsBreed VCCleo Capital+7 more

Tanxbrine.fi𝕏Sep 2023 · $16.5M

A cryptocurrency compliance and security platform focused on enabling secure and compliant operations in the crypto sector.

Crypto & Web3

Co-investorsElevation CapitalPantera CapitalGoodwater Capital

Usualusualwines.com𝕏

Usual Wines produces small-batch sparkling wine made from sustainably farmed grapes in California's North Coast region, sold direct to consumers with no added sugar and minimal processing.

ConsumerDirect to ConsumerFoodTechNapa, US

Co-investorsBranded Strategic HospitalityAVID3Bing VenturesBreedFlowdeskGSR+2 more

Usualusual.moneyin𝕏

Usual Protocol is a decentralized finance system built around a governance token (USUAL) that represents ownership of protocol revenue backed by US Treasury Bill collateral.

Crypto & Web3Fintech

Pierre Person(Founder)inAdli Takkal Bataille(Founder)Hugo Salle de Chou(Founder)

Co-investorsFourth Revolution Capital (4RC)Gravity TeamHypersphere VenturesIOSG VenturesLBANK LabsAVID3+7 more

zkLendzklend.comMar 2022 · $5M

Money-market protocol on StarkNet

Jane Ma(Founder)in

Co-investorsDWeb3 CapitalAlameda ResearchAmber GroupDCVC (Data Collective)TPS Capital

Other

Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.

Cartridge Gaming CompanyUnblocked

Exits · 3

3 acquisitions · showing 1

Rocksetacq. by OpenAI

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Frequently asked questions

How many investments has Starkware made?
Starkware has 20 tracked investments, 3 of which have exited, including 1 dated in the last 24 months.
What sectors does Starkware focus on?
Starkware focuses on Crypto & Web3, Deep Tech.
Where is Starkware located?
Starkware is headquartered in Netanya, IL.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Godfather of ZK and Starkware CEO, Eli Ben-Sasson: Why Crypto Can’t Go Mainstream Without Privacy - YouTube

The Aubservation · Eli Ben-Sasson · youtube.com

#87: Eli Ben-Sasson, CEO of StarkWare & Co-founder of Zcash - YouTube

House of ZK · Eli Ben-Sasson

Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-Founder at StarkWare on trust-minimized bridges secured by cryptographic proofs.

WEB3 INSIGHTS: Podcast Series · Eli Ben-Sasson

Starkware, ZK, and Bitcoin With Eli Ben-Sasson

The Gwart Show · Eli Ben-Sasson

Keynote by Eli Ben-Sasson, Co-founder and CEO of Starkware - YouTube

Altlayer · Eli Ben-Sasson

Eli Ben-Sasson (StarkWare) - "State of Stwo" - YouTube

IC3 Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts · Eli Ben-Sasson

Images

Starkware photo

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