Martin El-Khouri, a senior director at Bertelsmann Investments, discussed the state of venture capital (VC) investments in Web3 during the Proof of Talk conference. Despite regulatory uncertainties and market downturns, investors continue to support new projects in the crypto space.
El-Khouri stated that investments in Web3 serve as a “hedge against disruption,” and he believes that regulations help the industry by providing clarity on what can be built. He also highlighted the growing interest in generative AI and AI startups, but emphasized that blockchain and crypto are becoming more important than ever before. According to him, the main value propositions of Web3 are magnified through generative AI, especially when it comes to AI content creation where blockchain can solve the “double spending problem” without intermediaries and provide provenance to digital assets.
Overall, El-Khouri believes that the current state of the industry allows investors to distinguish between “noise and sound” while investing in Web3. Although it may be difficult to convince executive leadership in large global corporate entities due to the industry’s fluctuating reputation, he thinks that Web3 investments offer a promising path forward for investors.