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Tier 2Active

Lightspeed Faction

InfrastructureDePINDeFiAI

Fund snapshot

Lookout tier
Tier 2
Lookout score
85/100
AUM
$285M
Vintage
2022
Check size
$1M – $10M
Stage
Seed, Series A
Role
Leads rounds

Lookout's read

How Lookout reads this fund.

The Lightspeed brand and ~$7.5M average check let Faction anchor institutional-grade rounds smaller crypto funds can't. The WeatherXM lead signals real DePIN conviction. The catch: a single $285M Fund I and an independent-but-tethered structure mean the track record is still young — Tier 2 with Tier 1 ambitions.

Fund thesis

What they back.

A crypto-only early-stage fund pairing deep blockchain conviction with Lightspeed's Silicon Valley platform, backing seed and Series A founders building foundational blockchain and DePIN infrastructure.

Portfolio

Notable bets · 4

3 with realized tokens or exits

WeatherXM

2024
DePINSeries AToken live

Matter Labs (zkSync)

L2EarlyToken live

OpenMind

2025
Embodied AISeedActive

Lens Protocol

SocialSeedToken live

In their orbit

Deals Lookout covers.

Team

Who runs the capital.

Samuel Harrison

@samharr1son

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Former Bessemer and crypto VC; deployed $500M+ across blockchain venture.

Banafsheh Fathieh

@banafsheh

Co-Founder & Managing Partner

Former Paradigm and Bessemer investor.

Co-investors

Who they ride with.

Lightspeed Venture PartnersHack VCRobot VenturesPolychain Capital

Facts public-source · tier & read are Lookout judgment · profile updates continuously