One of the pioneers of social gaming, Mark Pincus, has announced that his new venture, Reinvent Technology Partners, has raised $33 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z crypto, the venture capital firm’s dedicated crypto fund. Reinvent Technology Partners is a blank-check company that aims to merge with a technology startup and take it public. Pincus, who co-founded Zynga, the maker of popular games like FarmVille and Words with Friends, said that he wants to use his experience in building and scaling consumer internet businesses to help the next generation of entrepreneurs.
According to a press release, Reinvent Technology Partners will focus on finding and partnering with a “category-defining” technology company that has the potential to create long-term value for shareholders and society. The company said that it will leverage Pincus’ network and expertise in gaming, social media, e-commerce, and fintech, as well as the insights and resources of a16z crypto and other investors. Some of the other investors in the Series A round include Ribbit Capital, SV Angel, Slow Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and True Ventures.
Pincus said that he believes that crypto is a “fundamental innovation” that will transform many aspects of the internet and society. He said that he is excited to partner with a16z crypto, which has been at the forefront of investing in and supporting crypto projects and communities. He also said that he is looking for a “visionary founder” who shares his passion for building products that delight millions of users and create positive social impact.
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a16z crypto general partner Katie Haun said that she is impressed by Pincus’ track record of creating and scaling some of the most iconic internet companies. She said that she is confident that Reinvent Technology Partners will be able to identify and support a “breakout” technology company that can benefit from going public through a merger. She also said that she is eager to see how Pincus will apply his insights and experience to the crypto space, which she said is ripe for innovation and disruption.
Reinvent Technology Partners is one of the many special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) that have emerged in recent years as an alternative way for startups to go public. SPACs are shell companies that raise money from investors and then look for a private company to merge with, allowing the target company to bypass the traditional initial public offering (IPO) process. SPACs have become especially popular in the tech sector, where many high-profile companies like Coinbase, DraftKings, Opendoor, and Virgin Galactic have gone public through SPAC deals.
Interestingly, Polkadot, the blockchain platform that aims to connect multiple chains and enable interoperability, is looking to scale up its network of parachains in the future. Parachains are independent blockchains that run in parallel to the main Polkadot chain, called the relay chain. They can have their own rules, features and tokens, but they also benefit from the security and communication provided by the relay chain.
Currently, Polkadot has a limit of 100 parachains that can be connected to the relay chain at any given time. These parachains are allocated through a process of auctions and crowdloans, where projects bid for a slot using their own or borrowed tokens. The slots are leased for a period of 6 to 24 months, after which they have to be renewed or released.
However, Polkadot’s developers have stated that they plan to increase the number of parachains in the future, potentially reaching up to 1,000. This would allow more projects to join the Polkadot ecosystem and create a more diverse and vibrant network of chains. The developers have also hinted at some possible ways to achieve this goal, such as:
Introducing nested relay chains, where a relay chain can host other relay chains that in turn host parachains. This would create a hierarchical structure that could support more layers of chains.
Implementing sharding, where the relay chain is split into smaller pieces that can process transactions in parallel. This would increase the throughput and scalability of the network.
Optimizing the parachain communication protocol, where the messages between parachains and the relay chain are compressed and aggregated. This would reduce the bandwidth and storage requirements of the network.
These are some of the ideas that Polkadot’s developers are exploring to support more parachains in the future. However, they have not given a specific timeline or roadmap for when these changes will be implemented. They have also emphasized that any changes will be subject to rigorous testing and governance processes, involving the community and stakeholders of Polkadot.
Polkadot is one of the most ambitious and innovative projects in the blockchain space, aiming to create a web of interconnected chains that can cooperate and exchange value. By supporting more parachains in the future, Polkadot could become a platform for innovation and experimentation, where diverse projects can coexist and collaborate.
Pincus said that he thinks that SPACs are a “great innovation” that can help entrepreneurs access capital and liquidity faster and more efficiently. He said that he hopes that Reinvent Technology Partners will be able to offer a “unique value proposition” to its future merger partner, by providing not only capital but also strategic guidance, operational support, and access to a global network of partners and customers.