Abu Dhabi-based blockchain platform Venom Foundation and investment manager Iceberg Capital announced that they will allocate $1 billion of funding to Web3 and blockchain companies through a new partnership.

The Venom Ventures Fund is set to invest in protocols and Web3 decentralized applications (DApps) focused on payments, asset management, decentralized finance (DeFi), and GameFi products and services.

The fund is a partnership between layer 1 blockchain solution Venom Foundation and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) investment management firm Iceberg Capital. The latter will look to leverage its existing network to offer incubation programs and industry connections, as well as marketing, listing, technical, legal and regulatory support.

Related: UAE regulator adopts blockchain to speed up trade trials

Iceberg Capital will manage the fund, investing in projects and companies through pre-seed and Series A funding rounds. The partnership aims to accelerate companies developing blockchain, DeFi and Web3 products and services.

In response to questions from Cointelegraph, Venom Ventures Chairman Peter Knez said that the Venom Foundation, its founders, and regional institutional and private investors had seeded capital for the fund. The fund will support companies and projects with a global presence and is not limited to Abu Dhabi-based companies.

The investment fund will seek to attract startups and technology companies to use Venom’s scalable proof-of-stake-based blockchain solution. Knez highlighted the key services that could operate on top of his ADGM-regulated blockchain:

“Payment systems, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins and remittances are core services for which Venom can provide a solution due to our unique combination of technology and business.”

Knez also believes that the platform could power a multitude of use cases, highlighting the potential for micropayment solutions driving Web3 business models and financial inclusion:

“Venom has a vision that developing countries can participate in the labor markets of Western countries.”

Abu Dhabi continues to make moves to become a center for cryptocurrency and blockchain in the Middle East. The capital of the United Arab Emirates published regulatory guidelines for the industry in September 2022 under the purview of the ADGM.

More than 1,500 Web3 companies and organizations are reportedly operating in the UAE, while Abu Dhabi continued to license cryptocurrency exchanges through 2022, including Binance and Kraken.