NAUT tracks 27 companies in the Variant portfolio, from Polygon, Aptos, Uniswap and Phantom to Atum and Takenos, across 34 round records under its Variant investor row dated from August 2020 to November 2026. The median of the 33 records with an amount is $17M, and Variant leads 3 of the 34 on NAUT's record: the seeds of Atum and Tenor Finance, and a $10.5M seed at Sapien.
Data note. Read on 14 November 2026 from NAUT's own database: every round where NAUT records Variant as a backer. NAUT holds the fund under 1 investor row, and all 34 backer records sit on live company pages, so none is left out. 10 records carry no announcement date, so the window comes from the 24 dated ones, and 1, Tenor Finance's extended seed, carries no amount. Aztec Network holds 4 records: 2 undated ones repeat the type and amount of its 2 dated ones ($17M Series A, $100M Series B) and may be the same rounds. Sector tags are NAUT's, and 1 company can carry several, so the sector rows add up to more than 27. 12 of the 34 records were put to outside reports: 7 confirmed Variant's part with wording the check found on the page or a second source, and those are the ones cited here; 4 more drew a confirming report whose wording the check could not match on the page, so they are not cited; and for 1, Euler Finance's, the report's date differs from the day NAUT stores, so that day is not printed. The other 22 records were not checked. Written by NAUT Research.
What is in the Variant portfolio, by sector?
DeFi is the largest group, with 9 of the 27 companies, and infrastructure comes next with 6. Averages use only the records with an amount, so they are NAUT's record, and 1 large round moves a small group: Polygon's $450M sets most of the infrastructure figure.
| Sector tag | Companies | Records | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeFi | 9 | 13 | $40.7M (12 with an amount) |
| Infrastructure | 6 | 7 | $104.6M |
| L1/2/3 | 3 | 6 | $80.7M |
| Privacy | 3 | 6 | $80.7M |
| SocialFi | 3 | 3 | $55.2M |
| Wallet | 2 | 4 | $66.7M |
| Payment | 2 | 2 | $7.1M |
| AI | 2 | 2 | $20.3M |
| DEX | 1 | 2 | $88M |
| CEX | 1 | 2 | $88M |
| Prediction Market | 1 | 1 | $15M |
| Neobank | 1 | 1 | $7M |
| Stablecoins | 1 | 1 | $1.7M |
| Money Market | 1 | 1 | $1M |
| RWA | 1 | 1 | $1M |
| No sector tag | 1 | 1 | $6M |
The L1/2/3 and Privacy rows hold the same 3 companies: Scroll Network, Aztec Network and ZkSync. The DEX and CEX rows are both Uniswap, which NAUT tags as both. IndiGG carries no sector tag.
Which companies has Variant backed?
These are the 27 Variant fund investments on NAUT, ranked by the largest single record NAUT holds for each. Each name opens its NAUT page, with its team and its rounds. Sector tags are in the table above. The token column is NAUT's launched-token flag, with the stored ticker where the flag is off.
| Company | Records | Largest | Token |
|---|---|---|---|
 Polygon |
1 | Funding round, $450M, Feb 2022 | No (ticker POL) |
 Aptos |
1 | Strategic, $200M, Mar 2022 | APT |
 ZkSync |
1 | Series C, $200M, Nov 2022 | ZK |
 Uniswap |
2 | Series B, $165M, Oct 2022 | UNI |
 Phantom |
3 | Series C, $150M, no date stored | No |
 Farcaster |
1 | Series A, $150M, no date stored | No |
 Aztec Network |
4 | Series B, $100M, Dec 2022 | AZTEC |
 Scroll Network |
1 | Series B, $50M, Mar 2023 | SCR |
 Euler Finance |
1 | Funding round, $32M, Jun 2022 | EUL |
 Recall Network |
1 | Series A, $30M, Feb 2022 | RECALL |
 Magic Eden |
1 | Series A, $27M, Mar 2022 | ME |
 blackbird |
2 | Series A, $24M, Oct 2023 | No (ticker FLY) |
| Rialo (Subzero Labs) | 1 | Seed, $20M, no date stored | No |
 Hyperlane |
1 | Seed, $18.5M, Sep 2022 | HYPER |
 Lens Protocol |
1 | Seed, $15M, no date stored | No |
 Cascade |
1 | Cascade Exchange round, $15M, no date stored |
No |
 Atum |
1 | Seed, $13.5M, Sep 2026 | No |
 Sapien |
1 | 2nd seed, $10.5M, no date stored | SAPIEN |
 Yield Protocol |
1 | Series A, $10M, Jun 2021 | YIELD |
 DIMO |
1 | Funding round, $9M, Feb 2022 | DIMO |
 Gro DAO |
1 | Seed, $7.1M, Mar 2021 | No (ticker GRO) |
 Takenos |
1 | Extended seed, $7M, Nov 2026 | No |
 IndiGG |
1 | Funding round, $6M, Jan 2022 | No (ticker INDI) |
 Reflexer Ungovernance |
1 | Seed, $1.68M, Aug 2020 | FLX |
 Goldfinch |
1 | Funding round, $1M, Feb 2021 | GFI |
 Friends With Benefits |
1 | Funding round, $0.7M, May 2021 | FWB |
 Tenor Finance |
1 | Extended seed, no amount stored, Jul 2026 | No |
15 of the 27 carry NAUT's launched-token flag. Of the other 12, 4 hold a stored ticker (Polygon, blackbird, Gro DAO and IndiGG), and 8 carry neither a flag nor a ticker. Phantom's other records are a $109M Series B and a $0.9M Series A, both undated, and blackbird's other is an $11M seed from October 2022.
How big is a Variant round?
The median of the 33 records with an amount is $17M and the mean is $60.0M, pulled up by 9 records of $100M or more. Together they come to $1.98B on NAUT's record.
| Round size | Records | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5M | 4 | Friends With Benefits $0.7M, Goldfinch $1M, Reflexer Ungovernance $1.68M |
| $5M to under $25M | 16 | IndiGG $6M, Atum $13.5M, Hyperlane $18.5M |
| $25M to under $100M | 4 | Magic Eden $27M, Euler Finance $32M, Scroll Network $50M |
| $100M and up | 9 | Uniswap $165M, Aptos $200M, Polygon $450M |
The other 14 companies with an amount run from $20M at Rialo (Subzero Labs) down to $0.7M at Friends With Benefits, and Tenor Finance's round has no amount stored.
Which rounds did Variant lead?
On NAUT's record Variant leads 3 of the 34 records: its lead flag sits on Atum's seed and Tenor Finance's extended seed, and Sapien's NAUT summary names Variant as lead of its $10.5M round. Of the 7 outside reports cited here, 2 name Variant as lead, and 5 show it joining a round another firm led or as an existing backer.
| Company | Round | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atum |
Seed, $13.5M, Sep 2026 | Lead | NAUT lead flag and Crypto Briefing |
| Tenor Finance |
Extended seed, Jul 2026 | Lead | NAUT lead flag |
| Sapien |
2nd seed, $10.5M | Lead | NAUT company summary |
| Hyperlane |
Seed, $18.5M, Sep 2022 | Lead | Fortune |
| Takenos |
Extended seed, $7M, Nov 2026 | Existing backer that took part | The SaaS News |
| blackbird |
Series A, $24M, Oct 2023 | Joined, another firm led | Fortune |
| ZkSync |
Series C, $200M, Nov 2022 | Joined, 2 other firms led | TechCrunch |
| Uniswap |
Series B, $165M, Oct 2022 | Joined, another firm led | Uniswap blog |
| Magic Eden |
Series A, $27M, Mar 2022 | Joined, another firm led | CoinDesk and Decrypt |
Fortune reported that Hyperlane raised its seed "led by early-stage crypto venture capital fund Variant", and Crypto Briefing wrote of Atum that "The seed round was led by Variant". For the other 30 records, neither NAUT's data nor a cited report names Variant as lead.
What the Variant portfolio tells a BD team
- 8 companies carry no token flag and no ticker on NAUT: Takenos, Atum, Tenor Finance, Lens Protocol, Farcaster, Phantom, Rialo (Subzero Labs) and Cascade.
- The 3 records dated in 2026 are all seed-stage: Takenos in November, Atum in September and Tenor Finance in July. Before them, the newest dated record is blackbird's Series A of October 2023.
- 9 records are $100M or more, at 7 companies, so as a crypto VC portfolio the Variant fund portfolio on NAUT holds both late-stage names and fresh seeds.
- Pick the pre-token namesStart with the 8 with no token flag or ticker, from Phantom and Farcaster at $150M to Atum at $13.5M.
- Start with the newestTakenos, Atum and Tenor Finance are the 3 records NAUT dates in 2026.
- Open the teamEach company's NAUT page lists its team and its rounds.
- Unlock the channelVerified Telegram, email and LinkedIn open on any paid NAUT plan.
What it tells a founder raising from Variant
- Variant leads at seed on this record: all 4 rounds with a lead named in NAUT's data or a cited report are seeds, from $10.5M at Sapien to $18.5M at Hyperlane.
- In its larger rounds it shows up beside other leads: 4 of the cited reports, for rounds of $24M to $200M, name another firm as lead.
- Repeat backing shows on 4 companies: Aztec Network 4 records, Phantom 3, and Uniswap and blackbird 2 each.
Who to contact at Variant
The Variant page on NAUT lists 14 people. The investing titles stored there: Jesse Walden (Founder / Managing Partner), Alana Levin, Caleb Shack, Derek Walkush and Geoff Hamilton (Investment Partner), and Daniel Barabander (General Counsel / Investment Partner). The fund's X account is @variantfund. Anyone listed can ask NAUT to remove their page at https://naut.so/legal/data-deletion.
Related reading on NAUT: a16z crypto portfolio: 55 teams, 80 rounds, $6.99B tracked and Coinbase Ventures portfolio: 152 companies tracked on NAUT.
Can you pull this data through the NAUT API?
Yes: GET https://api.naut.so/v1/investors/variant with the header Authorization: Bearer $NAUT_KEY returns the fund with its team and its portfolio rows, each carrying company, roundType, amountUsd, announceDate and isLead, for 5 credits a call. See the API docs and plans, from Essential at $49 a month. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn for these teams unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial.
Variant portfolio FAQ
Which companies has Variant backed?
NAUT tracks 27 companies under its Variant investor row as of 14 November 2026, across 34 round records dated August 2020 to November 2026, with Polygon, Aptos, ZkSync, Uniswap, Phantom and Farcaster holding the largest records. 9 of the 27 carry NAUT's DeFi tag.
How big is a typical Variant round?
The median of the 33 Variant records with an amount on NAUT is $17M and the mean is $60.0M, with 4 under $5M and 9 at $100M or more, read on 14 November 2026.
Does Variant lead its rounds?
On NAUT's record, read 14 November 2026, Variant leads 3 of 34 records: the seeds of Atum and Tenor Finance and Sapien's $10.5M round. A Fortune report adds Hyperlane's $18.5M seed of September 2022.
Where can I find the teams behind the Variant portfolio and their contact channels?
NAUT has a page for each of the 27 companies, and the Variant page lists 14 team members; GET https://api.naut.so/v1/investors/variant returns the fund's team and portfolio rows for 5 credits. Verified Telegram, email and LinkedIn unlock on any paid NAUT plan, so start a 7-day trial.
Sources
- NAUT database, Variant investor row and its backer records, read 14 November 2026.
- Atum seed: Crypto Briefing, Pulse 2.0.
- Takenos extended seed: The SaaS News.
- Hyperlane seed: Fortune.
- blackbird $24M round: Fortune.
- ZkSync Series C: TechCrunch.
- Uniswap Series B: Uniswap blog.
- Magic Eden Series A: CoinDesk, Decrypt.
- Variant on X: @variantfund.