Many people say that the AI industry is becoming more and more like the Crypto industry in some ways. Jingwen of Impa Ventures, who used to work deeply in the Crypto industry, said that compared to today’s AI, their industry at that time even seemed more conservative. Jingwen describes herself as a 93-year-old girl who yearned for VC but “accidentally” entered Crypto and earned her first pot of gold. During the peak era of FBG Capital, she was in that accelerated crypto world, where she could invest millions of dollars with a few words, and a story could trigger rapid growth.
In 2024, she co-founded Impa Ventures with Shiran and James (Liang Jie). Shiran was Jingwen’s colleague at FBG, and James was Shiran’s old colleague at China Renaissance. Jingwen calls them a “Problem First” fund, that is, they look at the problem first, and then find a solution. Currently, Impa Ventures has a size of $50.00M and focuses on early-stage investments. Of the 9 projects invested so far, 8 are to B businesses.
Three months ago, Liu Dejing shared part of this story in “Past Events of Chinese Investment,” discussing James’ inner world as an investor who missed Pinduoduo. Recently, we conducted in-depth interviews with Jingwen and James again. This is the fifth new fund story presented by 「elsewhere」 after Nebulon Ventures, 源码律动, Creek Stone, and Xiaoxiao Fund.
AI seems to be playing the Crypto game. In the interview, Jingwen recalled her experience of joining FBG Capital after graduating from Schwarzman College in 2017. She described the process as very absurd: the boss was late and directly asked about her salary and gave her a double offer, which made her feel that the circle was “stupid and rich.” During her six months at FBG, she flew around the world to participate in activities, and she could invest millions of dollars in a few words in the corridor. However, as the bull market ended in 2018 and turned into a bear market in 2019, her job content also changed from giving money to difficultly asking for money.
When talking about the world of Crypto, Jingwen believes that it is a world with an accelerated button, which is essentially the process of new technologies from emergence to implementation, which has many similarities with the current development of AI. She pointed out that the current AI game logic is exactly the same as that of Crypto in those years: stacking teams, touting narratives, brushing data and then exiting, but the takers have been replaced by institutions and LPs. She emphasized that she does not think that Crypto is over, it is developing in a more solid direction, especially the combination with AI, but they do not want to replicate the game of that year in the AI field. Impa insists on starting with its own money and looking for true Alpha with a purer attitude.
Regarding the positioning of Impa Ventures, Jingwen introduced that they are an early-stage fund focusing on AI themes. Its core feature is “Day one global”, that is, a global layout. The founding team is located in Singapore and Shanghai, and the projects are located in Shenzhen, Singapore, the United States, Sydney and other places. The fund name “Impa” is taken from the NPC in “The Legend of Zelda”, which means to provide guidance in the process of founders realizing their tasks, rather than overshadowing the host.
Faced with questions about differentiation, Jingwen said that they do not set the track first, but the problem first. They are true AI believers and believe that AI is reshaping the underlying infrastructure, but also because they have experienced the Crypto bubble, they know the difference between waves and the ocean. They adhere to the principle of “AI Believer, but Skeptical”, are optimistic about the industry in the long term, but remain skeptical about specific projects, and always insist on starting from the problem, rather than from the narrative.
[elsewhere]
Crypto-AI Convergence: Lessons from the Trenches
The crypto industry finds itself at an interesting inflection point as former crypto investor Jingwen of Impa Ventures draws parallels between today’s AI hype and crypto’s previous cycles. Her insights offer valuable lessons for experienced crypto investors navigating the increasingly blurred lines between these two technological frontiers.
Market Dynamics: Accelerated Cycles and Shifting Takers
Jingwen’s description of crypto as having an “accelerated button” resonates deeply with anyone who lived through the 2017 bull run. Her recollection of investing “millions of dollars with a few words” and how “a story could trigger rapid growth” paints a familiar picture for crypto veterans. What’s particularly striking is her observation that the current AI game logic mirrors these past crypto dynamics: “stacking teams, touting narratives, brushing data and then exiting.”
The key difference she identifies is the replacement of retail investors with institutions and LPs as the “takers.” This signals a critical shift in market maturity. For crypto investors, this suggests we’re entering a phase where institutional adoption and sustainable utility may drive valuations more than retail speculation.
The Crypto-AI Convergence: Beyond Surface Comparisons
While the market dynamics may appear similar, the underlying fundamentals of AI arguably surpass those of many previous crypto projects. Unlike the ICO era where many projects struggled to articulate clear value propositions, AI demonstrates tangible applications across industries—from healthcare to finance to logistics.
For crypto investors, this convergence presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, the success of pure-play AI projects might divert capital from crypto. On the other hand, the fusion of blockchain and AI technologies could create entirely new paradigms:
-
Decentralized AI Networks: Projects like Fetch.ai (FET) and SingularityNET (AGIX) are exploring decentralized AI marketplaces that could revolutionize how AI models are trained and deployed.
-
AI-Powered DeFi: The integration of AI into DeFi protocols could enhance risk assessment, automate trading strategies, and optimize liquidity management.
-
Verifiable AI: Blockchain technology could provide the transparency and auditability needed to address the “black box” problem in AI.
Impa Ventures’ Approach: A Lesson in Sustainable Investing
Impa’s “Problem First” philosophy stands in stark contrast to the narrative-driven investing that characterized crypto’s early days. By focusing on real problems before seeking solutions, they’re attempting to identify projects with genuine staying power.
This approach offers valuable lessons for crypto investors:
-
Narrative vs. Utility: While compelling narratives drive initial interest, long-term value comes from solving real problems. Crypto projects that focus on tangible use cases are more likely to survive market cycles.
-
Global Perspective: Impa’s “Day one global” approach reflects the borderless nature of both crypto and AI. Successful projects in this space will need to think globally from day one.
-
Balanced Optimism: The “AI Believer, but Skeptical” stance offers a framework for evaluating projects in any hype-driven market. It’s possible to be bullish on an industry while maintaining healthy skepticism about individual projects.
Risks and Opportunities in the Crypto-AI Nexus
Risks:
-
Market Saturation: As crypto VCs enter the AI space, we may see overfunding of marginal projects, similar to the ICO era’s excesses.
-
Regulatory Arbitrage: Both industries face increasing scrutiny. Projects attempting to exploit regulatory gaps between crypto and AI could face significant headwinds.
-
Technological Convergence Challenges: The technical complexities of combining blockchain and AI may create unexpected hurdles for integration.
Opportunities:
-
Infrastructure Plays: Companies providing essential infrastructure for both crypto and AI—such as decentralized computing networks and data marketplaces—may be well-positioned for significant growth.
-
Cross-Protocol Interoperability: Projects that enable seamless interaction between different blockchain networks and AI systems could become critical components of the digital economy.
-
Early-Stage Alpha: Crypto investors with domain expertise in decentralized systems may have an edge in identifying promising AI projects that leverage blockchain technology.
Conclusion: Learning from History
Jingwen’s perspective serves as a valuable reminder that while market dynamics may repeat, the underlying technologies and their applications evolve. For crypto investors, the convergence with AI presents both the risk of past mistakes and the opportunity to build more robust, utility-driven projects.
The key lesson is not to abandon crypto for AI, but to recognize how these technologies can complement each other. As Jingwen notes, crypto is “developing in a more solid direction, especially the combination with AI.” The most successful investors will be those who can distinguish between genuine innovation and hype, whether in crypto, AI, or their intersection.
In this new landscape, the ability to identify real problems and build solutions—rather than merely stacking teams and touting narratives—will separate the long-term winners from the temporary beneficiaries of market hype.