Escape Velocity Secures $62 Million Fund to Invest in DePIN Crypto Networks for Applications Including Telescopes and Solar Energy
As the crypto market remains stagnant at the beginning of 2026, sentiment towards other niches has deteriorated further, particularly for DePIN, or decentralized physical infrastructure. For instance, tokens for decentralized services like Helium’s cellphone network and Hivemapper’s mapping network are trading near their historical lows. Despite this, certain investors maintain a positive outlook on the concept, among them the emerging venture firm Escape Velocity, which has secured $61.74 million for its second fund to support founders in DePIN and the wider crypto sector.
The company finalized this new capital infusion in December, drawing in high-profile backers such as venture titan Marc Andreessen and notable fintech investor Micky Malka from Ribbit Capital. According to Escape Velocity cofounder Mahesh Ramakrishnan, the fund of funds Cendana contributed $15 million, representing the largest single investment in the fund.
“I believe the inherent nature of crypto and making highly speculative investments involves cycles of extreme pessimism and extreme optimism,” stated Ramakrishnan, reiterating his confidence in decentralized physical infrastructure.
Double down on DePIN
The core value proposition of cryptocurrency is decentralization. Entrepreneurs have established financial systems, currencies, and assets that are not controlled by any single entity. Some have extended this principle from digital networks to physical infrastructure, creating peer-to-peer services for Wi-Fi, mobile plans, and more. To encourage participation, DePIN startups typically reward their supporters with cryptocurrency.
Although the DePIN concept has garnered significant interest, it has not yet yielded a project that has achieved mainstream adoption. Ramakrishnan, who has been described as “the DePIN cheerleader,” is convinced this is inevitable.
“Much of the activity over the past three years has involved DePIN projects issuing tokens before having a functional product—they are launching tokens based on hype and an idea alone,” he commented.
Ramakrishnan and his cofounder Salvador Gala, who was featured on the Forbes’ 30 under 30 finance list, are confident they can identify decentralized infrastructure projects that deliver substance over speculation.
The two met during internships at Goldman Sachs. Gala later became an investor at Ribbit Capital, a venture firm that has supported fintech leaders like Robinhood and Revolut. Ramakrishnan departed Goldman Sachs for a role at a major private equity firm.
In 2022, the two friends, both passionate about crypto, opted to start their own venture fund. “The notion that you could use cryptographic incentives to essentially bind people to these economic communities felt like a very innovative concept, a way to build businesses centered around communities,” explained Ramakrishnan.
That same year, despite a declining crypto market, the pair raised $20 million from leading crypto venture capital firms, including the founders of Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin, and Framework Ventures. Their investments since then include a number of DePIN companies, such as the solar energy startups Daylight and Glow.
Although they have not yet returned significant capital to their limited partners—who have committed their investment for a 10-year period—Ramakrishnan and Gala have generated sufficient momentum to increase the size of their second fund to three times that of their first.
“We believed they were in a prime position to access some of the most promising founders and projects developing in this sector,” said Graham Pingree, a partner at the fund of funds Cendana.