Escape Velocity
Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven crypto venture capital firm founded in 2022 that invests $500K–$3M pre-seed and seed checks into DePIN, zkTLS, AI-crypto, and modular blockchain startups, supported by the EV3 Fellowship, DePIN Pulse analytics, and a proprietary research library.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersNyack, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Escape Velocity does
Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven, crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2022 by Mahesh Ramakrishnan and Salvador Gala, both immigrants with prior experience at Goldman Sachs and, respectively, Apollo Global Management and Ribbit Capital. The firm invests $500K–$3M checks at the pre-seed and seed stages into startups building at the intersection of programmable money, programmable molecules, and programmable intelligence, with thematic emphasis on Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), zkTLS, modular blockchains, AI–crypto integration, and real-world asset tokenization. Across Fund I ($20M, 2022) and Fund II ($61.74M, closed December 2025), EV3 has seeded 20–30+ portfolio companies spanning telecommunications, energy, robotics, advertising, identity, autonomous vehicles, and generative AI.
Beyond capital deployment, EV3 operates a small portfolio of supporting programs and platforms. These include the EV3 Fellowship (annual $50K grants plus mentorship for two exceptional young immigrant founders), DePIN Pulse (an analytics platform tracking DePIN network metrics), and a research library covering DeWi, DePIN, zkTLS, onchain credit, and adjacent frontier-tech topics, including the annual State of DePIN report. Revenue derives from conventional venture fund economics — management fees on committed capital and carried interest on fund returns — with Fund II anchored by Cendana Capital ($15M) and backed by marquee LPs including Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon (a16z), Micky Malka (Ribbit), Multicoin, Framework, Castle Island, Thrive, and emerging-manager fund-of-funds (Cendana, Crosslayer, Reference, Carpa, KWIA). The firm maintains a deliberately lean core team (two managing partners, a COO/General Counsel, and a chief of staff) and operates from New York.
Escape Velocity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Escape Velocity
- Legal name
- Escape Velocity
- Website
- https://ev3.xyz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven crypto venture capital firm founded in 2022 that invests $500K–$3M pre-seed and seed checks into DePIN, zkTLS, AI-crypto, and modular blockchain startups, supported by the EV3 Fellowship, DePIN Pulse analytics, and a proprietary research library.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Escape Velocity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Asset Risk, Security & Audit Tooling (Smart Contract Audit, Threat Monitoring) (FSAGAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Escape Velocity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nyack
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Escape Velocity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Venture Fund Management: Manage venture capital fund with $500K-$3M check sizes for early-stage crypto/blockchain companies. Revenue derived from management fees and carried interest (carry) on fund returns.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Escape Velocity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven venture capital firm that invests $500K-$3M checks in pre-seed and seed-stage companies building at the frontier of internet infrastructure and decentralized networks. The firm's investments target the intersection of programmable money, programmable molecules, and programmable intelligence, with particular focus on DePIN, zkTLS, modular blockchains, AI-crypto integration, and real-world asset tokenization. EV3 manages two funds (Fund I at $20M and Fund II at $61.74M), runs the EV3 Fellowship program providing $50K grants to young immigrant founders, and operates the DePIN Pulse analytics platform tracking decentralized physical infrastructure networks.
Product overview
Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven venture capital firm focused on crypto-enabled businesses and frontier technology companies. Rather than a unified software product, EV3 operates a portfolio of investment vehicles and programs including Fund II ($61.74M dedicated to DePIN projects), the EV3 Fellowship (offering $50K grants to immigrant founders), the DePIN Pulse analytics platform, and an extensive research library covering DePIN, DeWi, zkTLS, and related crypto infrastructure topics. The firm makes pre-seed investments of $500K-$3M in early-stage founders building at the intersection of programmable money, programmable molecules, and programmable intelligence.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EV3 Fellowship: A program providing $50K grants and mentorship to two exceptional immigrant founders each year
- DePIN Pulse
- State of DePIN
Products and services
- Fund II A $61.74 million venture fund focused on investing in DePIN projects including telescopes, solar energy, and other decentralized physical infrastructure networks. Designed for limited partners seeking exposure to early-stage crypto-enabled infrastructure investments.
- DePIN Pulse Analytics An analytics platform providing data and insights on Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), tracking ecosystem metrics and performance for DePIN networks. Developed by EV3 to monitor and analyze the DePIN sector.
- EV3 Fellowship A fellowship program offering $50,000 grants to two exceptional young immigrant entrepreneurs (under 25 years old) each year, alongside mentorship from a network of leading immigrant entrepreneurs, co-working in NYC, and exposure to EV3's investment committee and research platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- Seeded 20 startups since 2022 with $100M+ institutional capital raised
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Escape Velocity
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Escape Velocity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Escape Velocity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- DiffraqtionminorStrategic venture investment in quantum imaging technology company based in Somerville, MA, aimed at accelerating product development and expanding capabilities in military and commercial applications.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Escape Velocity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Framework Ventures: DeFi- and DePIN-focused crypto VC with thesis-driven approach to decentralized infrastructure; EV3 LP and competitor for similar portfolio companies.
- Multicoin Capital: Crypto-native thesis-driven VC investing across DePIN, DeFi, and Web3 infrastructure; EV3 LP and direct competitor for pre-seed deal flow in overlapping theses.
- Paradigm: Premier crypto-native VC with research-led approach and frontier protocol investments; represents an aspirational scale peer for EV3, also active in DePIN-adjacent infrastructure.
- Castle Island Ventures: Public-blockchain-focused crypto VC; EV3 LP with overlapping portfolio in Bitcoin and DePIN-adjacent infrastructure. Comparable in early-stage orientation but with broader remit.
- Pantera Capital: Largest crypto-native multi-stage manager; competes for DePIN and Web3 infrastructure deals but at significantly larger AUM and broader stage range. Functions as both peer and potential LP/competitor.
Direct peers
- Electric Capital: Early-stage crypto VC with developer- and ecosystem-focused thesis, including developer reports and category analytics (paralleling EV3's DePIN Pulse); comparable in fund size and stage orientation.
- Variant Fund: Early-stage crypto VC with a thesis-led approach to programmable assets, identity, and Web3 infrastructure; comparable in fund size, partner count, and focus on frontier crypto categories.
- 1confirmation: Thesis-driven crypto-native VC focused on early-stage Web3 founders; similarly small team with concentrated portfolio and similar pre-seed/seed check sizes. Most directly comparable peer in stage, thesis orientation, and fund size.
- Placeholder VC: Early-stage crypto VC investing in open protocols and decentralized networks; comparable in stage (pre-seed/seed), fund size, and thesis-driven approach to Web3 infrastructure.
Emerging players
- Robot Ventures: Early-stage crypto VC with similar lean-team approach and pre-seed focus on decentralized infrastructure; closely matches EV3's team size, stage, and thesis orientation.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Escape Velocity social profiles
Digital presenceEscape Velocity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Escape Velocity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Escape Velocity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Escape Velocity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments40 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Escape Velocity
What does Escape Velocity do?
Escape Velocity (EV3) is a thesis-driven venture capital firm that invests $500K-$3M checks in pre-seed and seed-stage companies building at the frontier of internet infrastructure and decentralized networks. The firm's investments target the intersection of programmable money, programmable molecules, and programmable intelligence, with particular focus on DePIN, zkTLS, modular blockchains, AI-crypto integration, and real-world asset tokenization. EV3 manages two funds (Fund I at $20M and Fund II at $61.74M), runs the EV3 Fellowship program providing $50K grants to young immigrant founders, and operates the DePIN Pulse analytics platform tracking decentralized physical infrastructure networks.
Is Escape Velocity a public or private company?
Escape Velocity is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Escape Velocity founded?
Escape Velocity was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Escape Velocity based?
Escape Velocity is headquartered in Nyack, United States, in the North America region.
How does Escape Velocity make money?
One revenue line is on record: venture Fund Management.
Who are Escape Velocity's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Framework Ventures, Multicoin Capital, Paradigm, Castle Island Ventures and Pantera Capital. Direct peers are Electric Capital, Variant Fund, 1confirmation and Placeholder VC. Robot Ventures is listed as an emerging player.
Does Escape Velocity have an API?
No public API is recorded for Escape Velocity.
What industry is Escape Velocity in?
Escape Velocity's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAMAJ, Digital Asset Risk, Security & Audit Tooling (Smart Contract Audit, Threat Monitoring). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.