A16z, Variant Lead $18M Round for Lending Protocol Morpho Labs

The protocol enhances existing lending protocols such as Compound and Aave with peer-to-peer liquidity.

By Brandy Betz

Jul 12, 2022 at 6:45 p.m. UTC

Updated Jul 12, 2022 at 7:16 p.m. UTC

A16z partner Chris Dixon (Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch)

Brandy Betz

Brandy covers crypto-related venture capital deals for CoinDesk.

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Decentralized lending services protocol Morpho Labs raised $18 million in a funding round co-led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Variant, with the participation of 80 other investors.

Morpho is intended to plug into existing lending protocols such as Compound and Aave to offer higher yields through peer-to-peer liquidity.
Morpho-Compound launched a few weeks ago and has accumulated $30 million in liquidity, according to the company. Morpho-Aave will launch in the coming weeks.
“Morpho is a brand new type of lending primitive that directly matches suppliers and borrowers and sits directly on top of lending pools like Aave and Compound, unlocking rates that are competitive both on and off-chain,” said Variant Fund general partner Spencer Noon in the announcement. “If successful, we believe it has the potential to become a go-to coordination layer of a new global and decentralized financial system.”
A16z became the largest investment firm in the crypto space with the launch of a $4.5 billion fund in May.

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