Katie Haun is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Haun Ventures, which is a venture capital fund with a focus on web3. Prior to this, she held the position of General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley, and co-led its three crypto funds. Additionally, she serves on the board of Coinbase as its initial independent director, where she is the Chair of its Nomination and Governance Committee and a member of its Compensation Committee. Haun has provided testimony before both chambers of Congress on the topic of technology and regulatory convergence and has taught at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. ^[1]

Early Life & Education

Katie Haun attended Boston University from 1993 to 1997 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, where she achieved the status of top student in their department, which consisted of over 800 students. She was awarded the distinction of Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. Afterwards, from 1997 to 2000, Haun attended Stanford Law School and earned a Juris Doctor degree. She received the academic honor of graduating with Honor and was actively involved in activities and societies, serving as the Managing Editor of the Stanford Law Review. ^[1]

Career

Prior to her career as a venture capitalist, Katie served as a federal prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice for ten years, where she specialized in cases involving fraud, cybercrime, and corporate crime. She collaborated with agencies such as the SEC, FBI, and Treasury and established the government's first cryptocurrency task force. During her tenure, she prosecuted various crimes, including RICO murders, organized crime, public corruption, gangs, and money laundering. Furthermore, she held significant positions at the National Security Division and Attorney General's office at the Justice Department headquarters. Katie also clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy and holds an honors degree from Stanford Law School. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. ^[1]

While working as a prosecutor at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), which lasted for 11 years, Haun became familiar with cryptocurrencies. She oversaw investigations into several high-profile cases, such as the misconduct of two federal agents in the Silk Road case, and established the DOJ's inaugural task force on cryptocurrencies, which looked into offenses perpetrated with digital currencies. ^[2]

Andreessen Horowitz

Being the initial female general partner of Andreessen Horowitz, Haun took on the responsibility of co-chairing a $2.2 billion cryptocurrency venture fund in 2021. The fund focused on various areas, including crypto infrastructure, scalability tools, NFTs, and gaming technologies. Haun supervised significant crypto investments, such as OpenSea, during her tenure at the company. Additionally, she co-authored a whitepaper on a suggested regulatory structure for stablecoins. ^[2]

I did not fit the mold of the traditional venture investor, I think we need more people who don’t fit the mold. I think Web3 really needs those voices.

Haun Ventures

Haun established Haun Ventures, a venture capital firm, in December 2021. In March 2022, the firm disclosed that it had set up two funds - a $500 million early-stage startup fund and a $1 billion fund for more established companies that concentrate on web3. Haun Ventures' initial investments include Autograph, an NFT company, OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, and Moonwell, a crypto lending platform. ^[2]

It feels, honestly, like a lot of pressure. But I think that motivates everyone on the team. Web3 is the new era of the internet, and it deserves a new era of investors.

Haun Ventures comprises a team of nine individuals, including Chris Lehane, a former executive at Airbnb and a Clinton administration official, Tomicah Tillemann, a former staff member for President Joe Biden, and Rachael Horwitz, who previously managed communications teams at Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Coinbase. Several employees followed Haun from Andreessen Horowitz to join the new fund. Haun stated that having a smaller team enables the firm to be more agile and serve as "venture contributors" in addition to being venture capitalists. ^[3]

I think it's really important that investors like me and like others in the ecosystem think about all of the different ways that we can be involved in participating in these ecosystems.