“Backs disruptive crypto projects at the early stage that deliver real utility and push the frontier, investing across the stack from Layer 0 to applications and across sectors from DeFi to consumer, as the independent crypto arm affiliated with Lightspeed.”
Faction lists 40+ portfolio companies without published sector labels. Splits below are computed from the 14 companies we could independently classify by sector and chain.
Faction is the independent crypto investment arm affiliated with Lightspeed Venture Partners, structured as a joint venture and run by Managing Partner Samuel Harrison and General Partner Banafsheh Fathieh, both CVC veterans before founding the fund. The firm closed its inaugural fund at $285 million in November 2023, above its original $250 million target, and Harrison told TechCrunch the fund's average check runs $5 million to $10 million, typically taken as a lead position, deploying "across the stack (layer zero to applications) and sectors (DeFi to NFTs)."
The portfolio, over 40 active positions, spans core Ethereum L2 infrastructure (zkSync, Taiko), a next-generation L1 (Monad), and a cluster of developer-tooling companies (Space and Time, Crossmint, Turnkey) alongside DeFi (Ethena, Kamino) and a confirmed AI-x-crypto position (Hyperbolic). Four named exits, Blaze, Skip, Helio and Tres Finance, show the fund has already returned capital on some early bets. The firm operates independently from but alongside Lightspeed's growth platform, which gives portfolio companies a credible path to later-stage capital under the same umbrella.
There is no public application form. The realistic path in is a warm introduction to Harrison or Fathieh, or direct contact on X, where the fund maintains an active presence as @FactionVC.
Key stats:
| Partner | Role | Where to find them |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Harrison | Managing Partner | Crunchbase, LinkedIn |
| Banafsheh Fathieh | General Partner | faction.vc |
| Will Leas | Deal Partner | faction.vc |
| Clara Boh | Deal Partner | faction.vc |
| Tim Khoury | Deal Partner | faction.vc |
| Raymond Feng | Technical Partner | faction.vc |
| Jaleesa Banwait | Chief of Staff | faction.vc |