How Avichal Garg Picks Real Builders in Web3

Avichal Garg invests in developer tools, wallets, and protocols to build long-term crypto infrastructure. He partners with founders early, offering guidance beyond just capital and hype cycles. Avichal Garg may not be a name that always appears on the front pages of the media. But if you ask him who is quietly funding the foundation of the crypto space’s infrastructure today, his name will quickly come up. Not only did he work at Google and Facebook, but he was also a key part of the early wave of investors who believed that the financial world could be rebuilt from scratch—with code. Before crypto took over his mind, Avichal got his first taste of tech in the traditional way. He co-founded Spool, a mobile bookmarking app that was eventually acquired by Facebook in 2012. Facebook then made him Director of Product Management, managing a giant team that managed a multi-billion dollar product. For most people, that would have been a happy ending. But not for Avichal. Avichal Garg: Making the Jump From Big Corporation to Crypto After a few years at a big tech company, Avichal and his partner decided to found Electric Capital. At the time, the crypto space was still filled with skepticism and jokes about meme coins. But Avichal sees an opportunity: not in the hype, but in the tools and foundations that can rebuild the global financial system. Electric Capital was founded with one mission: to support developers and protocols that build the foundation of crypto from a technological perspective. They don’t chase the glitz of projects that go viral on X. On the contrary, they are more interested in funding projects that are not even widely known—as long as they have a strong foundation. Imagine being a financier in building a highway, not selling luxury cars. One approach that seems trivial, but is actually the most important. In Avichal’s hands, Electric Capital supports major projects that are now the foundation of the ecosystem, such as NEAR, Solana , Magic Eden, Frax, and dYdX. Even amid the ups and downs of coin prices, he remains consistent in supporting projects such as Lightning Labs, Kraken, and OpenSea . Interestingly, Avichal prefers to inject funds into protocols and tools used by developers, not just short-term hype projects. This is where he differentiates himself from many other investors. Long-Term Thinking in a Short-Term Industry Avichal believes the future of finance will be shaped by those who build from the code level, not by speculators or hype. That’s why he’s investing in projects that are sometimes called “unsexy,” like wallets, developer tools, and security systems. He also knows that many investors are blind in the industry, often caught up in fast-changing trends. That’s why Avichal doesn’t just provide capital, he also becomes a long-term partner for startup founders. He doesn’t like the “throw money and forget” approach. In many cases, he’s been involved from day one—helping shape product direction, early hiring, and launch strategy. Furthermore, Avichal doesn’t sell empty narratives. He balances theory with practice. Even in public interviews, he often talks about the need for developer resilience in the relentless crypto market . For him, building is not about viral moments, but about five to ten years of resilience. He’s also quite active on social media, but not to show off his portfolio. Sometimes he writes reflections on how to create a startup idea, or even just shares the mindset he uses to evaluate a project. From there, we can see one thing: he doesn’t just invest money, but also values.