Summary: Governance Hour #2 – Deep Dive Into Cardano x Draper Dragon: Orion Fund
In the second episode of the “Governance Hour”, Nicolas Cerny (Governance Lead at the Cardano Foundation) speaks with Samiz Bayan, a partner at Draper Dragon, about the new Orion Fund. This venture capital fund is supported by the Cardano treasury and aims to build a sustainable growth and scaling layer for the ecosystem.
The Problem: Lack of Growth Capital
Previously, projects on Cardano relied heavily on grants during their early development phases. However, companies that survive this initial ideation phase lack dedicated scaling capital, institutional networks, and signaling to continue growing. Draper Dragon addresses this gap by providing financial resources, their extensive network in Silicon Valley, and mentoring programs.
Structure of the Orion Fund
The target size of the fund is 75 million dollars over the next four years, alongside an additional five million dollars or more raised from external strategic investors. The first tranche of 50 million ada has now been approved by the DReps and distributed.
- Special purpose vehicle: Since the decentralized treasury cannot sign legal contracts, “RU Holdings” was established in the Cayman Islands. This entity acts as the limited partner representing the treasury.
- Tranche model: The capital is not released all at once. Further tranches will follow with a delay (e.g., after one year and then three years) to review execution, metrics, and project success before releasing more funds.
Benefits for the Cardano Treasury
The funding model strongly prioritizes the ecosystem and the sustainability of the treasury.
- Capital repayment first: Before Draper Dragon (as the general partner) makes any profit, all capital deployed for ecosystem support and direct investments must flow completely back to the treasury.
- Profit sharing: From the generated net profits, 80 percent goes back to the Cardano treasury, and 20 percent remains with Draper Dragon.
Transparency and Community Governance
Strict governance mechanisms are integrated to ensure full transparency for the community.
- Public dashboard: A dashboard will be set up from day one to display metrics such as total value locked, active wallets, new developers, and the portfolio of invested startups.
- Community director: Because not all sensitive investment data can be made public due to venture fund regulations, the community will soon elect a community director. This person will have full insight into the documents and represent the ecosystem’s interests.
- Reporting: Transparency is complemented by quarterly reports, governance workshops, and public roundtables.
Investment Focus (Verticals)
The Orion Fund invests in companies across five key areas essential for Cardano’s growth:
- Real world assets and tokenization.
- Bitcoin DeFi (using Cardano as a governance and yield layer for Bitcoin liquidity).
- Consumer applications and markets.
- Stablecoins and institutional payment systems.
- Privacy and compliance.
Next Steps
Following the approval of the first tranche of 50 million ada, the final legal closing documents are currently being wrapped up. The accelerator program at Draper University in California is being finalized, and project teams can apply for funding immediately via the Orion Fund intake form.
Top 5 Q&A (FAQ) about the Orion Fund
Question 1: What is the Orion Fund, and what problem does it solve for Cardano?
Answer: The Orion Fund is a venture capital fund managed by the renowned venture firm Draper Dragon for the Cardano ecosystem. It bridges the gap in scaling capital. Until now, many projects relied solely on grants, which is insufficient for scaling into larger operations. Alongside capital, the fund offers direct access to institutional networks, strategic signaling, and resources in Silicon Valley.
Question 2: How does the Cardano treasury benefit financially from this fund?
Answer: The model is structured to prioritize the ecosystem. The fund management only generates profits after all invested capital has been fully returned to the treasury. From the subsequent net returns, 80 percent flows directly back into the Cardano treasury, which serves its long-term financial sustainability.
Question 3: What kind of projects will the Orion Fund invest in?
Answer: The focus is on startups from pre-seed to Series A stages. This includes native Cardano projects needing growth capital, as well as established companies from other blockchains that can be integrated into Cardano. The fund targets five main verticals: real world assets, Bitcoin DeFi, consumer applications, stablecoins, and privacy solutions.
Question 4: How does the community maintain oversight and control over the funds?
Answer: Transparency is ensured across multiple layers. There will be a live public dashboard tracking all relevant on-chain metrics, such as total value locked, active developers, and the investment portfolio. Furthermore, quarterly reports and roundtables will keep the community informed. Most importantly, a publicly elected community director will gain deeper access to confidential venture information and ensure the community’s interests are represented.
Question 5: The first governance vote was successful—what happens next?
Answer: Now that the first tranche of 50 million ada has been approved, the team is scrambling to finalize the last legal and regulatory documents to formally begin investing. The startup accelerator program at Draper University is being prepared, and project builders can already apply for potential funding through an intake form on the Draper Dragon website.
Thursday, 09 April
16:00 – 17:00 UTC