Startup profile for DELV: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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DELV funding, valuation and investors

Former Element Finance — fixed-rate DeFi yield protocol (wound down 2025).

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series A

$32M · October 2021

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$36M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

shutdown

Stage not recorded

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Polychain Capital

Other: Andreessen Horowitz

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

DELV (formerly Element Finance) built fixed-rate DeFi yield protocols including Yield Protocol primitives for predictable returns on crypto assets. The project raised a $4.4M seed in March 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz's crypto fund and a $32M Series A in October 2021 led by Polychain Capital with a16z participating. In June 2025 the team announced DELV would wind down operations, returning remaining resources to stakeholders — reflecting broader DeFi consolidation after 2022–2024 market contraction. The protocol was a reference implementation for fixed-yield DeFi design during the 2021 peak.

Why DELV is interesting

Canonical a16z crypto + Polychain DeFi syndicate on fixed-yield primitives before orderly sunset June 2025 — historical comp for DeFi infra investors.

Product & use cases

Fixed-rate DeFi yield markets — Element/DELV let users trade and lock yield rates on crypto assets before protocol wind-down in 2025.

  • Fixed-rate lending and borrowing in DeFi
  • Yield curve trading on crypto assets
  • Predictable returns vs. variable DeFi rates (historical)

Key facts

  • Series A (Oct 2021): $32M led by Polychain; a16z participated
  • Seed (Mar 2021): $4.4M led by a16z crypto
  • DELV wound down June 2025
  • Co-investors not in VCT: Polychain Capital

Funding history (newest first)

Series A

2021-10 $32M

Source: https://www.element.finance/

Seed

2021-03 $4.4M

Source: https://www.element.finance/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from DELV's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz

Competitive landscape

Edge: Early a16z + Polychain backing for fixed-rate primitive; team expertise before sector downturn.

Fixed-rate DeFi never achieved variable-rate protocol scale. DELV wind-down in 2025 marks sector retrenchment. a16z and Polychain investments remain case study in DeFi infrastructure timing risk.

  • Aave / Compound incumbent

    Variable-rate DeFi lending dominated usage.

  • Notional Finance direct

    Fixed-rate DeFi competitor.

  • TradFi fixed income alternative

    Off-chain rates; different risk profile.

Notable stories

  • Element Finance rebranded to DELV before 2025 shutdown announcement.
  • Wind-down cited unsustainable DeFi economics post-2022 rather than exploit or hack.

Industries

Crypto & Web3 Fintech

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover DELV's financing or category context.

FAQs about DELV

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

DeFi fixed-yield protocol formerly Element Finance; wound down June 2025.
a16z led $4.4M seed; Polychain led $32M Series A with a16z participating. See /fund/andreessen-horowitz.
Team announced wind-down June 2025 amid DeFi market contraction and protocol economics.
Same project — rebranded to DELV before shutdown.
$36.4M+ across seed and Series A publicly reported.
No — operations wound down 2025; check delv.tech for user guidance.
Aave is variable-rate lending giant; DELV focused fixed-rate yield markets.
March 2021 — a16z crypto led.
Wind-down announcement referenced returning resources to stakeholders; see official posts for details.
Infrastructure protocols face timing and TVL risk even with top-tier crypto VC syndicates.
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By Venture Capital Tracker

Last updated:

Editorial note: AI tools assisted with research, structure, or drafting. Venture Capital Tracker retains human editorial responsibility for factual accuracy, relevance, and source quality before publication.