Jesse Walden is the Founder, General Partner at Variant Fund. Jesse Walden was a partner on the a16z crypto investment team. Prior to joining, Jesse co-founded Mediachain Labs, the group that led open source development of Mediachain, a decentralized media attribution protocol for connecting creators to their audience directly through content. Mediachain Labs was acquired by Spotify in early 2017. Before Mediachain Labs, Jesse co-founded an artist management firm that leveraged technology in direct-to-fan distribution for Grammy-award winning artists, including Solange Knowles, Blood Orange, Majical Cloudz, and many more. Jesse holds a B.A. in Art History and Economics from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.