VanEck establishes $30 million venture fund to support crypto and AI startups

Key Takeaways

VanEck Ventures plans to invest in 25 to 35 early-stage startups with a focus on digital assets and fintech.
The fund will emphasize investments in tokenization and stablecoin platforms, recognizing their potential in global payments.

VanEck, a well-established investment management firm, has launched a $30 million venture fund, named VanEck Ventures, to support early-stage companies operating in the fintech, digital asset, and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors, according to a Wednesday press release.

The fund, led by Circle Ventures alumni Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez, plans to invest in 25-30 different projects. Each project can receive between $500,000 and $1 million in funding. So far, the team has invested in four projects.

VanEck Ventures targets investments in companies that are in the pre-seed or seed stages of development. The asset manager is particularly interested in companies that are building innovative solutions in areas like tokenization, internet-native financial marketplaces, and next-generation payment systems.

“Three inflection points core to our investment thesis are starting to reshape the foundation of the internet: stablecoins emerging as an open-source banking layer, the commoditization of blockspace, and AI breakthroughs,” said Lonergan. “The convergence of these is creating unprecedented opportunities for globally connected, user-centric financial experiences, and we are excited to back founders building on these innovations.”

The company envisions stablecoins revolutionizing payment systems, particularly in the $39 trillion B2B cross-border payments market. Lopez predicts that this area will see major advancements over the next five years.

Lopez is bullish about the future of blockchain technology and the opportunities it presents for innovation. He believes that the recent advancements in stablecoins, composability, and regulatory clarity have created a favorable environment for building on the blockchain.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen stablecoins enable seamless, large-scale value storage and transfer along with Linux-like composability,” Lopez stated. “As several on-chain utilities, focused on programmability and compliance, come to market with growing regulatory clarity, it’s never been a more exciting time to build. Our goal is to be a long-term partner to bold founders defining the next phase of blockchain utility.”

VanEck has a track record of identifying emerging trends and investing in them early on. The company was an early supporter of Bitcoin and has always shown its willingness to embrace new and disruptive technologies.

VanEck was also the first American company to file for a prospective spot Solana ETF in the US. The move follows the recent trend of crypto ETFs gaining traction in the market.

The newly established fund is part of VanEck’s broader strategy to expand its involvement in the digital asset space. The company aims to increase its exposure to crypto and related technologies, going beyond their ETF offerings.