VanEck enters the VC to invest in fintech, crypto, and AI startups

VanEck is making its first entry into the VC sector, with the goal of investing in fintech, crypto, and AI startups. The global asset manager is raising 30 million dollars for its first VC fund. 

VanEck lands in Venture Capital to invest in fintech, crypto, and AI startups

VanEck, the giant global investment asset manager, has entered the Venture Capital (VC) sector by launching its first fund. 

According to what reported, it seems that the goal of the new VanEck Ventures, an early-stage fund of 30 million dollars, is to invest in fintech, crypto, and AI startups. In practice, VanEck Ventures will be present in the pre-seed and seed funding stages of these startups.  

This new decision by the asset manager reflects a long-term expansion strategy, aiming to actively participate in what will be the future of finance. 

In this regard, Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck, commented as follows:

“From the pioneer of an approach to gold investment in 1968 to the recognition of the disruptive potential of Bitcoin in 2017, embracing a long-term view on transformational opportunities has always been part of our investment philosophy. This fund extends this vision to the early-stage venture space. We look forward to supporting the founders of what we believe to be some of the most disruptive companies in the fintech sector, those that are building the future of finance.”

VanEck Venture Capital to support AI, crypto, and fintech startups as the future of finance

The announcement of VanEck’s entry into the crypto Venture Capital sector came after it had shared a tweet on X, in which it bid farewell to the VC sector.

“print(“Hello, VC world”). If you don’t know us yet, tomorrow you might. Here is the origin story of VanEck”

Here, the global asset manager wanted to introduce itself to the entire Venture Capital space, recounting some milestones of its history and its founder, from 1955 to today. 

In any case, the new VanEck Ventures fund is led by Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez, both experienced investors with expertise in fintech and crypto ventures. 

Note that the two both come from the leadership of Circle Ventures, the venture branch of the USDC issuer Circle. Here, Lonergan and Lopez have successfully invested over 50 million dollars in early-stage companies, ranging from infrastructure to consumer applications.

VanEck Ventures plans to make between 25 and 35 investments with amounts ranging from 500,000 to 1 million dollars, focusing on companies that offer both a strategic and financial advantage. The fund has already made 4 investments that have yet to be announced.  

The forecasts on BTC and SOL

Last month, VanEck made headlines for its price predictions on some crypto. 

In fact, for Bitcoin, VanEck had ventured with its prediction, stating that the queen of crypto BTC could reach a value of 2.9 million dollars by 2050.

Not only that, VanEck has also expressed its optimistic opinion regarding Solana (SOL). In practice, the global asset manager is said to have stated that SOL could reach 50% of the market cap of Ethereum (ETH).

Currently, the market cap of SOL is 65.8 billion dollars, less than a quarter of that of ETH which is 288 billion dollars.