Global investment manager and spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer VanEck has floated a new fund to support early-stage artificial intelligence and crypto projects. According to an official press release, VanEck launched VanEck Ventures to invest in AI and digital asset firms in their seed and pre-seed stages.
VanEck says the $30 million fund is focused on funding “category-defining” founders who push the boundaries of financial possibilities by leveraging artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs), and blockchain technology.
VanEck’s fund will directly invest in companies it considers disruptors in AI and crypto. According to an official X post, VanEck believes crypto is at a crossroads and explains that attention is being diverted away from products that provide users with real value. While this might be a challenge VanEck hopes to improve on, the crypto sector is still considered promising, with enthusiasts still making significant investments. Users are still bullish on digital assets in 2024 and are investing by finding the best meme coins to invest in before the year ends. These assets and their unique value propositions demonstrate that, despite the presence of numerous established cryptocurrencies, the sector still has enough room for new assets to thrive.
In the X post, VanEck explains that its history already includes launching ETFs, liquid token funds, and exchange-traded products (ETPs). With VanEck Ventures, the company is hoping to support the early stages of promising fintechs.
VanEck has chosen former Circle Ventures execs Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez to head the fund. While at Circle Ventures, both execs successfully invested over $50 million in several early-stage companies across varying industries. According to Lonergan, a combination of major tech breakthroughs, especially in the AI sector, will shape the global financial sector and provide more opportunities for users. Lonergan said:
“Three inflection points core to our investment thesis is starting to reshape the foundation of the internet: stablecoins emerging as an open-source banking layer, the commoditization of block space, and AI breakthroughs. 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.”
According to the press release, VanEck Ventures is expected to make up to 35 investments, granting each an amount ranging between $500,000 and $1 million. Already, the fund has invested in 4 startups but has not announced its choices.
In addition to artificial intelligence platforms, the fund has its eye on products that use stablecoins. Core investment will also expand to internet native financial marketplaces, tokenized assets, and payment platforms that focus on stablecoins and tokenized capital markets.
The company’s CEO, Jan van Eck, highlighted VanEck’s long history, covering 69 years of continuous investment and asset management, and extended this history to the fund’s aim.
“From pioneering an approach to gold investing in 1968 to recognizing the disruptive potential of Bitcoin in 2017, embracing a long-term view on transformative opportunities has always been part of our investment philosophy. This fund extends that vision into the early-stage venture space. We look forward to supporting founders of what we believe are some of the most disruptive companies in fintech—those building the future of finance,” said Jan van Eck.
VanEck is no stranger to new technologies like AI, making a name for itself when it filed for a spot BTC ETF in 2017. It now operates a spot BTC ETF and a spot ETH ETF. In June, the company submitted an application to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an ETF based on Solana, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency in the market. Following the filing, the price of Solana (SOL) jumped by more than 10%. VanEck hopes to debut the VanEck Solana Trust if the SEC approves. So far, there is no official ticker symbol or information on fees for the ETF.
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