VanEck is launching a new fund worth $30 million. This fund will focus on investing in fintech, digital asset, and artificial intelligence (AI) companies that are in their early stages. They plan to select around 25 to 30 different projects.
Each project can receive between $500,000 and $1 million. One area that VanEck is particularly interested in is tokenization.
The firm announced this move into the venture capital space on Wednesday. VanEck Ventures will manage the $30 million in assets. This marks a significant expansion for the firm. Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez will lead the fund. Both have experience from their previous work at Circle Ventures, which is the venture arm of stablecoin issuer Circle.
VanEck aims to invest in projects that offer both strategic and financial potential. So far, they have already invested in four different projects.
Jan van Eck, the CEO of VanEck, shared his thoughts: “From pioneering gold investing in 1968 to recognizing Bitcoin's potential in 2017, we’ve always embraced transformative opportunities. This fund extends that vision into early-stage ventures.” He looks forward to supporting founders of companies that are shaping the future of finance.
The fund is on the lookout for projects that focus on the application layer while remaining infrastructure-agnostic. This includes areas like tokenized assets and internet-based financial marketplaces. They are also interested in next-generation payment solutions that utilize stablecoins.
VanEck, a 69-year-old asset manager, has a strong track record of spotting emerging investment trends. Their plans in the digital asset space go beyond just offering a few crypto-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a recent interview with CoinDesk, VanEck Portfolio Manager Pranav Kanade mentioned that the CEO aims for 15% of the firm’s assets under management to be in crypto. Currently, that figure stands at about 1%. That’s a substantial shift in focus.