Global investment management firm VanEck has announced the launch of a $30 million early-stage venture capital fund dedicated to supporting innovative startups in the fintech, digital assets, and artificial intelligence sectors.
The VanEck Ventures fund will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage companies, providing them with the capital and expertise needed to scale their businesses, according to an announcement on Wednesday.
Led by seasoned investors Wyatt Lonergan and Juan Lopez, VanEck Ventures aims to invest in “category-defining founders pushing the boundaries of financial applications and markets leveraging emerging technologies like blockchain and large language models.” The fund’s core investment themes include tokenized assets, internet native financial marketplaces, and next-generation payments built on stablecoins and tokenized capital markets.
Previously, Lonergan and Lopez headed Circle Ventures, the venture arm of USDC-issuer Circle, where they successfully invested over $50 million in early-stage companies ranging from infrastructure to consumer applications.
With its deep understanding of the financial industry and a strong track record of identifying disruptive trends, VanEck Ventures aims to become a “valuable partner for emerging innovative startups.” The fund’s global network and operational support will provide entrepreneurs with the resources they need to succeed, the announcement said.
“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,” Lonergan said.
“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 general partner added.
VanEck Ventures’ investment strategy will focus on exceptional teams building at the application layer, while maintaining an infrastructure-agnostic approach. The fund expects to make 25 to 35 investments with check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.