On Friday, FTX Trading, the cryptocurrency derivatives and digital assets platform that is backed by a roster of extremely well-capitalized private market investors, announced that it is launching its own private investment fund. FTX Ventures is a venture capital fund with $2 billion in AUM that will invest in global teams across the digital asset ecosystem. Per an announcement from the company on Friday, FTX Ventures will seek to advance global blockchain and web3 adoption, with a broad investment mandate across social, gaming, fintech, software, and healthcare. The Fund will invest in multi-stage companies and projects, providing (according to the company) flexible funding and strategic support from the parent company and its network of global partners.
“Our investors at FTX have made a deep impact in supporting our growth and development. We strive to do the same at FTX Ventures and are excited to find the brightest minds and disruptive innovation in tech,” said FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (known colloquially in the digital assets industry as SBF).
Alongside the fund’s launch, crypto investor Amy Wu has joined FTX to lead Ventures, gaming, M&A and commercial initiatives. Wu was most recently a Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, a $10 billion-plus multi-stage venture fund, where she led crypto and gaming investments, including the fund’s investment in FTX. She was previously an executive at Discovery, Inc., a global media company, where she led operations and finance across Asian markets, digital businesses, and sports.
“I am thrilled to be joining FTX to work alongside Sam and some of the smartest people disrupting the financial services industry,” Wu said in a statement. “With FTX Ventures, we are looking to support entrepreneurs building generational businesses. We’re particularly excited about web3 gaming and its ability to bring mainstream audiences into the ecosystem.”
News of the fund launch comes just months after the firm announced in October 2021 the successful raise of a $420 billion Series B-1 venture round, a capital round that drew participation from 69 investors, including Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. The round brought FTX to a total market valuation of $25 billion
