According to the official announcement made by the crypto exchange, FTX hired a former partner at Lightspeed and Discovery, Inc. executive Amy Wu to lead the new fund, which focuses on investing in top projects building in Web 3.
With a mission to further global adoption of the digital ledger, FTX Ventures will invest in teams that build in Web 3 covering a broad range of sectors, including social, gaming, fintech, software, and healthcare.
Our investors at FTX have a huge influence on our growth and development. Sam Bankman- Fried, founder and CEO of FTX, said that they are excited to find the brightest minds and disruptive innovation at FTX Ventures and that they strive to do the same at FTX Ventures.
FTX Ventures will be able to leverage flexible funding and strategic support from FTX as well as its network of partners in investing in multi-stage companies and projects.
According to the announcement, FTX Ventures will kick off with a team of eight, which will include Ramnik Arora as general partner and Armani Ferrante as advisor, amongst others.
I am thrilled to be joining FTX to work alongside Sam and some of the smartest people in the financial services industry. FTX Ventures will be looking to support entrepreneurs who are building generational businesses, according to Wu, who was chosen to lead FTX Ventures, gaming, and commercial initiatives.
She leads a multi-span venture fund with over $10 billion in AUM, where she invests in FTX, including the fund s investment in Lightspeed Venture Partners.
With the launch of their investment arm, FTX joins other major exchanges, such as Binance, Coinbase and Kraken, which already rolled out their global venture capital funds.