Fortune Magazine: Once "outsider" crypto VCs gradually integrate into the tech ecosystem
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Fortune Magazine: Once "outsider" crypto VCs gradually integrate into the tech ecosystem
Traditional technology and the crypto world are gradually converging.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Jeff John Roberts
Translation: TechFlow
Hello everyone, I'm Jeff Roberts, a Fortune editor filling in today for Ally. Since moving to Southern California two years ago, I've been struck by the region's thriving venture capital scene—one that seems less covered by the media compared to Silicon Valley or New York. Recently, I sat down with one of its veterans: Adam Winnick. Winnick is an energetic figure who possesses one of the most important traits of a venture capitalist: the ability to bring influential people together. I last saw him at a dinner hosted by Medici Network, an institutional investor conference focused on crypto that brings together startup founders, bankers, and representatives from Ivy League endowments and sovereign wealth funds. The dinner took place at Avra in Beverly Hills. Having attended many such events, I noticed that beyond the excellent Mediterranean food, the atmosphere felt remarkably "normal." There was a time when attending a crypto event meant feeling like an outsider, and the VC world viewed crypto investing as a completely different species—playing by entirely different rules. But I'm not sure that perception still holds. Today, crypto investing feels more like a branch within the broader venture capital ecosystem, though clear differences remain—especially around return models. Traditional VCs typically secure equity stakes in startups and wait around seven years for returns; in contrast, the crypto VC world is far more fluid, revolving around tokens rather than stock. In the early days, the intersection of venture capital and crypto led to some extreme behaviors—such as VCs hoarding tokens tied to half-baked projects and then dumping them on retail investors. However, stricter lock-up periods have curbed many of the worst practices, and clearer regulation on the horizon is expected to further improve the landscape. Winnick is a strong advocate for the token model. He argues: "It's a powerful incentive mechanism to kickstart network effects. Just because it's being abused today, or wasn't properly understood in the early days, doesn't mean it won't be used better in the future." If, as Winnick predicts, traditional tech and crypto worlds continue converging, tokens are likely to become a more common feature across venture capital. According to Winnick, the winners in this convergence will be those who can combine Web2's mature technical architecture and broad commercial networks with Web3's highly technical, low-capital-intensive dynamics. A former banker, Winnick co-founded Finality Capital Partners with Kamal Mokeddem, a former Oracle developer, and they appear to have cracked the code on crypto investing. Their first $45 million fund delivered a 69% internal rate of return (IRR) by the end of last year, with early investments in promising crypto staking projects like EigenLayer and Babylon. Meanwhile, their second vehicle, the Liquid Fund—still in early stages—has already gained 12% in 2024, while many other funds have flatlined or posted negative returns in the first months of 2025. While Finality Capital doesn't yet rival crypto VC heavyweights like a16z or Haun Ventures, the progress made by its partners suggests they've found their niche—a success Winnick attributes to his willingness to offer candid advice and maintain close relationships with companies in their portfolio.VC Deals
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Senra Systems: The Redondo Beach, California-based developer of wire harnesses for aerospace and defense industries has closed a $25 million Series A round. Dylan Field and CIV co-led the round, with participation from General Catalyst, Sequoia, Founders Fund, and others.
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Mercanis: The Berlin-based provider of agent-based AI procurement solutions has raised $20.4 million in Series A funding. Partech and AVP co-led the round, with participation from existing investors Signals.VC, Capmont Technology, Speedinvest, and angel investors.
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Tadaweb: The Luxembourg-based provider of open-source intelligence and public information operating systems has secured $20 million in funding. Arsenal Growth and Forgepoint Capital co-led the round, with follow-on investment from existing investor Forgepoint Capital International.
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Swarmia: The Helsinki-based developer of a software engineering intelligence platform has raised €10 million (~$11.5 million). DIG Ventures and Karma Ventures co-led the round, with participation from Romain Huët and Cal Henderson.
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Polar: The Stockholm-based SaaS provider of payment infrastructure for enterprises has closed a $10 million seed round. Accel led the round, with participation from angel investors.
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Brandback: The Berlin-based resale infrastructure provider has raised $7.4 million across two rounds. Earlybird led a $5.7 million seed round, with participation from 9900 Capital and other investors; 9900 Capital also led a $1.7 million pre-seed round, with angel investors participating.
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Embedl: The Gothenburg, Sweden-based AI inference optimization technology company has raised €5.5 million (~$6.3 million) in a pre-Series A round. Investors include Chalmers Ventures, Fairpoint Capital, and SEB Greentech.
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Project Eleven: The New York-based quantum technology company has closed a $6 million seed round. Variant and Quantonation co-led the round, with participation from Castle Island Ventures, Nebular, and Formation.
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Swebal: The Stockholm-based TNT company has raised €3 million (~$3.4 million). Investors include Karl Engelbrektson, Thomas von Koch, and Pär Svärdson.
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SportsVisio: The Boston-based AI-driven sports analytics company has raised $3.2 million. Investors include Mighty Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, Alumni Ventures, Waterstone Impact Fund, and existing investors Sapphire Sport, Hyperplane, Sovereign’s Capital, and angel investors.
Private Equity
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Bitdefender: The Vitruvian Partners-backed cybersecurity firm has acquired Mesh Security, a Dublin-based email security solutions provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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HG Insights: The Riverwood Capital-backed company has acquired TrustRadius, an Austin-based provider of customer review and buyer intelligence solutions. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Other News
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Ares Management: Has acquired a minority stake in the French SailGP team, a competitive sailing team based in Paris. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Dai Nippon Printing: Has acquired a majority stake in Laxton, a biometric identity solutions provider based in Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Nuveen: Has agreed to acquire Brooklyn Investment Group, a Brooklyn-based registered investment advisor, and its parent company Brooklyn Artificial Intelligence, a firm developing direct indexing technology for asset managers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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