Webinar
Masterclass in Venture Investing: Blockchain & Fintech Fund Overview
Join our on-demand presentation to learn about the Blockchain & Fintech Fund. This is an excellent opportunity to meet the team and hear about their approach to investing in private-stage companies. This presentation will be led by Managing Partner Ray Wu.
See video policy below.
Post Webinar Summary
Ray Wu, Managing Partner of Alumni Ventures Blockchain and FinTech Fund, led a webinar to introduce their fifth fund. He discussed the benefits of venture capital, emphasizing its lack of correlation to public markets and potential for high returns. Ray outlined the firm’s strategy of co-investing with established VCs and building diversified portfolios, highlighting the fund’s focus on the intersection of AI, blockchain, and FinTech. The team presented notable past investments, such as Upstart and Miston Labs, emphasizing their approach to due diligence and deal selection. They also shared the advantages of early investments, including tax benefits and fee reductions, encouraging participation in this high-growth fund.
During this session, we will cover:
- HomeThe goal and structure of the fund
- HomeThe Blockchain & Fintech Fund and Alumni Ventures approach to investing
- HomeSome examples of current portfolio companies
- HomeThe benefits of diversifying into venture capital
- HomeThe minimum requirements needed to invest in the fund
Note: You must be accredited to invest in venture capital. Important disclosure information can be found at av-funds.com/disclosures.
About your presenters
Ray is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a wide range of industries and geographies. Before joining Alumni Ventures, Ray was a partner and adviser at several global venture funds focusing on AI, Web3, FinTech and SaaS investment opportunities across the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Earlier, he spent more than 10 years in the corporate venture space: He was the managing director of HP’s new business ventures, responsible for startup technology evaluation, new business incubation, VC relationships, and minority investments, and earlier at Cisco Systems, holding several senior positions leading investment, M&A, internal incubation, and global consulting. Previously, Ray was a managing partner of a leading Internet consulting firm working with Fortune 1000 companies across North America. He earned a dual MBA degree from the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.
Jack Statza brings extensive deep-tech venture investing expertise across various sectors and stages to his role at Alumni Ventures. Previously, he was a venture investor at Allstate Strategic Ventures, focusing on AI, Blockchain, and FinTech for Allstate Insurance Company. Before joining Allstate, Jack worked in investment banking at Lazard and Livingstone, executing M&A transactions for technology clients. He also served as a valuation associate at Northern Trust Corporation, where he gained a deep understanding of financial markets and valuing investments. Jack has been actively involved in the blockchain space since mining Bitcoin in 2010 and in AI since investing in the space at Allstate in 2016. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a BBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a CFA charterholder.
Sophia brings a wealth of experience in capital advisory, corporate development, and operational optimization, establishing impactful collaborations with CXOs and Founders. With a diverse industry exposure encompassing cloud computing, mining and minerals, consumer goods, and Web3, Sophia has been at the forefront of transformative technologies. Since 2018, she has been immersed in the crypto universe, working at Galaxy Digital, Huobi US, and Crypto.com. In these roles, Sophia engaged with startups and institutional clients on capital raising and trading across the Americas, EU, and Asia regions.
Actively fostering innovation and mentorship, Sophia serves as a mentor and judge at prestigious institutions such as Yale’s Tsai City for Innovation, Berkeley’s Blockchain Xcelerator, Techstars, and Layer 1 protocols, including Ethereum, Algorand, and Solana. She maintains close ties with the blockchain communities at Stanford and Yale.
Driven by a passion for shaping the future through frontier technologies, Sophia is currently supporting AI data and applications deals within her team. She holds a BBA from Simon Fraser University, an MBA from the University of British Columbia, and an MAM from the Yale School of Management.