Blockchain Explained: Alumni Ventures' New Blockchain Fund

Anton has 20+ years of technology experience as a proven venture capital investor, entrepreneur, and operating executive in companies ranging in size from startup to Fortune 10. Most recently, he founded and led Vener8 Technologies, a technology commercialization company he started with GE. Previously, Anton led the Software and Internet Infrastructure Group at GE Equity, where he directly invested $72 million in 10 companies generating more than $500 million of realized gains. Anton has substantial international experience in Canada, China, Europe, and Israel, and has served on the board of directors of more than 20 private and public companies. Anton has a BSc Engineering from Queen’s University in Canada and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Peter has startup experience in both the non-profit and business sectors, a BA from Wesleyan University and an MBA from The Wharton School. Peter developed expertise building teams and strategic planning in the San Francisco Bay Area, driving growth across multiple seed- and early-stage companies (with many nights spent as informal adviser to a network of entrepreneurs). Peter has a passion for social impact and loves working with people who love what they do and strive to get better at it.

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.

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.

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.