Algo Capital, an Atlanta-based financial institution focused on accelerating access, adoption and liquidity of the Algo, the native digital currency of the Algorand blockchain, has closed its Algo VC Fund at $200 million.
The fund has surpassed the firm’s original goal of $100 million and will invest in businesses that are building on the Algorand technology platform.
"We are looking to invest in fintech startups, particularly within payments and lending, but we are also looking at startups within decentralized health care, blockchain gaming and infrastructure projects all built on top of the Algorand technology platform," Arul Murugan, co-founder and managing partner at Algo Capital, said. "We are looking to invest locally and globally. Seeing as we are an Atlanta-based fund, we may invest more in the Atlanta area."
Murugan said the firm is looking to make 10 or more investments per year and a total of 30 to 50 direct investments. Algo Capital will be investing an average of $3 million per investment.
In addition to direct investments, Algo Capital plans to invest in early stage startups through partnerships with venture studios and accelerators in Atlanta and around the world.
"We are looking to operate an Atlanta venture studio that will become the hub supporting all other venture studios across the globe," Murugan said. "With Atlanta as a strong technology hub paired with our $200 million fund, we are looking to attract top talent and startups from other parts of the world."
The goal of Algo Capital's venture arm is to invest in companies working to build the blockchain protocol, infrastructure and applications on Algorand, a scalable, secure and decentralized digital currency and transactions platform based in Boston.
The fund is looking for emerging disrupters with "proven business models, scalable revenue and a clear path toward profitability" working with Algorand technology. The initial portfolio companies for the new fund include:
- Securitize --- the leading security token issuance platform
- Idex --- the leading decentralized exchange
- BlockDaemon --- the leading blockchain infrastructure and middleware orchestration platform
- OTCXN --- the leading institutional exchange and cross-custodian settlement platform
This is the first fund for Algo Capital. Previously, the firm, called 11-11 Ventures, invested in 31 companies. Prior investments include Securitize, an IT service management company based in San Francisco.
The fund was backed by a collection of experienced financial and blockchain industry investors across the world, including Brainchild, NGC Ventures (the venture arm of NEO Global), Arrington XRP Capital, Eterna Capital, GSR, Cognitive Blockchain, Rokk3r Inc, Wibson, 11-11 Ventures, DG Ventures, Winslow Strong, Invermaster and others.
Since the firm's goal is to fast-track the acceptance of the Algo as a means of payment, all investments in the fund were accepted in Algos instead of U.S. dollars. Additionally, a portion of the firm’s capital investments are comprised of Algos, which allows portfolio companies to make use of the digital currency as a means of payment within the Algorand network.
Algo Capital is led and founded by veteran blockchain investor David Garcia, entrepreneur-turned-VC Arul Murugan and blockchain technology expert Pablo Yabo. It is a separate independent entity from both the Algorand Foundation and Algorand LLC, which developed a proof-of-stake protocol, capable of supporting billions of users and transactions on blockchain.
