Key Takeaways
- • Aptos co-founder Mo Shaikh and three former Aptos executives launched Maximum Frequency Ventures (MFV), a crypto-focused venture firm that announced a $50 million fund on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
- • MFV plans to invest early and embed operationally with founders, a model the team contrasts with crypto funds that wait for token events and with accelerators and studios that stop at prototypes.
- • According to TechFlow citing Fortune, MFV has already invested $5 million across six early-stage companies.
- • The co-founders, Shaikh, Neil Harounian, Alexandre Tang, and Jerome Ong, bring prior experience from BCG, BlackRock, and RBC, alongside their roles at Aptos.
- • Shaikh says Aptos hosts more than 200 projects, giving the team direct visibility into which crypto projects are scaling.
Summary
Aptos co-founder Mo Shaikh and three former Aptos executives have launched Maximum Frequency Ventures (MFV), a venture firm that announced a $50 million fund on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, to back early-stage crypto builders. Co-founders Neil Harounian, Alexandre Tang, and Jerome Ong joined Shaikh in the launch. According to TechFlow, citing Fortune, MFV has already invested $5 million across six early-stage companies.
Shaikh argues that existing crypto venture funds lack the operator experience and mentorship that startups need to move from prototype to growth. In his words, "Crypto funds write checks and then wait for a token event. Accelerators race to demo days. Studios stop at prototypes. At MFV, we invest early, embed with teams, and stay until adoption takes hold." Shaikh pointed to his prior career at BCG, BlackRock, and RBC, and said the team's experience building Aptos informs its approach: "We know what it takes because we've carried the weight ourselves."
The firm's rationale draws on the team's time at Aptos, a layer-one blockchain whose market capitalization was just above $2.6 billion at the time of the original reporting. Aptos is one of several projects spun out of Meta, alongside Sui and Lightspark, after Diem (formerly Libra), Meta's crypto project, was shut down in 2022 because of regulatory hurdles. Shaikh says Aptos now has more than 200 projects building on its platform, which gives the MFV team close insight into what successful crypto projects look like as they step away from day-to-day Aptos operations.
Shaikh argues that existing crypto venture funds lack the operator experience and mentorship that startups need to move from prototype to growth. In his words, "Crypto funds write checks and then wait for a token event. Accelerators race to demo days. Studios stop at prototypes. At MFV, we invest early, embed with teams, and stay until adoption takes hold." Shaikh pointed to his prior career at BCG, BlackRock, and RBC, and said the team's experience building Aptos informs its approach: "We know what it takes because we've carried the weight ourselves."
The firm's rationale draws on the team's time at Aptos, a layer-one blockchain whose market capitalization was just above $2.6 billion at the time of the original reporting. Aptos is one of several projects spun out of Meta, alongside Sui and Lightspark, after Diem (formerly Libra), Meta's crypto project, was shut down in 2022 because of regulatory hurdles. Shaikh says Aptos now has more than 200 projects building on its platform, which gives the MFV team close insight into what successful crypto projects look like as they step away from day-to-day Aptos operations.
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