Key Takeaways
- • Maven 11 Capital closed Venture Fund II at $120 million on November 30, 2021, marking the Amsterdam-based firm's second crypto-focused investment fund and a shift to a closed-ended structure with longer investment horizons.
- • Venture Fund II targets infrastructure protocols, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and Web3 projects, with early deployments into Merit Circle (gaming DAO), Maple Finance (lending platform), Anoma (layer 1 blockchain), and Zapper (DeFi dashboard).
- • The fund expands Maven 11's investor base beyond its first fund to include family offices, wealthy individuals, crypto entrepreneurs, and institutions, enabling the firm to take multi-year investment positions and provide operational support to portfolio companies.
- • Maven 11 partner Darius Rugys highlighted the firm's active management approach, noting that for Maple Finance alone, Maven 11 raised $150–$160 million in liquidity pools and deployed dedicated internal resources to support protocol development and traction among developers and users.
- • The firm is scaling operations with expanded hiring across research and portfolio growth teams as it pursues a venture capital strategy that began in 2017, following its 2015 founding.
Summary
Maven 11 Capital, an Amsterdam-based digital asset investment firm, successfully closed its second venture fund at $120 million on November 30, 2021. Venture Fund II represents a strategic evolution from the firm's first fund, adopting a closed-ended structure—limiting the number of shares issued—and broadening its investor base to include family offices, wealthy individuals, crypto entrepreneurs, and institutional capital. This structural change enables Maven 11 to pursue multi-year investment horizons and deeper operational engagement with portfolio companies.
The fund's investment thesis focuses on infrastructure protocols, decentralized finance platforms, open-source protocols, and Web3 applications. Initial capital deployment has already been allocated to four notable projects: Merit Circle, a gaming-focused decentralized autonomous organization (DAO); Maple Finance, a lending platform specializing in institutional liquidity pools; Anoma, a layer 1 blockchain; and Zapper, a DeFi dashboard. According to partner Darius Rugys, this investment approach differs fundamentally from passive venture capital, with Maven 11 functioning as an active portfolio manager and operational partner.
The firm's hands-on engagement model is exemplified by its work with Maple Finance. Maven 11 raised $150–$160 million in liquidity pool capital for the lending platform and deployed dedicated internal staff to support protocol development, borrower-lender coordination, and user adoption. This approach reflects Maven 11's stated objective to back protocols from early-stage founder teams through their evolution into fully operational DAOs or mature protocols with demonstrated developer and user traction.
Maven 11 Capital was founded in 2015 and formally launched its venture investment strategy in 2017. The successful close of Venture Fund II comes alongside the firm's expansion of internal resources, particularly in research and portfolio growth teams, positioning it for continued growth within the competitive crypto venture capital market.
The fund's investment thesis focuses on infrastructure protocols, decentralized finance platforms, open-source protocols, and Web3 applications. Initial capital deployment has already been allocated to four notable projects: Merit Circle, a gaming-focused decentralized autonomous organization (DAO); Maple Finance, a lending platform specializing in institutional liquidity pools; Anoma, a layer 1 blockchain; and Zapper, a DeFi dashboard. According to partner Darius Rugys, this investment approach differs fundamentally from passive venture capital, with Maven 11 functioning as an active portfolio manager and operational partner.
The firm's hands-on engagement model is exemplified by its work with Maple Finance. Maven 11 raised $150–$160 million in liquidity pool capital for the lending platform and deployed dedicated internal staff to support protocol development, borrower-lender coordination, and user adoption. This approach reflects Maven 11's stated objective to back protocols from early-stage founder teams through their evolution into fully operational DAOs or mature protocols with demonstrated developer and user traction.
Maven 11 Capital was founded in 2015 and formally launched its venture investment strategy in 2017. The successful close of Venture Fund II comes alongside the firm's expansion of internal resources, particularly in research and portfolio growth teams, positioning it for continued growth within the competitive crypto venture capital market.
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