Luno, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Currency Group (DCG), has launched Luno Expeditions, a global, early-stage investment arm to support the best fintech and crypto/web3 founders on their journeys to build the next generation of financial services.
In a statement, the New York-based DCG, which acquired Luno in 2020, says building on its seven-year track record in early stage crypto investing, Luno Expeditions will now spearhead all of DCG’s early-stage investing (seed and pre-seed).
It notes its dedicated team will scale up investments (targeting 200-300 per year) and expand the focus beyond crypto into the broader fintech space globally.
Luno Expeditions will be led by Jocelyn Cheng, who takes on the role of CEO.
Speaking about her new role, Cheng says: “I am thrilled to join Luno Expeditions as chief executive. These are incredibly exciting times in crypto-currency and the broader fintech ecosystem.
“We’ve got ambitious plans to build a leading fund designed around the needs of early-stage founders. It will be a privilege to work with ambitious entrepreneurs from all over the world, all intent on solving problems and building the next generation of financial service companies.”
Marcus Swanepoel, Luno co-founder and CEO, comments: “We know how hard it is to build a company, especially in the fintech space, and with our deep experience building, scaling and operating fintech businesses in some of the hardest markets in the world, we’re looking to support a new generation of entrepreneurs from all over the world to do the same.”
DCG notes that while in stealth mode over the past few months, Luno Expeditions has already invested in over 20 leading crypto and fintech companies globally, including a crypto compliance solution in Israel, an NFT marketplace in the US, a bank dedicated to women in Pakistan and a ground-breaking remittance solution in Tanzania.
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of DCG, and Marcus Swanepoel, co-founder and CEO of Luno, are both closely involved in the initiative and will be part of the investment committee.
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