Michael Novogratz's Galaxy secures $113 million for crypto-focused venture fund

Michael Novogratz's Galaxy Asset Management has raised $113 million for Galaxy Ventures, a fund focused on investing in early-stage companies across crypto protocols, software infrastructure and financialized applications.

The affiliate of Galaxy Digital Holdings has attracted institutional allocators, family offices and high-net-worth individuals since fundraising started in the second quarter of this year.

A statement from Galaxy said that, considering the additional interest from institutional investors toward the digital asset sector, it expects to continue fundraising into next year toward a $150 million target.

"From the very beginning, successfully investing in and supporting founders, technologies, and companies at the forefront of digital asset innovation has been central to Galaxy's mission since 2018," Galaxy CIO Chris Ferraro said.

"By taking on external capital, we can extend our expertise, experience, and proven track record to institutional investors eager to tap into the next wave of growth," he added.

The fund will expand upon Galaxy Ventures' investments in companies involved in digital asset innovation. According to today's announcement, the venture capital fund's goal is to build a portfolio of approximately 30 investments in digital asset companies, and will be led by Galaxy Ventures General Partners Will Nuelle and Mike Giampapa.

"If we get to the end of the fund life and Galaxy Ventures has supported teams making global payments cheaper and faster, teams expanding access to financial markets, and teams designing new base layer infrastructure for the financial internet-of-value, all while making our investors elite returns, that is how I would define success for this fund," Galaxy Ventures General Partner Will Nuelle said.

According to a Thursday press release from Galaxy Digital, the venture capital fund has already invested in over 100 portfolio companies, including Ethena, M^0, Monad and Plume.