New York City, NY – 
(NewMediaWire) – March 02, 2022 – Today, Arcanum Capital LLC (the “Investment Manager”) of Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I ISA (the “Fund”) is pleased to announce the final close of its first fund. The Fund had an original target raise of $10 million; however, due to high demand from strategic partners who offer high-caliber deal flow and additional value-add to the portfolio through robust networks, the Arcanum team decided to extend subscriptions and close the Fund at approximately $12 million.
Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I ISA is an early-stage venture capital fund that provides Seed and Series A financing to blockchain technology companies in emerging markets, with a primary focus on India. As the Arcanum team members have all been investors and operators in the sector and have particularly strong networks in India, they have a proven ability to source promising opportunities at the earliest stages of product ideation. With the abundance of exciting projects emerging from the region, the Arcanum portfolio managers are confident they will deploy the Fund’s capital quickly and effectively.
James McDowall, Founding Partner of Arcanum Capital, explained: “We work closely with experienced founders, developers, hackathons, incubators, and other investors to ensure that we discover talent at very early stages. We then help set teams up for success as they iterate and go to market. This comes naturally to us as we have all helped incubate and scale multiple projects and companies over the past several years that have gone on to reach nine and even ten-figure valuations.”
One of the Fund’s strategic investors is Polygon Co-Founder Sandeep Nailwal. Polygon, formerly known as Matic, is the leading Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum and has quickly grown into a multi-billion dollar network that hosts some of the most popular DeFi, NFT and gaming protocols. This investment is a perfect fit for Sandeep, who is actively helping grow the Indian blockchain ecosystem. “I believe the Fund will bolster the Polygon ecosystem by helping incubate projects building on Polygon in the gaming, NFT, metaverse, and other Web 3.0 sectors,” says Sandeep.
Draper University Ventures, the investment arm of Draper University, is also a cornerstone investor in the Fund. “I’ve been investing in Indian tech companies for decades now and definitely see India emerging as a leading player in the blockchain industry. I have confidence the Arcanum team will continue to bring Indian projects to the global stage,” commented Tim Draper, Chairman of Draper University and Draper Associates.
Tavis Digital’s ‘Fund of Blockchain Venture Capital Funds’ is also proud to announce its latest investment in Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I ISA. Tavis Digital’s flagship product invests in established venture capital funds and selectively in highly promising emerging VC funds like Arcanum’s. “Both the team’s institutional quality and a highly attractive deal flow were among the main reasons to commit to the Fund upon completing an extensive due diligence process,” says Bernhard Vögeli, Managing Partner at Tavis Digital. Tavis Digital is an independent, regulated Swiss asset management company focused on digital assets. Established in 2019, the company operates several blockchain validator nodes and offers investors access to digital assets through bankable securities.
The backer of Airdrop.com has also made a strategic investment into the Fund that both parties expect to benefit the portfolio. This relationship creates opportunities for companies supported by the Fund to raise awareness and increase distribution by launching on the airdrop.com platform.
Other investors in the Fund include Bybit’s venture capital arm, Mirana Ventures; the Founder and CEO of Ragnar Digital Investments; SevenX Ventures; Quarkchain Foundation; Foresight Ventures; and Polygon Studios.
Luchang Zheng of Arcanum Capital added: “The Fund has shown tremendous growth since its first close in mid-2021. We have successfully raised capital from strong partners while simultaneously deploying funds and have already invested over $4 million into more than 20 startups, some of which we will be supporting with follow-on investments in subsequent rounds of financing.”
“We selected Arcanum’s fund to launch on our Bermuda fund platform because we were impressed with the knowledgeability of the team and their deep networks,” said Lawrence Newhook, President of The Laureates ISAC Ltd. fund platform and Director of the Fund. “We were delighted to provide our asset management infrastructure and support to get the Fund launched expeditiously and on solid footing, and are thrilled with its initial success.”
About Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I ISA and Arcanum Capital LLC
Arcanum Emerging Technologies Fund I ISA is a Bermuda incorporated segregated account of the Laureates ISAC Ltd. (the “Fund Platform”) registered under the Incorporated Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2019 and is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority as a Professional Closed Fund.
Arcanum Capital LLC is a U.S.-domiciled venture capital asset manager and serves as the Fund’s Investment Manager. Arcanum Capital is positioned at the forefront of a renaissance of startup activity in India, driven by the emergence of blockchain technology. The Investment Manager will take full advantage of its unique position as a leading player in the ecosystem to help propel India to the top of the global blockchain industry. Further information can be found at: https://arcanum.capital
The Laureates ISAC Ltd. is a Bermuda incorporated segregated accounts company. Registered under the Incorporated Segregated Accounts Companies Act 2019, it serves as an umbrella fund platform that enables talented investment teams to launch regulated, institutional-quality master and feeder funds efficiently, with best-in-class service providers and ongoing governance support. Further information can be found at: https://aigi.io/ai-fund-platforms.