Investcorp alternative investments firm launched the first institutional blockchain fund, eLydian Lion. The new blockchain fund is based in the GCC.
The institutional fund will be headed by Investcorp’s Abu Dhabi office. The Fund will invest in companies that focus on blockchain technology.
An example of a blockchain protocol is AutoSwap by Autonomy Network.
Institutional investors that wish to maintain exposure to the blockchain ecosystem may be attracted by the new fund. The Fund will primarily invest in startups in their early stages.
The types of companies that will be invested in include exchanges, decentralized finance (DeFi), platforms, blockchain infrastructure and data analytics.
In 2021, Investcorp delisted itself from the Bahrain Bourse, which turned the firm into a closed shareholding company. Mohammed Alardhi, an Executive Chairman explained why the company approved the delisting: “Delisting and becoming a private company is the most appropriate ownership structure at this stage in the continuing journey of Investcorp.
"It will allow us to be agile, focused on investing for our long-term strategy and enables our senior leadership team to be dedicated to driving growth.
"Bahrain is Investcorp’s birthplace, our hub in the Gulf region, and we highly value the deep talent pool, the regulatory environment and geographical central position it offers in the GCC.”
Investcorp Officials
Hazem Ben-Gacem, the Co-Chief Executive Officer at Investcorp said, “Offering our clients innovative and bold investment ideas, backed by our disciplined and proven approach, has been a key element of our success over the last four decades.
"We have a strong track record in technology investment and will bring our institutional expertise and global reach to bear on this fast-growing area of technology.”
Gilbert Kamieniecky, the Head of Investcorp’s Technology Private Equity business said: “We believe that blockchain technology and the ecosystem around it, will transform every facet of our economy much like the internet did in the 2000s.
"We have already seen the potential of blockchain to disrupt existing markets and create new ones, such as the meteoric rise of the Non-Fungible Tokens market that in just a few years has grown from under a billion to more than $40 billion.
"This new Fund will support the most innovative entrepreneurs from around the world who are developing the blockchain ecosystem and defining what the future digital economy will be.”
