Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ), a provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services across six continents, has launched a new venture investment program.
Nasdaq Ventures will be dedicated to discovering, investing in and partnering with fintech companies worldwide. The program’s main objective is to identify and collaborate on new technologies and services and solutions which align with Nasdaq’s clients’ needs and the company’s long-term objectives in the global capital markets.
As part of Nasdaq’s Corporate Strategy function, Nasdaq Ventures will be led by Gary Offner, who will report to Jean-Jacques Louis, Head of Corporate Strategy.
Offner, a long-time veteran of Morgan Stanley, has more than 20 years of continuous private equity, venture capital and strategic direct investment experience with a focus on minority growth capital investments in technology companies.
Nasdaq Ventures will make minority stake investments expected to range from less than $1M to approximately $10M, which will include seed to late-stage venture rounds.
Every potential investment will receive a review with an established internal committee to ensure that each partnership is aligned with Nasdaq’s overall financial and strategic goals, as well as an existing business line or business strategy in order to guarantee that every investment furthers the company’s competitive and strategic position in the chosen businesses.
Areas of initial focus will include:
– digital transfer/blockchain;
– machine learning and artificial intelligence;
– emerging and frontier marketplaces; and
– next generation data, analytics and content aggregation.
Nasdaq’s investment program began unofficially in late-2015 and has since been partnered strategically with:
– blockchain infrastructure provider Chain.com,
– machine intelligence company Digital Reasoning and
– real-time risk analytics firm Hanweck.
FinSMEs
19/04/2017