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Lightspeed Faction
LIGHTSPEED FACTION is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Palo Alto, CA, registered since 2022. The firm manages approximately $433 million in regulatory...
Lightspeed Faction
LIGHTSPEED FACTION is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Palo Alto, CA, registered since 2022. The firm manages approximately $433 million in regulatory assets. It has 8 employees and 6 investment advisers.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2022
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Palo Alto
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Principals
Banafsheh Fathi
Partner
Derek Colla
Partner
Samuel Harrison
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Lightspeed Faction?
Banafsheh Fathi, partner and co-founder, leads the firm alongside partners Derek Colla and Samuel Harrison. Fathi previously led crypto investing at Lightspeed Venture Partners. The team operates with investment autonomy from the parent firm (per the firm's public statements).
How does Lightspeed Faction source proprietary deal flow?
Lightspeed Faction generates deal flow through direct outreach to protocol teams at conferences and hackathons, as well as introductions from Lightspeed Venture Partners' broader network. The firm is known for being developer-centric and invests at the infrastructure layer.
Is Lightspeed Faction structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Lightspeed Faction operates as a structured early-stage venture capital fund within the Lightspeed Venture Partners platform. It is not a family office but a thematic fund with dedicated capital, investment team, and carry structure distinct from the parent.
What investment stages does Lightspeed Faction typically target?
The firm focuses on early-stage equity and token investments, primarily seed and Series A rounds. It invests less than $10 million per deal typically, scaling up for follow-ons in portfolio companies (per public reporting).
Which sectors does Lightspeed Faction explicitly avoid?
The firm avoids consumer-facing crypto applications such as NFT marketplaces and play-to-earn games, concentrating instead on core infrastructure including layer-1 blockchains, zero-knowledge proofs, and developer tools (per press interviews with partners).
Does Lightspeed Faction participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Lightspeed Faction makes direct equity and token investments only. It does not commit to external crypto funds as a LP. The firm's capital is managed through a single dedicated vehicle.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
Lightspeed Faction does not manage family wealth. Its capital comes from institutional limited partners (pension funds, endowments, foundations) of Lightspeed Venture Partners, allocated to a dedicated crypto fund structure.
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