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Maven11
Maven11, founded in 2015 by Balder Bomans and Mathijs van Esch, is an Amsterdam-based crypto investment firm focused on early-stage blockchain...
Maven11
Maven11 launched in 2015 amid the first serious cycle of institutional curiosity toward crypto, founded by Balder Bomans and Mathijs van Esch in Amsterdam. The firm emerged from a view that the enduring value in blockchain would accrue to the unsexy connective tissue — consensus mechanisms, oracles, interoperability layers — rather than the consumer-facing applications that dominated then-contemporary venture attention. The firm deploys capital primarily through direct equity and token investments, concentrating on early-stage infrastructure across the blockchain stack. Its historic portfolio captures this thesis precisely: early positions in interoperabilty protocol Cosmos, oracle network Chainlink, and the modular blockchain Celestia. The team operates from Amsterdam with fund structures domiciled in the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, reflecting the cross-border nature of crypto-native capital formation. Commitments target layer-1 blockchains, middleware, and the emerging decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) category, typically entering at seed or Series A stages. Maven11 does not publicly disclose assets under management, and the team size is not published. The firm operates funds with a multi-year deployment cycle rather than an evergreen structure. September 2023: The firm led a strategic round into Celestia ahead of its mainnet launch and token generation event (per public record, 2023). This move reinforced a multi-year infrastructure thesis that had earlier guided allocations to projects like Cosmos. What separates Maven11 from the broad crypto-venture field is its single-minded infrastructure focus and its endurance across cycles. Founded before the ICO bubble, it survived the 2018–2019 crypto winter not by pivoting to equity-style SaaS deals but by doubling down on the thesis that more programmable, interoperable base layers would eventually unlock applications the market had not yet imagined. That cycle-native resilience, rather than late-entry scale, defines the firm's architecture.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2015
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Netherlands
City
Amsterdam
Corporate office
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Additional offices
George Town, Cayman Islands · Road Town, British Virgin Islands
Principals
Balder Bomans
Managing Partner
Mathijs van Esch
Managing Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Maven11?
Managing Partners Balder Bomans and Mathijs van Esch lead investment decisions. The firm's research and deal execution flow through the partnership, maintaining a flat, conviction-weighted structure typical of early-stage crypto-native funds.
What is Maven11's core investment thesis?
Maven11 invests in the infrastructure layer of decentralized networks — layer-1 blockchains, oracles, cross-chain communication protocols, and modular blockchain architectures. The firm explicitly prioritizes primitives that other applications can build on top of, rather than consumer-facing dApps.
Which notable portfolio companies define Maven11's track record?
The firm was an early backer of Chainlink, the decentralized oracle network; Cosmos, the interoperable blockchain ecosystem; and Celestia, the modular data-availability layer. These three positions, across distinct infrastructure sub-sectors, define the thesis coherence that allocators cite when evaluating the firm.
Does Maven11 invest via fund commitments or only direct deals?
Maven11 deploys primarily through direct equity and token investments from its own pooled vehicles, rather than acting as a fund-of-funds. The firm is not known for making LP commitments into other crypto venture funds.
How is Maven11 structured from a regulatory standpoint?
The management company operates from Amsterdam, while its investment vehicles are domiciled in the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands — a common structure for crypto-native firms that need to accommodate both equity and token investments across multiple jurisdictions.
What is Maven11's posture toward token investments versus equity?
Maven11 actively pursues both equity and token-side exposure, often securing token warrants alongside equity rounds in early-stage protocols. This dual-track approach reflects the firm's view that infrastructure-layer protocols will ultimately derive value from token economic models rather than traditional SaaS equity multiples.
Does Maven11 manage any vehicle other than its flagship venture funds?
Publicly, Maven11 is known only for its venture funds. There is no disclosed liquid-token vehicle, hedge fund strategy, or separately managed account business, though the firm does hold and manage post-launch token positions from its early-stage investments.
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