Arbor Ventures
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Arbor is a heavyweight in global fintech that founders actually like working with - not always a given in this space. Melissa and Wei have serious Silicon Valley pedigree (Tesla Series A, PayPal Ventures) but they're not trying to impose Valley orthodoxy on every market. A key to Arbor's success has been cultivating a team with a truly global mindset. Guzy emphasizes the importance of embracing local cultures and dynamics rather than trying to impose Silicon Valley norms. Their track record speaks volumes: 6 unicorns including Tabby and Grab, plus they actually get exits (11 acquisitions, 2 IPOs). They're hands-on operators who will work in your business - one partner literally serves as VP/GM at portfolio company InCountry. The downside? They're selective as hell and their fund sizes mean they're hunting bigger deals, so don't expect them to lead your $2M seed.
- —Best for: Global fintech scale-ups needing cross-border expansion expertise
- —Known for: Actually getting exits and hands-on operational support
- —Watch out for: High selectivity and preference for larger rounds
Arbor Ventures invests in companies that leverage advanced technologies to facilitate, broaden or fundamentally change the way financial services are served, consumed, and managed. Arbor Ventures is a global early-stage venture capital firm focused on shaping the way the world transacts by investing in companies at the intersection of financial services, AI and digital commerce.
Arbor Ventures is primarily an Early Stage Investor investor majorly investing in Series A (19) rounds where average round size is $522M, Seed (6) rounds where average round size is $29.6M and Series B (5) rounds where average round size is $137M. Their portfolio spans financial services, information technology, cybersecurity, insurance technology, artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain & financial technology sectors.
Melissa's expertise in Fintech has earned her recognition as a Top 100 Influencer in Fintech (NxBnk), AlwaysOn Fintech Power Player, as well as One of the Most Influential Women in Tech in Asia. It was only two years after Guzy joined that the partnership started investing in new companies, and one of those companies turned out to be Tesla. VantagePoint led Tesla's Series A. But despite Musk's unproven track record in running a company day-to-day, the partners at VantagePoint saw the potential in his bold vision to disrupt the automotive industry and narrowly decided to back him.
Prior to Arbor, Wei was the Managing Director and Head of Asia for Citi Ventures. Wei is a current member of the board of directors at Booking Holdings and a founding member of the Internet Brokerage Committee, an advisory body to the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission.
Peter is based in San Francisco and joins from PayPal where he served for nearly eight years, most recently as Vice President, Head of Corporate Development and Managing Partner of PayPal Ventures. At PayPal, Peter was a founding member of PayPal Ventures and his experience includes investments across the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa in Divvy, Toss, Pine Labs, Acorns, Tala, Paidy, Paxos, Codat and Neon, among other companies.
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