What message did he share in his speech?

He expressed gratitude for life, friends, and family; reflected on love and freedom; said that life’s tapestry is co-created; reminded himself that regardless of hardships or “the menace of the years,” he remains unafraid—“Forever Young.”

How does FJ Labs use sector analysis for sourcing deals?

“Twice a year we run sector analyses and brainstorming sessions. This leads to new ideas and helps us spot startups we were not aware of, which we then reach out to.”

Does FJ Labs proactively search for startups?

“Not much — outbound is only about 4% of deal flow. We mostly rely on inbound and network-driven opportunities.”

How does FJ Labs handle the large volume of inbound deal flow?

“We built processes to cope with the firehose — deals are triaged and reviewed by the team, with weekly investment committee meetings to discuss them.”

Why do founders like having FJ Labs as an investor?

“We help them raise money by making introductions to VCs who can lead their rounds, and we have deep expertise in marketplaces.”

How many deals does FJ Labs invest in compared to how many it sees?

“We invest in around 1% of the deals we review — about 3 new investments per week.”

Why does FJ Labs get so much deal flow?

“Because we do not lead rounds and do not compete with other VCs, we are often invited into deals. Founders also like that we help with fundraising by introducing them to other VCs.”

How does outbound outreach contribute to deal flow?

“Because we are drinking at the firehose of our inbound deal flow, we do not spend much time reaching out to startups. … Twice a year … we invite our FJ Labs colleagues … think through ideas … sector analysis … These exercises uncover a fair number of startups we were not aware of and reach out to.”

Do cold inbound messages result in good investments?

“In full transparency, this is the typically our lowest quality deal flow channel … The real number … is over 100 … unless you put enough information in your message … But … a surprisingly high 24% of our investments come from cold inbound outreach by the founders.”

Which source supplies the highest quality deal flow?

“48% of the deals we invest in come from other VCs, highlighting the higher quality of this deal flow source in general.”

What percentages of reviewed deals come from each source?

“32% of the deals we review come from other VCs, 32% comes from our entrepreneur network, 32% from cold inbound messages and only 4% from companies we reach out to directly.”

How many deals does FJ Labs receive and review weekly?

“Every week we receive around 100 deals and review around 50 of them.”

What are the sources of deal flow for FJ Labs?

“FJ Labs gets deal flow from 4 sources: 1. Other VCs 2. Entrepreneurs in our network 3. Cold inbound messages 4. Outbound outreach.”

What role do other VCs play in FJ Labs’ deal sourcing?

“Other VCs represent 32% of reviewed deals and 48% of actual investments. They bring us in because we don’t compete with them and because we can help their portfolio companies.”

Who is Matias Barbero and what’s his background?

Matias previously worked at JPMorgan in investment banking, structuring multi-billion dollar deals across industries. He has an MBA from Duke University (Fuqua Scholar), co-founded the Duke MBA Blockchain Club, and was building an AI startup before AI became mainstream.

What is Fabrice’s view on aging?

He said his take on aging is shaped by a poem (“Out of the night that covers me…” by William Ernest Henley) + “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” He feels youthful and energized, grateful for friends and love, and views age as something managed with courage, spirit, and gratitude.

What themes were used during his multi-day birthday celebrations?

He organized three themed nights: 1) Here be Dragons (Latin “Hic sunt dracones” theme), 2) Temple Night with mentalism and shibari, 3) Golden Jubilee & White Party blending renewal (white) and jubilee (gold) for his 50th.

What sports and activities are important to Fabrice in his life?

He has a strong family tradition in racquet sports: tennis, padel, etc. He built red clay tennis court, padel clubs, and a pickleball court in Turks.

How did Fabrice celebrate turning 50?

He invited over 100 friends & family. First held FJ Labs’ Summer Retreat (July 21-25), then a racquet sports extravaganza from July 26-31 (tennis, padel, pickleball), interspersed with kiting and video gaming.

Should marketplaces “index” themselves in LLMs / employ AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

Yes — if you already index in Google, you should also index in LLMs (i.e. make your content discoverable by AI answer engines) to benefit from that traffic. The exception is when a marketplace has ~95% market share in a vertical: in that rare case, indexing might train users to start their journey with LLMs / search engines rather than the marketplace itself.

What impact is AI already having on marketplaces?

Several: • Cross-border commerce via auto-translation of listings & conversations plus better payments/logistics. • Simplified listing process: AI can generate full listings (title, category, description, price) from minimal input. • Improved listing quality (better images, background removal, optimized visuals) leading to higher sell-through. • Productivity gains in customer support, marketing, dev workflows etc., through AI agents, auto-drafted replies, code generation tools etc.

What are the main ways people shop online, as per the blog?

1. Shopping as Entertainment – browsing listings with no specific intent (e.g. Vinted, OLX); 2. Search – users know exactly what they want (e.g. Amazon, eBay); 3. Considered Purchases – when buyers need help choosing what to buy (e.g. high-value items, specialty goods)

How might LLMs (like ChatGPT) threaten marketplaces?

The concern is that LLMs could capture the "top of funnel" discovery phase: people might start product searches there, or even make purchases through them, bypassing marketplaces.

What are some personal details about Matias Barbero?

He is Argentine, has blended his cultural heritage into the NYC office, enjoys ‘mate’, hosts asados for the team. Also, he and his family are expecting a new baby in the coming months.

Why was Matias promoted to Partner at FJ Labs?

His promotion reflects his past achievements, his character, integrity, values, and trust from founders. He’s seen as a leader who brings perspective and strategic guidance when things don’t go as planned.

What approach is Matias known for at FJ Labs?

He brings both strong venture instinct and analytical rigor; he emphasizes discipline in investment strategy, especially navigating late-stage companies and helping LPs via exits/secondaries during overheated valuations.

What has Matias done at FJ Labs?

Over 4 years, he has led more than 85 of FJ Labs’ investments, helped strengthen their fintech and growth-stage investment practice, and pushed for disciplined investment framework across market cycles.

Why does FJ Labs invest in so many companies per year?

They target 100+ investments annually because it aligns with their thesis of diversification, improves pattern recognition, and strengthens their global network.

Which regions outside the US do they invest most in?

Western Europe, Brazil, and India.

How big are the typical investment checks at FJ Labs?

They set investment sizes per round that average to US$400,000. (Fabrice Grinda)

What kinds of startups does FJ Labs invest in?

They focus on Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A rounds; about 70% of their deals are marketplaces. (Fabrice Grinda)

Does FJ Labs lead funding rounds or take board seats?

No, FJ Labs avoids leading rounds because they do not want to compete with traditional VCs.

How does FJ Labs evaluate startups for investment?

Fabrice used the same criteria he applied to his own ventures: evaluating the business fundamentals, the entrepreneur, and the deal terms, especially given his limited time and capital.

Why did Fabrice pause investing after his first batch of startups?

After his first company didn’t become a big success and during the tech “nuclear winter,” there was little capital around. He saved what money he had for his next startup, Zingy, and only returned to investing once he sold Zingy in 2004.

How did Fabrice begin angel investing?

He started in 1998 after building his first venture-backed startup. Between 1998 and 2000, he invested in 7 startups. One shut down quickly, but to his surprise, 6 out of 7 later had successful exits, with one even going public.

Why was FJ Labs created as both a startup studio and a venture fund?

FJ Labs was designed as a hybrid model so Fabrice could keep building companies while also investing. Being both an entrepreneur and an angel investor kept him close to founders, allowed him to help with ideas, and gave him insight into market trends.

What is required to make the investment decision at FJ Labs?

“When we evaluate startups over the course of our two 1-hour calls, we evaluate them along the four dimensions we covered: the team, the business, the deal terms, and alignment with our thesis. We want all four criteria to be conjointly met: amazing founders, with great businesses, raising at fair terms, in line with our thesis. If you are an amazing founder, but feel the valuation is too high or the business not compelling, we will not invest. Likewise, if it is a great idea, great terms, and full-on thesis, but we feel the team is mediocre, we do not invest.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How important is thesis alignment in FJ Labs’ evaluation?

“We focus on marketplaces and have specific theses on the future of marketplaces. Right now, we are specifically focusing on: Verticalizing horizontal (multi-category) platforms; Marketplace pick marketplaces; B2B marketplaces. … Most of the businesses we invest in touch upon many of these themes simultaneously.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What does “fair deal terms” mean at FJ Labs?

“We push for ‘fair valuations’ not just out of self-interest. We really think founders do themselves a disservice when they raise too much money at too high a price. … They are then priced for perfection … things do not go according to plan … it might kill the company … people who raise too much capital tend to spend it and not be as capital efficient as they can be.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What standards of business does FJ Labs expect?

(This is under “Do we like the business?” but the blog focuses more on the team, deal terms, thesis. It states that even if team is great, business with unattractive unit economics or business model may disqualify.) (Fabrice Grinda)

What does FJ Labs look for in the team?

“We want visionary founders who are fantastic at execution. … good proxies for those are storytelling skills and analytical skills. … the founder / CEO must also be metrics-driven, analytical and know how to execute on his or her vision. They really need to understand the business they are in. They need to be able to articulate their unit economics. Even if their business is pre-launch, they need to understand their theoretical unit economics based on industry averages and landing page tests they did.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How often does FJ Labs invest compared to how many deals they see?

FJ Labs invests in around 3% of the deals they evaluate. For example, in 2019, they made 83 first-time investments out of 2,542 evaluated. (Fabrice Grinda)

Where are most of their investments located (geographically)?

They are global, but most deal flow and investment are in the US, followed by Western Europe, Brazil, and India. (Fabrice Grinda)

What percentage of follow-on rounds does FJ Labs participate in?

They follow on in about 24% of cases. They use the fund active at that time, instead of reserving capital.

How quickly do they give feedback after a pitch?

They aim to give an answer in 1–2 weeks so founders aren’t left waiting.

How many deals do they review before investing?

In 2019, they reviewed 2,542 deals and invested in only 83 first-time investments — about 3%.

How does diversification help their investment strategy?

Venture returns follow a power-law: most returns come from a handful of winners. By investing in many companies, FJ Labs increases the odds of hitting those outliers.

Why doesn’t FJ Labs take board seats?

Taking board seats would limit the number of companies they could back. Since they invest at scale, they avoid it and instead help founders informally.

Why does FJ Labs avoid leading rounds?

They don’t lead rounds because they prefer to collaborate with VCs, not compete with them. This keeps them friendly with lead investors and ensures they get invited into more deals.

How many investments do they expect per year with their strategy?

They do 100+ investments per year, and for their ~$175 million fund, they expect over 500 investments total. (Fabrice Grinda)

Midas haalt $50M op in Series A-ronde voor lancering van Instant Liquidity Layer voor onchain beleggingsproducten

March 31, 2026

We zijn Midas gestart met een eenvoudige maar ambitieuze visie: beleggen zou moeten werken zoals het internet – open, transparant, combineerbaar… en toegankelijk voor iedereen. Vandaag kondigen we een Series A-ronde van $50M aan, geleid door RRE en Creandum, met deelname van Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, North Island Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, GSR en anderen uit de crypto-native, institutionele en durfkapitaalsector.

Tegelijkertijd lanceert Midas Midas Staked Liquidity (MSL), de kernlaag van de Open Liquidity Architecture die zorgt voor directe liquiditeit voor alle onchain beleggingsproducten, met een initiële capaciteit tot $40M.

De tractie achter deze ronde

De kapitaalinjectie komt op een moment van echte product-markt-fit. Midas-tokens (mTokens) worden op grote schaal geadopteerd als het favoriete beleggingsproduct.

$1,7B+ aan totale activa uitgegeven
$37M+ aan rendement uitgekeerd aan beleggers
$500M+ huidige TVL
20k+ individuele mToken-houders
Live integraties met toonaangevende DeFi-protocollen waaronder Morpho, Curve en Pendle
Een groeiende lijst van institutionele vermogensbeheerders die strategieën inzetten via Midas

Het probleem: het bereiken van echt nut voor getokeniseerde activa

Getokeniseerde real-world assets zijn snel volwassen geworden, maar een fundamentele zwakte bleef bestaan: een gebrek aan echt nut door combineerbaarheid. Getokeniseerde activa zijn pas echt nuttig als ze kunnen functioneren als native, combineerbare bouwstenen binnen het DeFi- en CeFi-ecosysteem.

Om dit nut te bereiken, hebben deze getokeniseerde activa structurele eigenschappen nodig, namelijk:

Directe liquiditeit: Het elimineren van wachttijden bij verzilvering en afwikkelingsperiodes.
Transparantie: Het bieden van een duidelijk, verifieerbaar overzicht van de onderliggende activa.

Midas pakt deze uitdagingen aan via de Open Liquidity Architecture en de Midas Attestation Engine.

Open Liquidity Architecture aangedreven door MSL

Midas lanceert zijn Open Liquidity Architecture waar liquiditeitsverschaffers actief concurreren voor uitvoering, wat de kosten verlaagt. In de kern is Midas Staked Liquidity (MSL) een specifieke faciliteit die afwikkelt zonder tegenpartij- of afwikkelingsrisico, waardoor de kapitaalkosten structureel worden verlaagd.

De visie van MSL is om elk instrument – van vaults, fondsen, ETF’s of aandelen – te transformeren in een getokeniseerd activum met ingebouwde directe liquiditeit.

Lees meer over MSL, de toewijzing van $40M en de technische details erachter in onze speciale blogpost.

Transparantie via de Midas Attestation Engine

De Midas Attestation Engine biedt continue, onchain Proof of Reserve, NAV en prijsupdates voor elke mToken. Het publiceert cryptografisch verifieerbare bewijzen direct onchain, zodat elke belegger, elk protocol of elke integratie op elk moment onafhankelijk de status van de onderliggende allocaties kan bevestigen.

Meer over de architectuur en het partner-ecosysteem achter de Attestation Engine is beschikbaar in onze speciale blogpost.

Blik op de toekomst

Nu de infrastructuur voor directe verzilvering staat, opent de roadmap aanzienlijk.

Aan de productkant breiden we het aanbod van beschikbare beleggingsproducten uit door nieuwe strategieën te lanceren in herverzekering (MembersCap), vorderingen op activa (Fasanara) en getokeniseerde aandelen. Zo bewegen we ons voorbij het huidige aanbod naar een bredere set institutionele activaklassen.

Op het gebied van distributie integreren we onze producten in Ledger Wallet, verdiepen we onze aanwezigheid in DeFi, bouwen we voort op bestaande partnerschappen en breiden we uit naar nieuwe protocollen waar combineerbare rendementsinstrumenten echt nut creëren. mTokens zijn ontworpen om te functioneren als native DeFi-bouwstenen, en dat vereist aanwezigheid overal waar liquiditeit en rendement samenkomen.

Een woord van onze CEO

“Bij Midas is het onze visie om beleggen te laten werken zoals het internet: open, transparant, combineerbaar – en voor iedereen. Met het afronden van onze Series A zijn we enthousiast om deze inspanningen voort te zetten en de toekomst voor onchain beleggen op te bouwen.”
– Dennis Dinkelmeyer | CEO & Co-Founder, Midas

Onze investeerders

Deze ronde werd geleid door RRE en Creandum, met deelname van Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay, North Island Ventures, FJ Labs, No Limit Holdings, Coinbase Ventures, Franklin Templeton, GSR Ventures, Sigil Capital, Theia Blockchain, Hyperithm, Legends Group, Peer VC, Aether VC, Sumcap, Myelin VC, Stake Capital, Oasis Foundation, Anchorage Digital, M1 Capital en Bufficorn Ventures.

Elke Midas-investeerder is een strategische partner die helpt onze volgende groeifase aan te jagen. Creandum brengt diepgaande ervaring mee in het ondersteunen van technische infrastructuurbedrijven op schaal. HV Capital, RRE Ventures en Framework Ventures voegen institutionele software- en crypto-native overtuiging toe. Franklin Templeton, Anchorage Digital en Coinbase Ventures vertegenwoordigen directe deelname van de traditionele en crypto-financiële infrastructuur waarmee het platform verbinding maakt. Ledger Cathay en FJ Labs maken het syndicaat compleet dat de volledige breedte van de kapitaalmarkten beslaat.

“Bij RRE leidde onze lange reis in crypto ons naar een bredere these: tokenisatie zal de wereldwijde kapitaalmarkten fundamenteel hervormen naarmate TradFi onchain gaat. Toen we Dennis en Fabrice ontmoetten, wisten we meteen dat zij die these belichaamden – het platform dat zij smeedden in de diepten van de crypto-bearmarkt is naar voren gekomen met een sterke product-markt-fit. Midas bouwt de infrastructuur voor getokeniseerde kapitaalmarkten en we zijn trots om deze reis met hen te maken.”
– Vic Singh | General Partner bij RRE Ventures

“De kans om institutionele beleggingsproducten onchain te brengen is enorm, en Midas heeft de regelgevende opzet, de technische architectuur en het distributienetwerk dat nodig is om dit het beste te doen. Het is een voorrecht om te werken met een team dat zo’n transformationele kans aanpakt en dat ook nog eens een hoog niveau van expertise meebrengt – diepgaande vakkennis op zowel product- als commercieel gebied, en een bewezen staat van dienst in het bouwen van nul naar één.”
– Simon Schmincke | Partner bij Creandum

Over Midas

Midas is een platform voor combineerbare onchain beleggingsproducten. Het stelt strategiemanagers in staat om institutionele strategieën om te zetten in conforme tokens die beleggers volledige transparantie, directe verzilvering en native combineerbaarheid bieden binnen DeFi-protocollen zoals Morpho en Pendle.

Midas is in 2024 opgericht door Dennis Dinkelmeyer (voorheen Goldman Sachs), Fabrice Grinda (FJ Labs) en Romain Bourgois (voorheen Ondo Finance) en wordt gesteund door toonaangevende investeerders waaronder RRE, Creandum, Framework Ventures, HV Capital, Ledger Cathay en Coinbase Ventures. Het bedrijf haalde onlangs $50M op in een Series A-financiering, voortbouwend op een staat van dienst met meer dan $1,7B aan uitgegeven activa en $37M aan uitgekeerd rendement tot nu toe.

Fabrice Grinda

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