North Island Ventures
North Island Ventures is a New York-based crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2020 that invests $500K–$5M in early-stage crypto, fintech, and AI startups. Founded by Travis Scher, James Hutchins, and Glenn Hutchins, it deploys from a concentrated portfolio of roughly 50 companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What North Island Ventures does
North Island Ventures is a New York-based, crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2020 that invests in early-stage companies at the intersection of crypto, fintech, and artificial intelligence. The firm writes checks of $500K to $5M into seed- and early-stage rounds, with a portfolio spanning DeFi infrastructure (Ether.Fi, Midas, Squid, Depay), security (Immunefi), AI-x-crypto protocols (GenLayer, Nous Research), fintech (Limited), and special economic zones (Próspera). The firm employs approximately 10 people and operates as a founder-controlled, privately held partnership with no public revenue or AUM disclosure.
The firm's core product is its investment vehicle and the proprietary "NIV Tech" internal AI tooling stack it is building to support deal sourcing, due diligence, and research production. The team maintains a public research and content practice (including sponsored deep dives such as the Ether.Fi research piece and appearances on The Chopping Block podcast), which functions as a low-cost founder-acquisition channel and reinforces the firm's "Finance 3.0" investment thesis. No proprietary AI models, training pipelines, or data flywheel mechanics are disclosed.
The business model follows the standard emerging-manager VC structure: management fees (typically 2% of committed capital) on one or more fund vintages, plus carried interest on realized gains. The firm's competitive identity rests on the unusual combination of crypto operating experience (Travis Scher, formerly of Digital Currency Group) and institutional investment pedigree (Glenn Hutchins, co-founder of North Island and formerly of Silver Lake; James Hutchins, formerly of Coatue). Growth levers include expanded fund vintages, follow-on participation in successful portfolio companies, and potential commercialization of the NIV Tech tooling beyond internal use, none of which are confirmed in the data.
North Island Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- North Island Ventures
- Legal name
- North Island Ventures, LLC
- Website
- https://northisland.ventures
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- North Island Ventures is a New York-based crypto-native venture capital firm founded in 2020 that invests $500K–$5M in early-stage crypto, fintech, and AI startups. Founded by Travis Scher, James Hutchins, and Glenn Hutchins, it deploys from a concentrated portfolio of roughly 50 companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
North Island Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crypto Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199), Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)
Keywords
Where North Island Ventures is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
North Island Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Venture capital fund management: As a venture capital firm, North Island Ventures generates revenue primarily through management fees and carried interest on its investment funds. The firm invests $500K-$5M checks in early-stage technology, blockchain, cryptocurrency, fintech, and enterprise software companies. The Terms of Use explicitly states the firm does not intend to solicit or make its investment advisory services available to the general public and that investments are intended only for sophisticated investors able to assume illiquidity risk.
- Crypto and digital asset activities (including staking): Per the Privacy Policy, the firm invests in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets and conducts related activities including 'staking' of digital assets as part of its investment operations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Not publicly disclosed — quote-based for accredited/sophisticated investors only |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Investment check sizes: $500K–$5M per portfolio company |
Go-to-market motion3 records
North Island Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
North Island Ventures is a crypto-focused venture capital firm that invests $500K–$5M checks into early-stage companies operating in blockchain, cryptocurrency, fintech, AI, DePIN, gaming, and longevity sectors. The firm backs visionary founders with capital, conviction, and ongoing support, guided by its "Finance 3.0" investment thesis around decentralized finance, tokenization, and adjacent emerging-technology sectors. It also conducts direct digital asset investments and staking activities as part of its fund operations.
Product overview
North Island Ventures (NIV) is a single unified venture capital firm rather than a multi-product software platform. Its core offering is an early-stage investment program that writes $500k-$5M checks into crypto, fintech, AI, DePIN, gaming, and longevity startups, guided by its Finance 3.0 thesis. The firm's 'products' include its diversified Portfolio of crypto & fintech investments (featuring companies like Midas, Squid, Nous Research, Edgen, Ether.Fi, and Immunefi), the Finance 3.0 Investment Thesis that frames its strategy, a dedicated NIV Tech sub-brand at tech.northisland.ventures for technology research, and an NIV Research & Content publishing arm that produces AI-generated conference summaries, primers, and podcasts. Together these offerings reflect a unified investment platform rather than a suite of separate commercial software products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- North Island Ventures Early-Stage Investment Program North Island Ventures' core offering is its venture capital investment program, providing $500K–$5M checks to early-stage companies in crypto, blockchain, fintech, AI, DePIN, gaming, and longevity sectors. It is intended for sophisticated accredited investors and visionary founders building in the firm's covered sectors.
- Finance 3.0 Investment Thesis North Island Ventures' flagship investment thesis articulating the third era of finance, where decentralized blockchains enable self-custody, P2P payments, tokenization, and smart contracts to transform financial systems and adjacent sectors like AI, DePIN, social media, gaming, and network states. It frames the firm's investment strategy and is published publicly to attract aligned founders and LPs.
Companies that use North Island Ventures
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
North Island Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature3 records
North Island Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
North Island Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Paradigm: Crypto-native venture fund focused on early-stage crypto and blockchain companies. Directly comparable to NIV in thesis and stage focus, but operating at significantly larger fund size, making them a frequent co-investor or competitor on the same deals.
- Multicoin Capital: Crypto-focused investment firm that backs early-stage tokens, equity, and liquid crypto assets. Similar stage, similar thesis around programmable blockchains, and similar event-driven sourcing approach (e.g., Solana ecosystem investments).
- Pantera Capital: One of the earliest crypto-focused investment firms covering venture, liquid tokens, and early-stage tokens. Directly comparable as a multi-strategy crypto fund with both private and public market exposure and a published research apparatus.
- 1confirmation: Crypto-native seed fund led by Nick Tomaino, with a thesis-driven approach to early-stage crypto investments. Highly comparable stage, check size, and conviction-based investing style to NIV.
- Polychain Capital: Crypto-focused investment firm that leads early-stage protocol and equity rounds. Comparable to NIV in early-stage crypto focus and concentration in next-generation blockchain infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Galaxy Digital: Diversified crypto financial services firm spanning venture investing, trading, asset management, and mining. Greg Rosenthal of NIV previously worked on Galaxy's venture team. Comparable as a broader incumbent operating both liquid and venture crypto strategies.
- Coinbase Ventures: The venture arm of Coinbase, investing across all stages of crypto and blockchain. Comparable as an institutional crypto investor with similar portfolio overlap, but with much larger scale and direct strategic alignment with a major exchange.
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto): Major venture firm with a dedicated crypto fund. Operates at significantly larger scale, but pursues many of the same early-stage crypto and DePIN opportunities as NIV and is a frequent co-investor or competitor on rounds.
- Digital Currency Group: Crypto-focused holding company and venture investor. Travis Scher led DCG's investments from 2015-2019 before co-founding NIV. Directly comparable as both a competitor and a feeder of talent and deal flow to NIV.
Emerging players
- Hack VC: Crypto-focused seed fund writing early checks into crypto and AI infrastructure. Comparable in stage and check size to NIV, with overlapping themes in AI x crypto and developer infrastructure.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
North Island Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceNorth Island Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
North Island Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
North Island Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
North Island Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments78 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about North Island Ventures
What does North Island Ventures do?
North Island Ventures is a crypto-focused venture capital firm that invests $500K–$5M checks into early-stage companies operating in blockchain, cryptocurrency, fintech, AI, DePIN, gaming, and longevity sectors. The firm backs visionary founders with capital, conviction, and ongoing support, guided by its "Finance 3.0" investment thesis around decentralized finance, tokenization, and adjacent emerging-technology sectors. It also conducts direct digital asset investments and staking activities as part of its fund operations.
Is North Island Ventures a public or private company?
North Island Ventures is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was North Island Ventures founded?
North Island Ventures was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is North Island Ventures based?
North Island Ventures is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does North Island Ventures make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Venture capital fund management is the primary driver. The others are crypto and digital asset activities (including staking).
Who are North Island Ventures's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Paradigm, Multicoin Capital, Pantera Capital, 1confirmation and Polychain Capital. Broad incumbents are Galaxy Digital, Coinbase Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z crypto) and Digital Currency Group. Hack VC is listed as an emerging player.
Does North Island Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for North Island Ventures.
What industry is North Island Ventures in?
North Island Ventures's product category is Crypto Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAJ, Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms. Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6199.