What Morningstar Ventures does

Morningstar Ventures is a proprietary investment firm founded in 2020 by Danilo S. Carlucci and headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The firm specializes in digital assets and blockchain technology, deploying capital across both token and equity rounds in early-stage Web3 startups and growth-stage blockchain infrastructure projects. As of the input data, the portfolio spans 139+ companies across infrastructure, gaming, DeFi, AI, NFTs, metaverse, BTC ecosystem, RWA, guilds, social, and community/media verticals, with disclosed check sizes ranging from sub-$2M seed rounds to co-investments in $30M+ Series A financings alongside tier-one crypto and traditional VCs (Animoca Brands, Sequoia, Spartan Group, Jump Capital, Pantera).

The firm operates an integrated ecosystem of owned subsidiaries and operating assets rather than functioning as a pure capital allocator. Core operating subsidiaries include 37xDubai, a physical Web3 venue in Dubai for founders and investors; MSV Studio, an in-house development, design, strategy, and marketing consulting arm; MSV GG, an invite-only community of Web3 specialists; and Atlas Technologies / Crypto Atlas, a discovery platform for crypto projects. The firm has also acquired Coin Explorers (crypto news and insights) and Coin.fyi (a portfolio tracking dApp with 200,000+ user-created portfolios) to extend its platform footprint.

Revenue mechanics are not publicly disclosed but most likely combine investment gains from the proprietary portfolio with fee-based revenue from MSV Studio's consulting services and ancillary platform economics. The firm markets primarily through its 37xDubai event programming, an active blog and podcast, and social channels, while sourcing deals through its global team distributed across 10+ countries and its MSV GG community network.

Name

Morningstar Ventures

Legal name

Morningstar Ventures

Website

https://morningstar.ventures

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Morningstar Ventures is a Dubai-based proprietary crypto investment firm founded in 2020 that deploys token and equity capital across 139+ early-stage Web3 and blockchain startups, operating alongside in-house subsidiaries for venues, community, and portfolio services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cryptocurrency Venture Capital

NAICS

Miscellaneous Financial Investment Activities (523999), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Digital asset investments
• Blockchain venture capital
• Web3 startup funding
• Token and equity investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns: As a proprietary investment firm, Morningstar Ventures generates returns through equity and token investments in portfolio companies, likely via management fees and carried interest.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Morningstar Ventures is a proprietary investment firm that invests in early-stage Web3 and blockchain startups through token and equity rounds. The firm's portfolio spans infrastructure, gaming, DeFi, AI, NFTs, metaverse, RWA, and guild verticals, and it provides portfolio companies with operational support through wholly-owned subsidiaries including MSV Studio (development, design, and marketing), 37xDubai (a physical Web3 community venue), MSV GG (an invite-only specialist community), and Crypto Atlas (a project discovery hub).

Product overview

Morningstar Ventures is a proprietary investment firm specializing in digital assets and blockchain technology. The company operates as an investment vehicle with several subsidiary projects including 37xDubai (a Web3 space and HQ for founders, investors, and creators), MSV Studio (an in-house development, design, strategy, and marketing consulting arm), MSV GG (an invite-only community of web3 specialists), and Crypto Atlas (a discovery hub for crypto projects). The firm has also acquired Coin Explorers and Coin.fyi for portfolio tracking and news insights. Their portfolio spans 139+ companies across Infrastructure, Gaming, DeFi, AI, NFT, Metaverse, Bitcoin, dePin, RWA, and Guild verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 37xDubai: Premier destination in the heart of Dubai bringing together Web3 founders, investors, and creators.
• MSV GG
• MSV Studio
• Crypto Atlas
• Coin Explorers

Products and services

• Early-stage Web3 venture capital (tokens and equity) Proprietary investment into early-stage Web3 and blockchain companies via token and equity rounds, targeting seed, strategic, and Series A stages across infrastructure, gaming, DeFi, AI, NFT, metaverse, RWA, and guild sectors.
• MSV Studio An in-house development, design, strategy, and marketing arm operated by Morningstar Ventures that provides project support to portfolio companies and externally contracted Web3 clients.
• MSV GG An invite-only community of Web3 specialists that supports and co-invests in early-stage projects, providing network access and deal syndication to portfolio companies.
• 37xDubai (37x) A physical Web3 community venue in Dubai that hosts events, roundtables, and gatherings bringing together Web3 founders, investors, and creators.
• Crypto Atlas A discovery hub platform for exploring insights and tracking a variety of crypto projects, operated as a subsidiary of Morningstar Ventures.
• Coin.fyi A crypto portfolio tracking dApp with over 200,000 user-created portfolios, acquired by Morningstar Ventures in November 2021 and integrated into the firm's broader ecosystem.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Coin.fyiminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2021Morningstar Ventures acquired Coin.fyi, a portfolio tracking dApp with 200,000+ user-created portfolios. The acquisition aims to enhance the platform and integrate it into Morningstar's ecosystem.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HashKey Capital: Asia-based crypto venture investor backing infrastructure, DeFi, and Web3 startups. HashKey co-invested with MSV in Particle Network's Series A and pursues a comparable early-stage Web3 investment thesis.
• Animoca Brands: Hong Kong-based Web3-focused investment and operating company that builds, invests in, and publishes blockchain games and digital assets. Animoca is the most direct peer to Morningstar Ventures, co-investing with MSV in many deals (Gunzilla, Blast Royale, Pieverse, KIP Protocol) and competing for the same early-stage Web3 founders across gaming and infrastructure.
• DWF Labs: Dubai-headquartered crypto market maker and venture investor deploying across tokens, liquidity provision, and early-stage equity. DWF Labs competes with Morningstar Ventures for Web3 deal flow in the Middle East and globally across token and equity rounds.
• NGC Ventures: Asia-based crypto venture fund investing in tokens and equity across DeFi, infrastructure, gaming, and NFTs. NGC co-invested with MSV in ALLO and other rounds and shares a similar early-stage Web3 thesis.
• Mirana Ventures: Web3-focused investment arm of the Mirana/MEXC ecosystem, actively deploying across tokens and equity in early-stage crypto startups. Mirana co-invested with MSV in YoloYolo and competes for similar seed/strategic opportunities.
• IOSG Ventures: Crypto-native fund focused on early-stage infrastructure, DeFi, and consumer Web3. IOSG operates with similar ticket sizes and thesis as Morningstar Ventures and competes for the same founder pool across token and equity rounds.
• Cypher Capital: Dubai/MENA-based crypto-native investment firm backing Web3, DeFi, and gaming projects. Cypher Capital is the closest geographic peer to Morningstar Ventures and co-invested alongside MSV in ConsumerFi's CFIUSD token sale.
• ParaFi Capital: Crypto-native investment firm investing in DeFi, Web3 infrastructure, and tokenized assets. ParaFi co-invested with MSV in YoloYolo and operates with a similar sector-specialist, token-and-equity model across early-stage rounds.
• Mechanism Capital: Crypto-native fund investing across DeFi, gaming, and infrastructure tokens and equity. Mechanism led Gudchain's $5M round with Morningstar as participant and frequently competes with MSV in the same Web3 early-stage deal universe.

Broad incumbents

• Republic Capital: Larger digital assets and Web3 investment platform with both venture and tokenized offering capabilities. Republic offers overlapping capabilities to MSV but at a much broader scale across retail, private markets, and advisory.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Morningstar_vc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/MorningstarVentures

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments128 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Morningstar Ventures