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amy Wu left Lightspeed Venture Partners for the FTX crypto trade, where she will run a newly launched $2 billion venture capital fund.
The fund, known as FTX companies, will focus on investing in projects that work in the web3, which some consider to be a new Internet ecosystem. Wu, a well-known venture capitalist who has spent three years with the speed of light, will direct the fund, but also the game, M&A, and commercial initiatives for ftx. The new role was attractive because it offers opportunities to work on both the operational and investment sides of the business, she said.
“i am super excited about the future of the open internet, crypto, and i think we’re still early right now in terms of blockchain adoption,” she said by phone from the bahamas, where ftx is headquartered. "I'm excited about how this industry will evolve in the future and FTX's role in that."
read more: web3 is the crypto world’s attempt to reinvent the internet
ftx ventures is launching with a team of eight people behind it. On the operational side, Wu's responsibilities will include a review of the company's potential acquisition targets. When it comes to gambling, ftx is able to provide a complete infrastructure platform, including the portfolio, exchange and conformity, for example -- for gaming businesses that want to build on the blockchain, she said.
"if you look forward to what ftx could be, there are definitely many opportunities for the crypto industry and fintech to merge, and so we will be looking at how to become more of a super-app for users, to be a single window for them, to essentially run -- individuals and also companies -- trade and other financial services," she said.
Wu spearheaded lightspeed's investment in ftx last year and had the opportunity to work closely with sam bankman-fried, one of the company's founders.
Ftx grew phenomenally over the two and a half years it lasted. A large part of its success can be attributed to the sponsorships it has signed with sports leagues such as the Major League Baseball, which was created to attract new clients. The company also bought naming rights at the arena where the Miami Heat Basketball team plays, and entered a long-term partnership with celebrity couple Tom Brady and Gisele bundchen. He recently said that he had purchased an ad in the upcoming Super Bowl, one of the most publicized -- and most expensive -- advertising opportunities in sports broadcasting.
