FAQs

GV Frequently Asked Questions

1. Short Description of the Fund

Glass Ventures Fund is increasingly being recognised as a ground-breaking Venture Capital (VC) fund that is in formation. Targeting a $100 million fund size, GV has several unique aspects that are getting potential LPs excited including a first-mover advantage in the new Web 4.0 category. We are aiming for a first close date of end of September 2024, for which participants will get the upside of very discounted stakes in companies that are well on their way to success.

2. What’s Web 4.0?

We are building the first VC fund to focus on early-stage Web 4.0 companies, the next generation of Internet firms capitalising on the application layer above existing AI, blockchain, augmented reality and quantum computing technology stacks. It integrates all these technologies and is defined by the utility, user experience (UX), and interoperability of its products.
Web4 is the symbiotic Web, the Smart Internet, the next evolution of the Web.
Web.4 gives users greater control over how data is shared and accessed.
Web4 is the path for mass adoption to Web3.
Investing in Web 4 future-proofs oneself by providing a hedge against the 'future’ and protecting against past investments in older tech.

Example of such companies:

is a platform designed to enable real-time monetisation of live events and meetings for content creators. It utilises blockchain technology to offer decentralised and transparent payment solutions, facilitating instant, direct, and cross-border payments. It is also seen as a Zoom on the blockchain.

By enabling video conferencing encrypted and on chain in a seamless way from Web2 to Web3, Promeet meets the Web4 promise of attracting the masses to its platform.

TreasuryX introduces a stable coin mechanism leveraging Insurance Linked Notes (ILNs) to create two digital assets: USDP (a USD-pegged stable coin) and USDI (an interest-bearing security token). The protocol manages asset risks and peg stability without complex rate adjustments, utilizing tokenized ILNs.

With its yield bearing feature and the use of Real World Assets to back the Stable Coin, TreasuryX is positioning itself as the ultimate bridge from Traditional Finance to Digital Finance and a perfect candidate for Web4.

3. What is the specific investment strategy for this fund?

Glass Ventures has a first-mover advantage in the new Web 4.0 category. In partnership with the prestigious Cambridge Blockchain Labs (CBL), we are building the first VC fund to focus on early-stage Web 4.0 companies.

The fund's strategy is then to invest in high-potential early-stage start-ups globally in the Web3 and the Web4 space and also in growth-stage Web3 companies that have been de-risked via revenue generation and commercial traction.   

This approach gives us the best risk-based returns of investing in both early-stage and growth-stage technology companies.

More details regarding the fund’s allocation breakdown is available in GV's governance appendix located in GV's data room (access link available upon request)

4. What is the expected geographic breakdown of GV’s investments?

Mainland Europe + UK 50%, APAC 35%, Americas 10%, Middle East 5%.

More details regarding the fund’s allocation breakdown is available in GV's governance appendix located in GV's data room (access link available upon request)

5. What is your relationship with Cambridge Labs?

Our ability to evaluate underlying technologies is exceptional, via a dedicated GV facility within CBL and its extended academic research network in the UK, Europe and the US. 

That gives us extensive due diligence capabilities, with deep tech insights backed by advanced academic research.

CBL is the blockchain arm of "The Frontier Technology Lab" at the University of Cambridge, which is an ecosystem of Cambridge Societies experimenting with novel technologies, in collaboration with academic and industry partners.

As such, Cambridge Labs acts as our venture partner and can be seen as GV’s R&D unit.

6. What specific research areas will the CBL R&D lab focus on?

Anything deep technology really. AI in all its nuances (from Analytical AI to GenAI and beyond), Quantum Computing use/application in Decentralized Finance, Entertainment, and all Web3 verticals but also Tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWA) and other new trends.

7. What criteria will they use to select projects for funding within the Web4 space?

Our stringent criteria for project selection prioritize innovation, security, scalability, future-proofing (ensuring irreplaceability by competitors, etc.), and a forward-looking approach to technology. This ensures alignment with the dynamic nature of the Web4 space.

8. What is the nature of Glass Ventures' relationship with its parent company Fineqia?

Glass Ventures is Fineqia Intl.’s Venture Capital arm.

For more details, please refer to GV's governance appendix located in GV's data room (access link available upon request)

9. Is GV an emerging Venture Capital Fund?

GV benefits from being an emerging fund – the latter historically outperforming seasoned VC funds - with vintage investment deals rolled into the fund. This demonstrates a track record of a 31% IRR with a projected MOIC of 16x, and also provides liquidity to otherwise illiquid investments. Since the vintage deals brought in have been operational for circa 5 years, we can expect some of our portfolio companies to exit within a [2-3] year horizon, as opposed to the traditional [5]+ years that is typical of VC funds.

For more details of Fineqia/ GV’s Investments & Performance to be rolled into GV, please refer to the data room (access link available upon request)

10. Is there a special treatment for first close investors?

Our first close investors get the benefit of one $2.5 million secondary transaction, which is poised to more than double in value. That significantly de-risks the downside for such investors, while providing spectacular returns to early LPs.

For more details on the 1st close investors' expected immediate [2.2]x uplift please refer to GV’s marketing deck slide 6 and additional information can be found in our data room (access link available upon request)

11. Are you able to share details of the specific projects or companies involved in your $8.2M portfolio?

Please refer to the slide 5 of GV’s marketing deck and additional information can be found in our data room (access link available upon request)

12. Can you walk us through GV’s financial model?

This information is made available in GV’s data room (access link available upon request)

13. Is there another ‘value add’ worth mentioning that GV brings to the table?

We act as an operational VC, hands-on, leveraging our know-how to scale businesses internationally and our deep network in the Web3 ecosystem. Additionally, we are a VC ‘builder’ and incubate start-ups where we are part of the founding team.

14. What is the target fund size for this venture? 

The target fund size for this venture is $100M. with a first close of $30+M.

15. Can you explain the investment structure of the fund? 

The fund has a GP, LP, and SICAV structure registered in Liechtenstein. Note that the fund structure is still in formation.

16. What is the minimum investment for individuals and institutions? 

The minimum investment for individuals is $250k and $1m for institutions.

17. Can you detail the management fee structure? 

The management fee is 2% of AUM during the investment period and on residual thereafter.

18. What is the carried interest and hurdle rate for this fund?

The carried interest for this fund is 20% up to 3x return on investments and 30% thereafter. The hurdle rate is 8%.

19. How often will reporting and communication occur? 

Reporting and communication will occur quarterly.

20. How often will reporting and communication occur? 

Investment in 50 companies (out of 900+ decks received annually that are often pre-vetted via our deal sourcing process, referred by the ecosystem/ partners etc) which represents [5.4] % of the deal flow.

1.The preliminary company analysis is vetted by GV proprietary Investment Model,

2. an initial DD is then done in partnership with Cambridge Blockchain Labs on the

tech component of the start-up,

3. The deal team is then proposing the deal to the investment committee represented by the GPs (Board of Executives at Fineqia, Bundeep Singh Rangar and Cinderella Amar),

4. after Board review, a ‘go/no go’ is given,

5. then a Deep Dive/ extensive DD is in order (with legal, tax, accounting etc), with Investment note,

6. shared to the Investment Committee ahead of

7. a second Board review

8. leading to a final approval for deal closing

21. Can LP do co-investment?

Certainly. GV actively encourages its Limited Partners (LPs) to leverage the due diligence conducted by GV and advocate for allocation on their behalf.

22. What is the GP commitment?

The founding GPs are the two individual co-founders and Fineqia. Collectively, they are contributing in kind to the GP with $5+ million worth of equity stakes – that keeps on growing, not to mention the increase of the value of the portfolio, even while fundraising - and offering a $5.7 million stake at a 70% discount to the GV fund for $2.5 million (offering the same purchase price but with bigger upside) in addition to paying for the upfront costs involved in setting up the legal structure and marketing the fund.

23. What is the relationship between the 2 co-founders, how does the governance/ decision making work and what’s the split in GP’s interest between co-founders and who else gets GP’s interest and what %?

Bundeep and Cinderella met at the Satoshi Roundtable (SRT), a gathering of crypto veterans in early 2023 in Dubai. For both, is partnership was “written on the wall” Perfectly complementary, sharing the same enthusiasm, “sacred fire” and passion for the new new technologies.

Please see the decision-making process as outlined in the deck. The final decision involves a unanimous decision by three voters: two co-founders and Fineqia’s Board (BSR abstains from voting by Fineqia).

GP Interest, net of third-party costs:

1. Bundeep Singh Rangar (BSR) 25%

2. Cinderella Amar (CA) 25%

3. Fineqia 25%

4. Warren Sergeant 10%

5. Other Third party (TBD) 10%

6. Other staff 5%

24. What's your strategy for raising and allocating the planned fund?

We believe a pivotal aspect of our approach involves providing 'access,' thereby democratizing and simplifying what may appear intricate to industry outsiders. While our offering resonates with the 'usual suspects,' such as fund of funds and sovereign wealth funds, we possess a unique advantage in attracting private investors, family offices and telecom companies. This is particularly evident as they seek profound insights into deep tech and endeavor to future-proof their operations. Importantly, our strategy not only broadens accessibility but also ensures a diverse investor base.

25. Where do you stand in your fundraising process?

We have started to market the fund to external investors at the end of March 2024.

After only a few weeks of formal fundraising, we have a soft committed cornerstone investor from London ($15,000,000), which should be closing on by the end of August the latest.

GV has also attracted public figures from the Web3 space who are investing in their private capacity, which is a strong signal of the quality of its deal flow.