Hivemind Capital is a global investment group operating at the intersection of traditional finance and on-chain ecosystems. The firm manages institutional capital across strategies spanning venture capital, private equity, digital culture, digital asset treasury, liquid tokens, and public equity, while also developing technology infrastructure and conducting research focused on frontier technologies such as AI and blockchain. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Hivemind Capital Partner and Head of Venture Research Emmanuel Vallod to learn more.
Emmanuel Vallod’s Background
When asked about his background, Vallod shared:
My career has consistently sat between tech and finance. I spent close to eight years on Wall Street, including several years at BlackRock, where I worked across product and research leadership for fixed income. I later founded an AI infrastructure company, which gave me direct experience building a deeply technical business and navigating the limitations of the conventional venture market.
After moving into venture capital, I developed a strong interest in backing deeply technical founders, including those building outside the United States. By 2023, I was convinced that blockchain would be one of the largest sources of value creation in financial services, and I wanted to pursue that view with greater commitment.
I joined Hivemind after reconnecting with its founder, Matt Zhang, whom I knew from our earlier careers. We shared a belief in building an institutional-quality investment manager and in the long-term importance of frontier technologies. Hivemind’s multi-strategy structure provided the breadth and operating standards needed to turn those beliefs into an investment platform.
Hivemind’s Investment Platform
When asked about Hivemind and the work the firm is doing, Vallod explained:
Hivemind Capital is a global investment group operating at the intersection of traditional finance and onchain ecosystems. The firm manages institutional capital across several strategies covering digital assets and frontier technology.
Alongside managing capital, Hivemind develops technology infrastructure that helps assets and institutions move onto blockchain rails in a disciplined and scalable way. On the venture side, we invest in early-stage companies working across AI and blockchain, particularly at the infrastructure level. We like picks and shovels.
Our research gives us another way to examine emerging technologies and the conditions required for them to become commercially viable.
When asked about his favorite memory working at Hivemind so far, Vallod highlighted the launch of darkmatter lab:
The launch of darkmatter lab with UC Berkeley. It had been a long time in the making, and bringing a genuinely novel approach to frontier tech investing to market with my alma mater and long-term partners was special.
Most of the field waits until research has already left the university system. We wanted to show up earlier than that, with capital, compute and legal infrastructure at the pre-incorporation stage.
Standing at the launch alongside Berkeley, Google Cloud, Gunderson Dettmer and Goodwin Procter, all committing to the same premise, was the moment it stopped being a thesis.
When asked about Hivemind’s core products and features, Vallod detailed:
We offer six investment strategies covering venture capital, private equity, digital culture, digital asset treasury, liquid token, and public equity.
Together, they give institutional clients different ways to participate in frontier technology. The strategies draw on a shared platform supported by Hivemind’s research and technology capabilities, allowing us to serve clients with different objectives and constraints.
Addressing Frontier Technology Funding Challenges
When asked about challenges in the sector and how Hivemind has addressed them, Vallod explained:
One persistent challenge is that the conventional venture model is poorly suited to frontier technology. Companies built around advanced research often need substantial resources before they resemble a conventional business.
Early funding can be slow, restrictive or too small, while larger venture checks tend to arrive after the research has left the university system.
We’ve responded by developing earlier, more flexible funding structures that bring resources closer to the research stage. The aim is to help researchers move promising work toward commercial use while allowing them to retain control of their intellectual property.
When asked about darkmatter lab and its mission, Vallod said:
darkmatter lab is a program created by Hivemind Capital and UC Berkeley to help frontier research move from university laboratories into commercial use. It works with researchers before company formation, when promising projects often have the least access to flexible funding and operating support.
Each selected project will receive at least $1 million in combined resources. That package includes research funding from Hivemind, $350,000 in compute credits through Google Cloud, legal support from Gunderson Dettmer and Goodwin Procter, and operating services through Berkeley SkyDeck. The initial program is focused on high-impact research across AI and blockchain.
Its wider purpose is to address a structural funding gap. Conventional venture firms often invest only after a company has been formed, while other sources of support can be slow or require intellectual-property concessions.
darkmatter lab brings resources in earlier while allowing researchers to remain in control of their work.
When asked about some of Hivemind’s most significant milestones, Vallod highlighted:
Two recent developments show how Hivemind is extending its work in frontier technology.
The launch of darkmatter lab extended Hivemind’s venture strategy to the period before company formation, giving the firm a way to support promising university research earlier.
Hivemind has also expanded its research program. Our recent analysis of space computing examined whether orbital infrastructure could help address the constraints facing terrestrial data centers. The work reflects the firm’s approach to evaluating frontier technologies through both an engineering and investment lens.
When asked about funding and revenue metrics, Vallod shared:
Yes, to a point. We announced a $17 million strategic financing led by M&G, and revenue is in the eight figures.
The business is growing quickly, but what matters more than the headline number is what the financing enables. M&G came in as a strategic partner rather than a pure financial one, which gives us momentum as we scale.
We’ll share more as the next phase of the business takes shape.
When discussing the total addressable market Hivemind is pursuing, Vallod explained:
We look at TAM across two dimensions that reinforce each other.
The first is investment management of frontier technology assets, which we expect to reach $3.5 trillion in AUM within a few years, representing roughly $150 billion in annual revenue.
The second is the financial infrastructure and services that grow up around those assets, custody, financing, settlement, the plumbing. We expect that layer to reach roughly $150 billion in annual revenue over the same period.
Fees per unit are lower there, and the newfound velocity and utility of the assets more than make up the difference.
When asked what differentiates Hivemind from its competition, Vallod emphasized:
Hivemind combines the breadth of a multi-strategy investment group with a strong focus on frontier technology. This gives institutional clients several ways to participate through a single investment platform.
The venture practice benefits from Hivemind’s wider research and technology platform. This gives the team a broader perspective when evaluating emerging technologies, while its work with founders and academic researchers gives the wider firm an early view of where new forms of value creation may develop.
When discussing Hivemind’s future goals, Vallod concluded:
Hivemind intends to remain closely involved as more value creation moves toward AI and blockchain infrastructure, including its role in financial services. On the venture side, that means continuing to support deeply technical founders and developing funding models that can reach promising research earlier.
Research will remain part of that work. By examining the engineering and commercial conditions surrounding emerging technologies, Hivemind can identify promising areas while remaining clear about the barriers that still need to be addressed.
That research-led perspective will continue to inform how the firm supports new companies and technologies.
Research: Everything You Wanted to Know About Compute Markets but Were Afraid to Ask
