Former Aptos Labs CEO Mo Shaikh launches $50 million fund to invest in crypto projects

Former Aptos Labs CEO Mo Shaikh and other early Aptos employees are launching a new fund called Maximum Frequency Ventures with an inaugural $50 million to invest in crypto projects, particularly in Asia.

MFV’s first fund will focus on web3 infrastructure, consumer crypto, and AI-native networks, a representative told The Block via email.

"MFV's Fund I mirrors Founders Fund’s first $50M vehicle (2005), which backed Facebook, SpaceX, and Palantir – companies that defined Web2," the representative said.

In addition to Shaikh, who stepped down as Aptos Labs CEO last December, several early Aptos executives will direct the venture. This includes former head of ecosystem and first Aptos hire Neil Harounian, former head of APAC institutions at Aptos Alexandre Tang, and former Aptos APAC ecosystem lead Jerome Ong.

"MFV is the firm this team wished had existed when we were building Aptos," the rep said. "It combines the discipline of a venture fund, the urgency of an accelerator, and the hands-on rigor of a studio, embedding directly with founders from day zero through scale."

MFV’s limited partners (LPs) include "deeply entrenched" family offices based in the U.S., East Asia, and Southeast Asia. According to the representative, "half of MFV’s LPs and more than half of the current portfolio already have roots in Asia."

"Our goal is to prove that operator-led capital outperforms passive capital in crypto," Shaikh wrote in an announcement on Tuesday. "Five years from now, success will mean founders can point to MFV for the build and for helping create companies that last."

As part of a hands-on approach towards development, MFV will offer a "founder residency" as well as "12-week sprints" to help accelerate product development and consumer adoption. "Working with MFV is less like having an investor and more like gaining a co-founder," Shaikh noted.

Shaikh told Fortune , which first reported the news, that Maximum Frequency Ventures has so far deployed $5 million into six startups.

In 2022, Shaikh was involved in a now-resolved lawsuit regarding an alleged conspiracy to deprive an early-stage investor of company equity.