Morgan Creek Digital, a hedge fund management firm based in North Carolina, has unveiled plans to raise approximately $500 million for a pioneering fund aimed at advancing investments in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technologies, semiconductor chips, and data-driven opportunities.

The fund, as detailed in a recent announcement, aims to channel investments into nascent enterprises that harness the synergy of AI and blockchain, coupled with cutting-edge chip technologies, to unlock substantial value from data.

Morgan Creek’s Ambitious $500M Fundraising Initiative Morgan Creek is actively seeking technologies that span across multiple sectors, such as high-efficiency chips tailored for Bitcoin mining or AI model training within data centers.

Read more: Ex-Morgan Stanley VP Secures $3.5 Million Pre-Seed for Revolutionary Algorithmic Crypto Trading Platform, Tread.fi

The firm has initiated discussions with a diverse array of partners, including sovereign wealth funds, institutional investors, and corporate leaders spanning Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Furthermore, Morgan Creek intends to bolster its global footprint through strategic allocations from the new fund.

Mark Yusko, General Partner at Morgan Creek Digital, emphasized the firm’s strategic outlook: “With the expansive reach of Web3, MCD will be dedicating significant efforts to engage with top-tier CEOs and collaborators in international markets.”

Morgan Creek anticipates that regions such as EMEA and APAC, particularly the Middle East, will emerge as frontrunners in technology, driven by escalating investments in AI and blockchain sectors. The firm projects a tripling of investments in generative AI across APAC nations, with EMEA poised to witness a 40% surge in sector-specific investments. These developments could potentially inject $30 billion in new net investments by the coming year.

Revitalization of the Crypto VC Landscape Morgan Creek Digital’s recent initiative coincides with a resurgence in the crypto venture capital market, marked by heightened fundraising activities compared to the previous year, particularly among early-stage enterprises. According to insights from Galaxy Research, the first half of 2024 witnessed a substantial influx of capital, surpassing previous records.

While crypto venture capital flows peaked in early 2022, subsequent quarters experienced diminishing volumes until the notable resurgence observed in early 2024, with $2.5 billion secured across 603 transactions. The subsequent quarter of 2024 recorded an even more impressive $3.2 billion raised, albeit with a slight decline in deal volume.

Amidst expectations of a robust market cycle this year, investors are poised to navigate a landscape characterized by a fear of missing out (FOMO) and intensified competition, potentially driving a surge in both deal volume and capital raised.