Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures Lays Off Fintech Team In Pivot Towards AI

  • 📰 ForbesTech
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 56 sec. here
  • 11 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 57%
  • Publisher: 59%

Point72 News

Fintech,Vestwell,MX

I cover fintech for the money team at Forbes. I am an NYU graduate with bylines at AMNewYork, Gotham Gazette, and Prague Daily Monitor. Reach me at emason@forbes.com or follow me on Twitter @emilymason00

Five investors, and likely multiple partners, are leaving Cohen’s fund as it shifts focus from fintech, the category where it had made more than half its 100-plus investments.venture capital arm, Point72 Ventures, is pivoting away from fintech and crypto after laying off its five investors focused on those areas,has learned. The firm will instead shift more focus to investing in artificial intelligence and defense technology startups, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.

The departures include three fintech-focused investors and two investors on Point72 Ventures’ digital assets team. Partners Tripp Shriner and Sugam Sarin are also likely to leave, the sources said, though another stated there is a chance they remain on the team to support existing portfolio companies.

Fintech startups promised to disrupt old school banks, insurers and credit card companies with modern technology, sleek designs and new financial products like earned wage access or early direct deposits. In 2021, the category reached a funding high, raising more than $140 billion across 5,474 funding rounds, according toThe cuts to the fintech team come seven months after the departure of Pete Casella, founding partner of Point72 Ventures and a former partner on the fintech investment team.

But the departures will still prove an unwelcoming complication for startups that took Point72 Ventures’ money in fintech and crypto. For companies in those sectors looking to raise in the future, the moves also bear a warning that at least one capital allocator is closing shop to them.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 318. in TECHNOLOGY

Technology Technology Latest News, Technology Technology Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Steve Cohen is set to make a big push into investing in AISteve Cohen's Point72 plans to launch a separate, artificial intelligence-focused hedge fund to capitalize on the boom.
Source: CNBC - 🏆 12. / 72 Read more »