Decentralized Finance Firm AVA Acquires Alternative Investments Platform

AVA Labs, an efficient and modular decentralized services platform, has announced the acquisition of Investery, a private capital markets platform that empowers investors to manage alternative investments. Investery’s existing partnerships will transition over to AVA, while Investery’s CEO and Founder, John Wu, and VP of Business Development and Product, Lydia Chiu, will join AVA Labs full time.

Speaking about the acquisition, Emin Gün Sirer, Co-Founder and CEO of AVA Labs, commented: “Today’s acquisition of Investery represents AVA’s commitment to the continued development of our financial services offering and bolsters our position at the forefront of innovation in the DeFi space. What’s more, we’re delighted and honored to welcome John Wu and Lydia Chiu to the AVA team.

He continued: “As Wall St. alumni, John and Lydia bring with them significant expertise that will enable us to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets. This is an important strategic push for AVA that will further strengthen our platform, broaden our base of partnerships, and assist us in reaching new customers.”

Investery was founded in 2019 to help investors research, manage, and transact in private markets using its online discovery marketplace which enables investors to see deal inventory and their portfolio holdings in one app. Now as part of the AVA platform, clients will gain access to private asset platforms and the issuance of private financial assets. Investery will also facilitate the growth of AVA’s customer base while fostering relevant partnerships within the financial services space.

John Wu is an experienced technology entrepreneur who has held the role of CEO of SharesPost’s Digital Assets Group, where he built and led the digital assets business, which executed the first full-custody trade of digital securities. Prior to Investery, John Wu founded Sureview Capital with a strategic investment from Blackstone and was formerly a tech investor at Kingdon Capital and Tiger Management.

John Wu, CEO and Founder of Investery, concluded: “AVA Labs’ vision to leverage blockchain to drive liquidity, create new markets and streamline trade across financial markets globally is something that Investery is wholeheartedly on board with. Joining forces allow us to strategically align to expand our service offering for the next generation of financial services.”

Lydia Chiu, VP of Business Development and Product, will also join AVA Labs full time. Prior to Investery, she served as Director of Digital Assets at SharesPost, Senior Analyst at Sureview Capital, and had more traditional roles at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. At AVA, John will assume the title of President, with Lydia taking the role of Vice President of Business Development.