Auros Launches Venture Capital Arm, Appoints Julien Auchecorne as Head of Auros Ventures

• Auros has unveiled the launch of Auros Ventures, with seasoned digital assets expert Julien Auchecorne at the helm.
• Auros Ventures' focus on investment will be on driving innovation within the dynamic digital assets and Web3 sector while bolstering ecosystem growth.

HONG KONG and NEW YORK, July 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Auros, a leading global market-making and algorithmic trading firm, today announced the launch of its new investment arm, Auros Ventures. This strategic addition will harness the firm's extensive expertise in digital assets to foster ecosystem innovation and drive substantial value creation for all market participants.

Auros Ventures will leverage the risk management capabilities and liquidity provision expertise of Auros to invest in the full project life cycle, from early-stage primary investments to liquid secondary opportunities. In addition to capital, Auros will provide market-leading advice and support to its entire portfolio, particularly where it pertains to their expertise in both on-chain and off-chain liquidity, market microstructure and exchange product design. This strategic approach reflects the firm's commitment to active involvement in the operational and strategic development of its portfolio companies and it forms a core component of Auros Ventures' value proposition as a partner. Since Q3 2023, Auros Ventures has deployed over $15 million and plans to invest in excess of $50 million over the next two years.

As of April 2024, Auros Ventures has recorded a total of 14 investments in its portfolio. This includes the firm's participation in the launches of high-profile projects such as oracle network Pyth and high-performance Layer-1 Berachain, among others. Spearheading Auros Ventures is Julien Auchecorne, a seasoned traditional finance and digital assets expert who has previously held investment, operating and advisory roles at firms such as XBTO, J.P. Morgan and Brevan Howard. As the Head of Auros Ventures, Julien will collaborate closely with Auros's Founder and Chief Investment Officer, Ben Roth, to guide the venture capital arm in the deployment of capital as the firm doubles down on ecosystem development and its role as a champion of innovative startups in the digital assets and Web3 sector.

Founder and CIO of Auros, Ben Roth, said: "Auros has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 2019. The launch of Auros Ventures is a reaffirmation of our expansion strategy and a commitment to continue growing our role as a trusted industry steward that fosters sustainable ecosystem growth. We are thrilled to welcome Julien to our team, having witnessed his impressive track record in investments and business scaling. His expertise and deep understanding of the digital assets market puts him in a strong position to lead Auros Ventures as we embark on a shared journey to discover the next wave of Web3 innovations and deliver outsized value, not only for the firm but for the collective ecosystem also."

"This marks a significant milestone, for both Auros and the broader digital assets community," Head of Auros Ventures, Julien Auchecorne shared. "Auros has made substantial strides in expanding its market presence in the past 18 months. I am excited to be working with Ben and the exceptional team at Auros to support groundbreaking projects that push the boundaries of innovation in our industry."

For more information about Auros Ventures and the innovative work being done at Auros, please contact [email protected].

About Auros

Auros, a market-making and algorithmic trading firm, was established by experienced derivatives traders and trading system designers with over two decades of expertise. The firm generates daily notional turnover in the billions of dollars. Auros' technological foundation fuses advanced pricing models with cutting-edge execution capabilities, ensuring reliable and consistent trading performance. Their distinctive, partnership-oriented strategy to providing external liquidity has quickly positioned them as the preferred market maker for many token projects and ecosystems. Additionally, Auros possesses in-depth knowledge in trading structured products, optimizing DeFi, and investing in liquidity-driven ventures. For more information about the company, please visit http://auros.global.

About Julien Auchecorne

Julien brings extensive experience in C-suite positions within the digital asset space. After a successful career in investment banking and asset management, Julien transitioned to the digital asset industry in 2017 and has since helped various early-stage companies navigate the challenges of this rapidly evolving industry, including fundraising, product and token go-to-market strategies, and compliance with evolving regulations.

Julien also played an instrumental role in establishing WebN, a Brevan Howard incubator that supports projects across various verticals, including staking and zero-knowledge (zk) scaling technologies.

About Ben Roth

Ben Roth is the CIO and Founder at Auros, one of the crypto industry's leading algorithmic trading and market making firms. With over two decades of experience in trading and portfolio management at leading TradFi firms such as Optiver, First New York and Hudson Bay Capital, Ben founded Auros in January 2019 with the specific goal to build the market's leading High-Frequency Trading and Market Making firm. As of April 2024, Auros trades on more than 40 centralised and decentralised exchanges and regularly accounts for as much as 5% of all crypto trading volume. With a staunch belief in the power of liquidity to drive value creation, Ben and the Auros team are dedicated to assisting projects, exchanges and foundations in navigating the complexities of the market and helping them to understand the impact that deep, reliable and consistent liquidity can have for the value of their business.