Pantera Capital Taps Symbolic’s Sam Lehman as Junior Partner for Crypto-AI Strategy

TLDR

• Sam Lehman joins Pantera Capital as junior partner to deepen its crypto-AI investment strategy.
• A significant portion of Pantera Fund V’s $1 billion target will focus on crypto-AI investments.
• Lehman brings expertise from Symbolic Capital to Pantera, having co-invested in several deals.
• Pantera recently led a $43 million funding round for Sahara AI, a blockchain-AI startup.

Pantera Capital, one of the largest crypto venture firms, has announced the appointment of Sam Lehman as a junior partner. Lehman joins the firm after previously working as a principal at Symbolic Capital, where he gained significant expertise in investments at the intersection of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI). Pantera’s move to bring Lehman on board aligns with its growing focus on crypto-AI ventures, which will play a central role in its latest fund, Pantera Fund V, targeting a $1 billion raise.

Lehman’s new role at Pantera will enhance the firm’s ability to navigate the rapidly growing sector of blockchain and AI, which has drawn increasing attention from both investors and technology companies. As part of Pantera’s strategy, a substantial portion of Fund V will be dedicated to investments in projects combining blockchain technology with AI, aiming to capitalize on the synergies between these two sectors.

Pantera Fund V’s Focus on Crypto-AI Investments

The $1 billion target for Pantera Fund V includes a strong emphasis on crypto-AI investments. Pantera general partner Cosmo Jiang has indicated that a significant portion of the fund will be allocated to opportunities that bridge blockchain technology with AI applications. This marks a strategic push by Pantera to identify and support the next generation of innovative companies in the blockchain-AI space.

Lehman’s expertise in AI, particularly in the areas of reinforcement learning and pre-training, will be crucial in guiding Pantera’s investments in this field. “I’m focused on more distributed, open-source AI companies,” Lehman said. “The focus is on using blockchains intentionally to facilitate collaboration on building state-of-the-art AI models.” This approach aims to ensure that investments are directed toward projects that utilize blockchain for genuine innovation rather than speculative or superficial applications of the technology.

Pantera’s Growing Influence in the Crypto Space

Since its founding in 2013, Pantera Capital has grown to manage $4.8 billion in assets, making it one of the largest and oldest crypto venture firms. The firm has made a strong mark in the crypto sector, having closed numerous deals and supported leading companies in the blockchain and crypto ecosystem.

Over the past 90 days, Pantera has ranked third in deal activity among crypto VCs, signaling its continued influence in the market.

Pantera’s track record includes investments in prominent blockchain-AI startups like Sahara AI, which raised $43 million in 2024. As blockchain technology continues to evolve, Pantera is positioning itself at the forefront of the industry’s next wave, combining its expertise in crypto investments with a keen eye on AI-driven innovations.

Strategic Importance of AI in Crypto

The intersection of AI and cryptocurrency has garnered increasing interest in recent years, particularly with the rise of decentralized AI models and applications. Projects that combine blockchain’s transparency, security, and decentralization with AI’s potential for automation and decision-making are seen as critical for the future of both technologies.

Lehman’s decision to focus on projects that use blockchain to coordinate global AI development highlights the growing role that AI will play in crypto’s future.

As the technology matures, the potential for AI to streamline crypto operations, enhance security protocols, and even automate decentralized finance (DeFi) applications becomes more apparent. By supporting these initiatives, Pantera is positioning itself to capitalize on this evolving landscape.

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