CE-Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Crescent Enterprises, has announced strategic investments in two leading Silicon Valley startups, Plaid and Mesh. Both firms are redefining the infrastructure of tomorrowās financial ecosystem, focusing on data connectivity and crypto asset movement.
These investments align with CE-Venturesā forward-looking vision of an open, programmable, and crypto-native financial world.
Investing in Core Infrastructure
- ā Plaid, a global leader in fintech data connectivity, raised $575 million in a funding round led by Franklin Templeton. It had participation from CE-Ventures, BlackRock, Fidelity, Ribbit Capital, and others.
- ā Mesh, which offers seamless crypto transfers and wallet integrations, secured $82 million in its Series B round led by Paradigm, with CE-Ventures joining forces with Consensys, QuantumLight Capital, and Yolo Investments.
Why Plaid & Mesh Matter
Both startups offer critical infrastructure for a financial system that is rapidly moving from closed, siloed systems to real-time, interoperable networks.
š£ āPlaid and Mesh are laying the groundwork for the next generation of financial infrastructure,ā said Sudarshan Pareek, SVP at CE-Ventures.
He emphasized that weāre witnessing a systemic shift from:
- Closed to open networks
- Batch-based to real-time processing
- Traditional fiat to interoperable digital assets
The Three Big Trends Reshaping Finance
CE-Venturesā investment thesis is anchored in three major forces transforming the global financial landscape:
- ā
Interoperability
Smooth transfer of data and assets across platforms, borders, and currencies. - ā
Programmability
Instant, automated financial workflows powered by APIs, smart contracts, and intelligent triggers. - ā
User-Centricity
Giving individuals and businesses full control over their data, assets, and financial interactions.
Positioning for the Long Term
CE-Ventures has consistently backed category-defining companies at the intersection of finance, technology, and digital assets. With Plaid and Mesh, the firm is betting on long-term value creation through infrastructure that supports entire ecosystems, not just isolated use cases.
By supporting the connectivity layers of global finance, CE-Ventures is placing itself at the heart of a revolution, one where traditional banking, fintech, and crypto converge in real time.
Final Thoughts
As the financial world evolves toward decentralization and greater efficiency, infrastructure players like Plaid and Mesh are becoming indispensable. With this bold move, CE-Ventures is not just investing in startups, itās investing in the backbone of global finance 2.0.
