CE-Ventures backs the future of financial infrastructure
Future Of Finance to be Open, Programmable, and Crypto-Native, Requiring New Technical Infrastructure
Generational Shift in Financial Systems Enhancing Expectation of Enduring Value Creation from Foundational Fintech and Crypto Infrastructure
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates – CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises, has announced landmark investments in Plaid and Mesh, two companies building critical infrastructure for the next generation of financial services. CE-Ventures' participation in the strategic funding rounds reflects the expectation that the future of finance will be open, programmable, and crypto-native — and that enduring, systemic value will be created by companies building the underlying rails and connectivity layers.
Silicon Valley startups Plaid and Mesh, focused on data infrastructure and digital asset movement respectively, are both critical enablers of financial interoperability. Plaid's global fintech data network and Mesh's global crypto payments network have both been significantly endorsed by their recent fundraising. For Plaid its $575 million fundraise was led by Franklin Templeton with participation from CE-Ventures alongside Fidelity, BlackRock, NEA, Ribbit Capital, and others. Mesh's $82 million Series B funding was led by Paradigm with participation from CE-Ventures, Consensys, QuantumLight Capital, Yolo Investments, and others.
'At CE-Ventures we are investing in the financial systems of the future – and we see Plaid and Mesh as foundational platforms in a converging world of fintech and crypto,' said Sudarshan Pareek, Senior Vice President at CE-Ventures. 'We are at the beginning of a systemic shift in global finance — from closed systems to open networks, from batch-based processing to real-time programmability, and from siloed fiat rails to interoperable digital assets. Plaid and Mesh are laying the technical infrastructure for that future.'
The strategic investments in Plaid and Mesh reflect the current generational transformation in financial infrastructure, driven by defining trends of interoperability, programmability, and user-centricity.
Interoperability to ensure seamless movement of data and value across platforms, geographies, and asset classes.
Programmability for real-time financial workflows enabled by APIs, smart contracts, and automation.
User-Centricity to empower end-users, individuals and businesses, with control over their data, assets, and financial interactions.
CE-Ventures has a history of investing in category-defining infrastructure companies that operate at this intersection. With investments in Plaid and Mesh, CE-Ventures is positioning itself for the most resilient value to accrue to infrastructure providers that power broad ecosystems rather than single verticals.
Plaid has become the connective tissue for consumer-permissioned financial data, enabling thousands of apps and institutions to securely link bank accounts, verify identities, and power fintech use cases such as lending, payments, and budgeting. As open finance expands globally, Plaid's infrastructure is becoming indispensable to fintech ecosystems.
Mesh is building a blockchain-native API layer that allows users and platforms to transfer crypto and stablecoins seamlessly across wallets, exchanges, and applications. As digital assets move from speculation to utility, Mesh is creating the middleware infrastructure for the crypto-to-fiat and crypto-to-crypto payment economy.
About CE-Ventures
CE-Ventures is the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises. CE-Ventures backs transformative technologies and visionary founders across fintech, enterprise software, digital health, climate solutions, and frontier tech. Its global portfolio includes companies such as Plaid, LayerZero, Mesh, NorthLadder, Shiprocket, and FreshToHome. To learn more visit: www.crescententerprises.com/ce-ventures
About Crescent Enterprises
Crescent Enterprises is a multinational company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with strategic investments across sectors. Established in 2007, the business comprises a diversified group of 57 subsidiaries, affiliates, and investments across 19 countries, and employs more than 1,600 people.
The corporate structure has four platforms: CE‑Operates, CE‑Invests, CE‑Ventures, and CE‑Creates. The platforms span various business sectors, including ports, logistics, food and beverages, healthcare, life sciences, and business aviation. They also include business verticals, such as private equity, venture capital, and business incubation.
Crescent Enterprises is a subsidiary of Crescent Group, a family-owned business shaping the MENA region's economy for over 50 years.
www.crescententerprises.com
For media inquiries please contact:
Charlie Scott, cscott@crescent.ae
Ghyna Kurdy, g.kurdy@saharapr.com
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