PayPal Ventures shutters as company restructuring continues
PayPal is closing its corporate venture arm PayPal Ventures, which made over 80 investments since 2016, as part of ongoing restructuring under new CEO Enrique Lores.
PayPal Ventures, the company's corporate venture capital fund, is being wound down, according to multiple sources and confirmed by a company spokesperson. Founded in 2016, the fund made more than 80 investments, including crypto trading platform Talos Global, fintech infrastructure company Plaid, and crypto bank Anchorage Digital. It raised $850 million across three funds.
The decision follows the departure of PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, who was replaced by Enrique Lores in February. The board said Chriss failed to keep pace with industry changes. Lores has embarked on a restructuring plan that includes further cuts and layoffs expected to continue for several years, Fortune reported.
PayPal is exploring secondary sales to offload some of its venture holdings and has hired Jefferies to assist. Lores stated in the company's first-quarter earnings call that PayPal needs to "recommit to the fundamentals" and "become a technology company again."
The closure also comes after PayPal reached a $30 million settlement with the Justice Department over an investment program created in 2020 targeting Black and minority-owned businesses. Additionally, in January 2025, PayPal was sued by an investor who claimed she was excluded from the program because she was Asian. That case appears headed for trial.
