PayPal Ventures no longer exists.
Five people told Fortune that the corporate venture arm, which was created in 2016, will wind down its operations. A company spokesperson confirmed the news to TechCrunch, albeit in a nuanced statement.
“We are evaluating strategic options for our Corporate Ventures division as part of our continued efforts to strengthen our focus,” a spokesperson said in an email.
PayPal Ventures has over 80 investments, including crypto trading platform Talos Global, fintech infrastructure company Plaid, and crypto bank Anchorage Digital. Raised $850 million across three funds.
The decision to close the venture fund follows the retirement of PayPal CEO Alex Criss, who was replaced by Enrique Lores in February. The board said Mr. Chris had failed to adapt to changes in the industry and had failed to meet expectations. Ironically, the exit of PayPal Ventures could mean further setbacks for the company. This venture arm has given PayPal a front-row seat to new fintech innovations. Without it, the company risks losing visibility into the emerging companies that will shape the future of financial services and falling behind competitors that maintain strategic venture arms.
Mr. Lores took the helm with a mandate to restructure the organization, which he has carried out, with further layoffs and layoffs expected to continue in the coming years, Fortune reported. The outlet also said PayPal is considering a secondary sale to offload some of its stake in the venture and has hired Jefferies to help with that task. At last month's first-quarter earnings conference, Lores said the company needed to “recommit to its fundamentals,” including “becoming a technology company again.”
It's clear that the company wants to reposition itself in the ecosystem, particularly around AI, meaning this may not be the final chapter in its corporate venture investment in PayPal.
The PayPal Venture news also comes after the company reached a $30 million settlement with the Department of Justice in 2020 over the creation of an investment program targeting Black- and minority-owned businesses. PayPal was also sued in January 2025 by an investor who claimed he was excluded from an investment program because he was Asian. According to court documents, the case appears to be heading to trial.
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