Laser Digital adds Florent Jouanneau as Partner to its rapidly growing ventures business

Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital asset subsidiary, is pleased to announce the appointment of Florent Jouanneau as a Partner in its ventures business. Florent, who commences his new position with immediate effect, will support the growth of Laser Digital’s venture capital business, reporting to Olivier Dang, General Partner and Head of Ventures.

Prior to Laser, Florent was a Principal at White Star Capital, investing in early-stage Web3 and DeFi start-ups. Previously, he was a Structured Credit and ABS trader at Bank of America and has also held several positions in Sales and Trading at UBS and Natixis (BPCE Group). He graduated from EDHEC in Nice with a MSc in Financial Markets, with a specialisation in Machine Learning.

Laser Digital Ventures invests in early-stage companies building innovative institutional products and services in the digital asset ecosystem, focusing on DeFi, CeFi, Web3 toolings and infrastructure. Investments to date include KomainuCrossover MarketsAllinfraOrderlyClearToken and a number of other undisclosed investments. In addition to capital, Laser Digital Ventures provides portfolio companies with support throughout the cycle and the expertise to scale up globally. As a trusted partner, the Ventures team connects entrepreneurs, investors, talent, industry experts, and ecosystem participants to support institutional grade web3 projects over the long term.

Laser Digital was launched last autumn by Nomura and was co-founded by Steven Ashley, who previously led Nomura’s wholesale division and Jez Mohideen, who was Nomura’s Chief Digital Officer and Co-Head of Global Markets EMEA. Headquartered in Switzerland, Laser Digital combines the rigor, best practices and capabilities from global investment banking with the experience of a crypto-native team.  

Commenting on the appointment, Olivier Dang said; “We are thrilled to welcome Florent to accelerate our growth in the Ventures business and gear up towards our next round of capital deployment. Florent’s methodology is to apply traditional investment approach and risk management to digital asset investing, which aligns perfectly with Laser’s commitment to meet the highest standards of due diligence to this nascent and dynamic asset class. We look forward to working with him.”

Florent Jouanneau added; “Laser Digital invests with a view to being a long-term partner, supporting projects which aim to overcome the challenges of institutional engagement in the digital asset sector, so I am particularly excited to be joining now, when we are seeing that established financial institutions are increasingly entering the digital asset space, and there is growing momentum behind this shift. It is a privilege to be joining this team, which values and promotes responsible innovation in this asset class.”

Contact:

Sophie Arnold

Head of Communications

sophie.arnold@laserdigital.com

About Laser Digital 

Laser Digital is a digital asset business redefining the frontier of digital finance. Backed by Nomura, Laser Digital delivers scalable, robust opportunities across trading, asset management, and ventures. The team works at higher risk management standards, compliance, and commercial viability, all driven by a belief in more responsible engagement in digital assets. With an open and dynamic culture, Laser Digital has the freedom to adapt to market needs, to move swiftly to capitalisation, and to share learnings with clients and partners – bringing greater confidence to the institutional market for the benefit of all.

For more information, please visit: https://www.laserdigital.com