Fundraising Fox

Wale Ayeni

Investor

Managing Partner at Helios Digital Ventures · Board director at Galatea Bio

Washington, District of Columbia

Writes $200K – $50M checks · typically $200K

About

Wale Ayeni is Managing Partner and Co-head of Helios Digital Ventures, with over 18 years of experience in technology and venture capital. He previously served as Head of Direct Venture Capital Investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he built its venture capital practice in Africa, and earlier led venture investments in Silicon Valley for Orange after roles as a microprocessor design engineer at Intel and Qualcomm and in JP Morgan's Technology Investment Banking group. He holds an MBA from Dartmouth College and a bachelor's degree from Moscow University, and focuses on Series B+ founder-led tech companies with an African nexus.

Invests in

Deep TechFintechImpact & Social Good

Board director at Galatea Bio

Intro paths

→

In turn, Wale can intro founders to Galatea Bio's investors below.

Galatea Bio's investors · 9

AlexandriaPasadena · since 2024CEI VenturesBrunswick · $1M – $4M checks · since 2024Citta CapitalPalo Alto · since 2024Digitalis VenturesNew York · $100K – $10M checks · since 2024F-Prime CapitalCambridge · $3M – $10M checks · since 2024Founder CollectiveCambridge · since 2024Function VenturesMiami · $10K – $300K checks · since 2024Helios Digital VenturesLondon · since 2024LifeX VenturesSan Francisco · since 2024

Co-founders at Galatea Bio

CDCarlos D. Bustamante
Carlos D. BustamanteExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

  1. Helios Investment PartnersManaging Partner - Helios Digital Venturescurrent2022 — present
  2. SardineInvestorcurrent2026 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  3. Pave BankInvestorcurrent2025 — present
  4. ConduitInvestor and Non-Executive Board Directorcurrent2023 — presentGlobal
  5. Galatea Bio Inc.Investor and Non-Executive Board Directorcurrent2025 — presentFlorida, United States
  6. NombaInvestorcurrent2022 — present
  7. PaymobInvestorcurrent2022 — present
  8. VC3 DAOGenesis Membercurrent2022 — present
  9. LemFiInvestor2020 — 2025
  10. IFC - International Finance CorporationHead, Venture Capital Investments - Africa, Middle East & Central Asia2021 — 2022Washington DC-Baltimore Area
  11. IFC - International Finance CorporationActing Global Head, Disruptive Technologies and Venture Capital Investments2020 — 2021Washington, District of Columbia, United States
  12. IFC - International Finance CorporationHead, Venture Capital Investments - Africa2016 — 2020Lagos, Nigeria
  13. Knife CapitalInvestor2021 — 2022Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
  14. Wave Mobile MoneyInvestor2021 — 2022Senegal
  15. BoltInvestor | Board Observer2021 — 2022
  16. MaxABInvestor2020 — 2022Egypt
  17. TradeDepotInvestor | Board Director2020 — 2022
  18. Kobo360Investor | Board Director2018 — 2022Nigeria
  19. TLcom Capital LLPInvestor | Advisory Board Member2018 — 2022London, England, United Kingdom
  20. Twiga FoodsInvestor | Board Director2018 — 2022Kenya
  21. Africa's TalkingInvestor | Board Director2018 — 2022Nairobi, Kenya
  22. PartechInvestor | Advisory Board member2017 — 2022Paris, Île-de-France, France
  23. PontoPrivate Investor2021San Francisco Bay Area
  24. GoldfinchPrivate Investor2021San Francisco Bay Area
  25. PaystackPrivate Investor2016 — 2020Nigeria
  26. OrangePrincipal, Startup Investments2013 — 2016San Francisco Bay Area
  27. VeniamInvestor2015 — 2016San Francisco Bay Area
  28. Chain Inc.Investor2015 — 2016San Francisco Bay Area
  29. PayJoyInvestor | Board Advisor2015 — 2016Saratoga, California
  30. J.P. MorganInvestment Banking2010 — 2013San Francisco Bay Area
  31. QualcommSenior System on Chip Verification Engineer2008 — 2009Greater San Diego Area
  32. Intel CorporationChip Design Engineer2005 — 2008Chandler, AZ
  33. MotorolaChip Test Engineer2005Schaumburg, IL
  34. Cisco Systems Training CenterNetwork Engineer2002 — 2003Moscow, Russian Federation

Skills & more

Investment Banking61Private Equity59Entrepreneurship45Asset Managment7Financial Modeling99Product Management8Valuation26Competitive Analysis8Corporate Development11Due Diligence17Corporate Finance9Venture Capital99
+12 moreMergersBusiness StrategyFinancial AnalysisMobile DevicesMergers & AcquisitionsBankingAnalyticsFinanceStrategyAnalysisAsset ManagementEmerging Markets

Languages Creoles and pidgins, English-based · English · Hausa · Russian · Yoruba

From Wale's professional profile.

Deals · 1

Galatea BioBoard seat

via Helios Digital Ventures · filed Sep 2024 · $12M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

BOLTTradeDepotTwigaFoods

Sources: the firm's website · SEC Form D filings.

Colleagues at Helios Digital Ventures

Ali-Abbas Punjani
Senior Vice President, PE Team at Helios Digital Ventures
Babatunde Soyoye
Managing Partner, Member of Executive and Investment Committee at Helios Digital Ventures
Christopher North
Partner, Co-Head of Climate Investments at Helios Digital Ventures
Claire Norton
Head of Client Servicing at Helios Digital Ventures
Dennis Aluanga
Partner, Portfolio Operations Group at Helios Digital Ventures
Dominic Leong
Vice President, PE Team at Helios Digital Ventures
Faris Ayoub
Partner, Helios Sports and Entertainment Group at Helios Digital Ventures
Fope Adelowo
Principal, PE Team and Co-Head of Helios Digital Ventures at Helios Digital Ventures

Frequently asked questions

Who is Wale Ayeni?
Wale Ayeni is Managing Partner and Co-head of Helios Digital Ventures, with over 18 years of experience in technology and venture capital. He previously served as Head of Direct Venture Capital Investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where he built its venture capital practice in Africa, and earlier led venture investments in Silicon Valley for Orange after roles as a microprocessor design engineer at Intel and Qualcomm and in JP Morgan's Technology Investment Banking group. He holds an MBA from Dartmouth College and a bachelor's degree from Moscow University, and focuses on Series B+ founder-led tech companies with an African nexus.
Where does Wale Ayeni work?
Wale Ayeni is Managing Partner at Helios Digital Ventures and Board director at Galatea Bio.
What does Wale Ayeni invest in?
Wale Ayeni invests in Deep Tech, Fintech, Impact & Social Good.
What check size does Wale Ayeni write?
Wale Ayeni typically writes checks of $200K – $50M.
What boards does Wale Ayeni sit on?
Wale Ayeni holds tracked board seats at BOLT, Galatea Bio, TradeDepot, TwigaFoods.
Where did Wale Ayeni go to school?
Wale Ayeni studied at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth (MBA, Finance and Strategy); University of Maryland (Master of Science - MS, Electrical and Electronics Engineering); Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University) (Bachelor’s Degree, Electrical Engineering).

Same school

Also attended The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth174

John McCulloughInvestor at OpenView Venture PartnersCarley PhillipsPrincipal at GreycroftM.G. ThibautFormer Chief Financial Officer at DroneDeploy at Scale Venture PartnersLiam DonohueInvestor at .406 VenturesGraham BrooksPartner at .406 VenturesJoanna Skoler GilmanChief Marketing and Communications Officer at .406 Ventures

+ 168 more

Also attended University of Maryland215

Katrina PagliaChief Legal Officer at Pantera CapitalSujal PatelStrategic Director at Madrona Venture GroupDaniel DemmerInvestor at OpenView Venture PartnersDan RochkindCFO at Lerer HippeauAaron EpsteinGeneral Partner at Y CombinatorSamir KaulInvestor at Khosla Ventures

+ 209 more

Also attended Moscow Power Engineering Institute (Technical University)2

Daria KroosManaging Partner at Digital Space VenturesOleg AvdeëvFounder at Outerbounds

Shared employers

Also worked at Twiga Foods1

Rosanne WhalleyCEO at AHL Venture Partners

Also worked at Paystack9

Folakemi OshoGeneral Manager at HoaQSeun OjoInvestor at First CircleEzra OlubiFounder/CTO at PaystackRoss ChaninFounder at ArtifactAbdulhamid HassanFounder at MonoIdorenyin ObongFounder at Grey

+ 3 more

Also worked at J.P. Morgan831

Rishi ModiInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Akshat GoenkaInvestor at Moonfire VenturesNaseem MoumeneVice President at Northzone, investing across complex and fragmented industries undergoing fundamental shiftsFranklin BiGeneral Partner at Pantera CapitalMegan LightcapPartner, Creator Fund at Slow VenturesNatalie SchmitkeManaging Director Capital Networks at Burda Principal Investments

+ 825 more

Also worked at Intel Corporation351

Jim GoetzPartner at Sequoia CapitalSundeep PeechuGeneral Partner at Felicis VenturesKarim FarisInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Viswa SankaranarayananVenture Partner at Monta Vista CapitalJob SimonVenture Partner and CTO at Monta Vista CapitalAssaf ArakiInvestment Director at Intel Capital

+ 345 more