Swiss venture capital firm FiveT Fintech has rebranded to Groundshift, continuing its focus on European financial infrastructure and frontier technology.

The firm was founded in 2019 as the venture arm of Avaloq. It became fully independent following Avaloq’s acquisition by NEC, initially operating under the FiveT Fintech name.

Groundshift targets companies operating at the intersection of finance and emerging technologies.

The firm’s current investment thesis covers artificial intelligence in financial services, stablecoins, and the tokenisation of real-world assets.

It also focuses on compliance infrastructure driven by accelerating European regulations, including the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

“We started this firm with the conviction that the best fintech investments come from understanding how financial institutions actually work,”

said Alexander Christen, CEO and Partner, Groundshift.

The Zurich-based firm evaluates opportunities using a demand-driven approach, drawing on a network of banks and established financial technology companies to identify off-market investments.

Groundshift participates in primary funding rounds, secondary transactions, and carve-outs.

Its previous investments have resulted in exits including the acquisition of digital asset custodian Metaco by Ripple and the sale of wealth management platform Assetmax to Infront.

The company stated that its investment strategy, portfolio, and team will remain unchanged following the rebrand.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Groundshift