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Before founding Moon Pursuit Capital, Utkarsh Ahuja had already exited twice, once from a marketing and technology company, once from a digital education company, neither of them in crypto. Ten-plus years and multiple market cycles later, he runs a firm investing across digital assets, AI, quantum security, blockchain infrastructure and tokenisation, with a new $100 million fund structured across multiple jurisdictions and offices planned in the US, Dubai and Singapore.
We asked him what actually pulled him into digital assets, whether Moon Pursuit has put real money into the Gulf yet, and what’s genuinely driving the Dubai office beyond the usual the region is important line.
In Conversation with Utkarsh Ahuja – Founder of Moon Pursuit Capital
You’d already had two exits, a marketing/tech company and a digital education company, before founding Moon Pursuit. Neither was in crypto. What actually pulled you into digital assets specifically, and what from those two earlier companies ended up mattering most once you got there?
Utkarsh Ahuja: What pulled me into digital assets was seeing how much could eventually be built around the technology. I became interested in the infrastructure quite early, particularly how blockchain could change the way capital moves, how ownership is represented and how new financial products can be created.
My operating background has probably influenced my investing more than anything else. When you’ve built companies yourself, you learn pretty quickly that having great technology is only one piece of the puzzle. You still need customers, distribution and a team that can execute. That’s something we think about a lot at Moon Pursuit. We want to understand who is building the company, what problem they’re solving and whether there’s a real business behind the technology.
Moon Pursuit’s two public deals, the $100M fund and the AmericanFortress seed, aren’t GCC investments. Has the firm actually deployed capital into the UAE or Saudi Arabia yet, or is the Dubai office still ahead of any regional allocation?
Utkarsh Ahuja: Our public announcements only show part of what we’re doing. The team has been working across the Middle East with multiple partners, although some of those relationships and conversations are commercially sensitive, so we have to be careful about how much we share publicly at this stage.
What I can say is that we’re very serious about the region. We see the UAE and the wider Gulf as important markets for Moon Pursuit, both for finding investment opportunities and for helping companies access capital, partnerships and new markets. We’re spending a lot of time building relationships on the ground, and we expect our activity in the region to keep growing.
You’ve said the new fund is structured across multiple jurisdictions for LP accessibility and tax efficiency, with new offices planned in the US, Dubai and Singapore. What’s actually driving Dubai specifically, LP demand from the region, deal flow access, or the regulatory environment itself? What’s the real timeline for opening it?
Utkarsh Ahuja: It’s really a combination of all three. There’s sophisticated capital in the region, the technology ecosystem is growing quickly, and the regulatory environment gives founders and investors a clearer idea of how they can operate. Dubai is also very well positioned geographically. You can build relationships across the Middle East while staying closely connected to the US, Europe and Asia.
We’re already working with partners and developing relationships across the region, so the office fits into a much bigger plan. I don’t want to give a specific opening date before we’re ready to announce it, but the work itself is already happening and we’re excited about where it can go.
As geopolitical uncertainty continues to shape global markets, how has it influenced the way Moon Pursuit thinks about investing in the Middle East? Has it changed your appetite for the region, or simply the way you assess and manage risk?
Utkarsh Ahuja: It hasn’t changed our conviction in the Middle East. If anything, the more time we spend in the region and the more people we speak with, the more opportunity we see. There’s significant capital here, governments are investing heavily in technology and infrastructure, and countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have very clear plans around economic diversification. From an investor’s perspective, that’s a compelling backdrop.
Of course, geopolitical risk has to be part of the conversation. We think carefully about it, just as we would with any other market. Having the right local partners and understanding the market properly becomes especially important. We remain very positive because we’re seeing real investment, real businesses being built and a clear appetite to bring global capital and technology into the region.
Looking across Moon Pursuit’s focus areas, digital assets, AI, quantum security, blockchain infrastructure and tokenisation, where do you see the most compelling opportunities emerging across the UAE and Saudi Arabia over the next few years?
Utkarsh Ahuja: Moon Pursuit takes a multi-strategy approach to investing across frontier technology, with exposure spanning areas such as digital assets, AI, quantum and next-generation financial infrastructure. Our investment activities also extend across different structures, including our hedge fund strategy. From that perspective, markets like the UAE are particularly compelling because of the depth and sophistication of capital there, as well as the appetite among regional investors for exposure to US companies and global opportunities.
That also shapes how we think about our international presence. Investment remains a relationship-driven business, particularly at the institutional level, and being closer to our LPs gives us a much better understanding of how they are thinking about allocation, risk and opportunity. The UAE and Singapore are important to us for that reason. They are major pools of global capital, and having a presence in these markets allows us to build deeper relationships with the investors we work with and want to work with over time.
Moon Pursuit is increasingly looking beyond the US for opportunities. What is making markets like the UAE particularly attractive today, and how important is the regulatory environment, including frameworks developed by VARA, ADGM and the DFSA, in that decision?
Utkarsh Ahuja: The US will continue to be a very important market for us, but we’re seeing some really interesting opportunities emerge internationally. The UAE stands out because there’s a clear effort to bring capital, founders and technology companies into the market, alongside serious investment in the infrastructure needed to support them. When you spend time here, you get a sense of how much energy there is around building new businesses and attracting global talent.
Regulation is definitely part of the appeal. VARA, ADGM and the DFSA have given companies and investors more clarity around how digital asset businesses can operate. There will always be areas that continue to evolve, but having regulators actively engage with new technologies gives investors more confidence to spend time in the market, build partnerships and explore opportunities. That’s a big reason we’re positive about the UAE and its role in Moon Pursuit’s international growth.
Editor’s take: Utkarsh’s view that VARA, ADGM, and the DFSA specifically are why global capital is spending real time in the UAE, tracks with a pattern this outlet keeps running into in its own reporting: payment platforms building on regulated local rails, funds structuring their entry around regional frameworks rather than working around them.
When that many independent operators converge on the same point without comparing notes, it’s a real signal about what’s driving this wave of Gulf investment: a regulatory environment mature enough to build confidently against.
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