Arul Murugan is an entrepreneur-turned-VC who founded 11-11 Ventures before becoming Founding Managing Partner at Borderless Capital, where he led the launch of a $500M fund focused specifically on the Algorand ecosystem rather than taking a broad multi-chain approach. He positions Borderless as both investor and ecosystem operator that actively builds infrastructure and liquidity around Algorand projects, while also serving as Executive Chairman at Emrit, a distributed hardware company, giving him hands-on experience with token-incentivized networks.

• A massive conviction in GeoDePIN, a sector of decentralized physical infrastructure that requires specific geographic placement of hardware. He distinguishes this from compute networks and believes these location-based projects have stronger moats and significantly lower cost structures than traditional enterprise models. He frequently cites Geodnet as a prime example, noting how they built a global network and generated millions in revenue in under two years—a feat he argues Web2 companies couldn't achieve in a decade.
• Strong interest in network economics where actual revenue surpasses the token incentives used to bootstrap the system. He closely monitors fundamental metrics like buy-side demand and deflationary mechanics to determine when a project has matured beyond its initial growth phase. A clear example is his enthusiasm for the Helium network achieving revenue figures that exceeded its emission incentives, signaling a sustainable shift in the ecosystem.
• Enthusiasm for "Commodity DePIN," where everyday hardware like smartphones creates immediate utility without complex setups. He sees this as a gateway for onboarding millions of users through the democratization of passive income. He pointed to NATIX as a prime model for this, where users simply use their existing phones to contribute to a decentralized mapping network.
• Deep appreciation for founder resilience and the ability to navigate market downturns. He values teams that stick together through pivots and "crypto winters" to reach their vision. He shared a personal story about backing the Peaq team starting in 2018, noting that their persistence through struggles and pivots ultimately led to his firm leading their later funding round.
• Focus on real-world asset tokenization and cross-chain interoperability that solves tangible industry problems. He looks for applications that bridge blockchain technology with mainstream consumer needs rather than just speculative trading. He frequently praises TravelX for successfully tokenizing millions of airline tickets, viewing it as a transformative use case for blockchain in the travel industry.