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Since the beginning of 2018, the start-ups in Balderton’s portfolio have attracted more than $2bn in follow-on funding.
Today (12 November), one of Europe’s most active early-stage investors, Balderton Capital, announced the launch of a new fund worth $400m to back tech start-ups in Series A rounds.
With a portfolio including companies from 15 European countries including London-based Revolut and Paris’s Aircall, Balderton plans to continue investing in European founders at the early and critical stages of their start-up’s journey.
The number of Series A rounds in Europe per year has quadrupled since 2012, with the total amount of VC funding flowing into European start-ups hitting record highs last year – rising from €11.5bn in 2014 to €24.6bn in 2018.
Bernard Liautaud, managing partner at Balderton, said: “We believe Europe has the potential to build the next generation of technology giants, and we are focused on helping brilliant founders fulfil that ambition.
“We are seeing more and more exceptional founders raising Series A in Europe. With today’s new fund we want to build on that momentum.”
Critical timing
Liautaud added: “We know from our firm’s 20 years of European investment experience that Series A is a critical point in a start-up’s journey – it’s a magical moment when they are reaching product-market fit, are poised to scale and have to make decisions that can affect their growth trajectory for years to come.
“Our whole team is dedicated to helping our founders tackle those decisions as they embark on their journey.”
The new fund will be managed by an investment team of 15 working across Europe. London-headquartered Balderton has permanent staff members based in Paris and Berlin to help build relationships with entrepreneurs, seed funds and accelerators.
The VC firm said it is seeking leading-edge technologies and strong brands with demonstrable momentum. Its portfolio includes Cambridge medtech company Healx; The Hut Group, which has more than 100 in-house health, beauty, fitness and lifestyle brands; Infarm, an advanced urban farming platform; and, among others, UK fintech giant Revolut.
Since the beginning of 2018, the start-ups in Balderton’s portfolio have attracted more than $2bn in follow-on funding.
