Saurabh Kumar, Richard Watson and Colm O'Sullivan. Image: Furthr
Furthr VC will now be able to invest up to €650,000 in early-stage Irish start-ups and provide up to €3m in follow-on funding.
Furthr VC has grown its seed fund for Irish software and medical device start-ups to €32m.
Known until recently as DBIC Ventures, Furthr VC is the venture arm of Irish organisation Furthr which helps start-ups and scale-ups to grow.
Launched in 2019, this seed and early-stage fund raised an initial amount of €23m with the aim of investing in up to 30 globally scalable Irish software and medical device start-ups.
Since then, the Dublin-based VC has invested in 15 companies across a range of sectors, including interactive voice response testing SaaS company Klearcom, construction computer vision company Evercam, and diabetes medical device company Bluedrop Medical.
The growth in the Furthr fund has been backed by 20 new investors in addition to existing ones. Investors in the fund include Enterprise Ireland as well as a host of tech entrepreneurs, business leaders and private backers.
Furthr VC said this seed fund is the fourth of its kind since the 1990s and has made seven new investments so far in 2022.
The additional funding will help it to make investments of up to €650,000 in each business, as well as a total of up to €3m through subsequent follow-on rounds.
“By working closely with investee companies, we help them to navigate the scaling journey and, in doing so, create significant shareholder value,” said Richard Watson, managing partner at Furthr VC.
“We are continuously on the lookout for new software and medtech start-ups as investment opportunities for the fund.”
DBIC rebranded under the new name of Furthr last month and now DBIC Ventures is changing its name in line with the rebrand.
Through its current and previous funds, the VC has invested in more than 75 Irish tech start-ups, including digital health company SilverCloud, smart grid company Grid Beyond and taxi dispatch platform iCabbi.
“Our new name reflects the ambitious plans that we have for our investors and the start-ups that we are investing in,” said Furthr VC partner Colm O’Sullivan.
“We are backing companies from seed to Series A stage, with a strong ability to follow on in subsequent rounds, ensuring that we are a vital part of businesses’ success stories and Ireland’s economic future.”
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