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Backed by the EIF and ISIF, the fund aims to reach €150m in a final close by early next year.
MiddleGame Ventures has announced the first close of a new fund aimed at early-stage fintech start-ups in Europe and the US.
Backed by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF), the third MiddleGame fund will be used to invest in a range of fintech and related start-ups in the post-seed, Series A and Series B stages that are innovating in the financial services sector.
EIF has committed €32m to the fund while ISIF has provided another €20m. The target is to reach €150m in a final close by early 2025.
Pascal Bouvier, co-managing partner at Luxembourg-based MiddleGame, said that the financial services sector is on the “cusp of a wave of unprecedented innovation” thanks to a transition from legacy automation tools to a fully digital financial services infrastructure.
“This transition will enable seamless business models to emerge, removing friction and paving the way for entrepreneurs to build substantial long-term businesses,” Bouvier said.
“We are grateful for the support of our investors who share our conviction that specialist funds with experience working with entrepreneurs, financial institutions and regulators are best placed to successfully partner with the innovators architecting the new financial services landscape.”
Other backers of the latest close include S&P Global, the Luxembourg Future Fund and several new and existing family office investors across Europe and the US. The fund now remains open to additional institutional and private investment.
“This commitment is an example of how ISIF aims to support Irish businesses under its double bottom line mandate, deploying capital on a commercial basis, supporting the scaling of indigenous businesses that in turn will generate economic activity and employment in Ireland,” said Brian O’Connor, senior investment director at ISIF.
“The fintech sector in Ireland is one which has already demonstrated it can create local companies which go on to compete globally and we look forward to working with MiddleGame Ventures to support this further growth and scale for Irish businesses.”
MiddleGame has previously made early-stage investments in start-ups such as Irish unicorn Wayflyer, Keyrock, Ripple and DriveWealth.
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