Venture capital firm Accel has raised a USD575 million fund, its sixth to be invested in early stage companies across Europe and Israel.
Accel opened its doors in London in 2000, aiming to become the first meaningful partner to exceptional entrepreneurs from the region. Since those early days, Europe has witnessed staggering growth, as founders across the region have successfully scaled transformative global businesses.
Accel, the only Silicon Valley-founded venture firm to establish itself successfully on the ground in Europe, leverages its 35-year history and global platform to support the founders and companies it backs. The strategy of partnering early (typically at the Series A round) with the most ambitious entrepreneurs in Europe remains the same, while the geographic reach of the investments continues to grow. Successes include Avito, BlaBlaCar, Celonis, Check24, Deliveroo, Doctolib, DocuSign, Funding Circle, Spotify, Supercell, and UiPath, recently valued at USD7 billion and where Accel is the largest investor.
With its new fund, the core investment team of seven partners and principals based in London will continue to focus on early stage companies, seeking out founders who are building market-defining businesses in both the consumer and enterprise sectors.
Philippe Botteri, Partner at Accel, says: “The European technology market has truly come of age, and is home to a vibrant ecosystem of talented entrepreneurs, seasoned executives and an ample supply of capital at all stages.”
“What has struck us is the unprecedented level of activity across the region: exceptional teams and ideas are emerging everywhere, not only from the traditional hubs of London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm but also from the likes of Prague, Milan, Aarhus and Bucharest. Europe’s successes over the last decade are inspiring a new generation of ambitious founders, and the emerging global players are growing faster than ever. It’s a golden time to be an entrepreneur in Europe.”
Accel’s funds under management in Europe now stand at USD3 billion.
