European venture capital fund Speedinvest has raised EUR190 million for its third fund, increasing Speedinvest’s total AUM to more than EUR400 million.
European venture capital fund Speedinvest has raised EUR190 million for its third fund, increasing Speedinvest’s total AUM to more than EUR400 million.
The round was oversubscribed. The EUR190 million fund sets aside EUR100 million in follow-on funding to enable Speedinvest to double-down on its most promising companies, while continuing to draw on its global network of Tier 1 investors for follow-on rounds.
Major commitments include EIF, Erste Bank, and US-based NEA, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms. These are scheduled to be finalised in Q2 2020.
The fund will invest in European early-stage startups within fintech, deep tech, marketplaces, industrial tech, digital health and consumer tech.
Working from cities across Europe, and writing initial tickets from EUR50K up to EUR1.5 million, the sector-focused investment teams will supply businesses with time, sector expertise and value-adding operational resources, according to the VC.
Speedinvest has 40 investment professionals working across five sector-focused investment teams. It has offices in London, Berlin, Vienna, Munich and San Francisco.
“Having been a founder myself, I have a clear view on value creation by investors. You need to deliver sector-specific, operationally relevant input that goes far beyond boardroom advice and cash,” CEO Oliver Holle said.
“In our experience, the best way to do that is to be face-to-face with our founders. That is our mission and our promise to founding teams across Europe. And we invest heavily in the resources required to back it up,” he added.
Speedinvest’s portfolio includes wefox (EUR235M Series B), TIER Mobility (EUR55M Series B) and Curve (EUR50M Series B), as well as CoachHub, TWAICE, Billie, TourRadar, Inkitt and Luko.
Julian Teicke, founder and CEO of wefox Group, commented: “Speedinvest has been a value-add partner from the very beginning. They not only helped us establish a successful framework for testing and optimizing our growth and marketing strategy, but have also been instrumental in our international expansion efforts.”
“As US-based investors, it can be challenging to navigate the fragmented European market, particularly at the seed stage. We want to ensure we’re partnering with the best companies, and Speedinvest enables this with a successful formula comprised of specialist teams for key verticals in prime locations throughout Europe,” said Rick Yang, general partner and head of NEA’s consumer investments. “The team’s business development office in Silicon Valley is also incredibly valuable, as it gives portfolio companies the support and network needed to enter the US market.”
Speedinvest has invested in more than 10 companies from the new fund, and will increase its presence in France this spring, where it has invested in companies including Luko, Lemon Way, Actiondesk and FairMoney.
