Balderton Capital has raised its second fund of 2021 – a USD600 million fund focused on early-stage companies – to support its mission to be the leading provider of venture capital and founder support to European startups with global ambitions.
With close to 300 investments made since the firm was founded 21 years ago, Balderton has extensive experience backing exceptional founders from seed to growth stage, Europe-wide. Since the start of the year, Balderton has invested in 20 new startups in sectors ranging from reproductive health and instant commerce to data labelling and gaming.
The firm has also seen 13 portfolio companies achieve unicorn status this year, underlining the fund’s long track record of picking category leaders early. Companies where Balderton invested at Seed or Series A, include Aircall, Beauty Pie, ComplyAdvantage, Contentful, Depop, Dream Games, GoCardless, Infarm, Labster, Revolut, Vestiaire Collective and Zego.
“Balderton Capital is a very different firm than it was 12 months ago. We have not only launched two new funds, but have grown and strengthened our team. We have entered a new era in which we will be able to operate at a different pace and with a broader view of when we can support founders. Our transition from Europe’s leading Series A investor to a multi-stage fund gives us more firepower and flexibility and helps us to uncover more hidden gems among Europe’s startups,” says Bernard Liautaud, Managing Partner at Balderton Capital.
Balderton’s portfolio companies have collectively raised more than USD6 billion in follow-on funding this year to date, almost double the USD3.1 billion raised in the entirety of 2020. Four portfolio companies – Darktrace, Flywire, SOPHiA Genetics and Truecaller – have also gone public in landmark European IPOs and the firm has seen 10 exits, including Peakon’s sale to Workday, Nutmeg’s sale to JPMorgan Chase and Depop’s sale to Etsy.
“The launch of Fund VIII marks 21 years of seed and Series A investing at Balderton. In that time we have had the huge privilege to work with many irrepressible founders with outsized ambitions and we hope to do so once again,” says General Partner Suranga Chandratillake. “While our job may not have changed, Europe has – we are excited for the thriving ecosystem we find around us with more talent, more capital and more ambition than at any time in our history.”
Rana Yared, General Partner, adds: “We pull out all the stops to help our founders be successful operationally, and by investing at both early stage and further down the line, we are also able to offer the long-term partnership and capital they need to help them achieve their ambitions. We are delighted to be able to support a new generation of entrepreneurs through this fund.”
