Balderton Capital has raised a $305 Million fund dedicated to Series A investments in European tech startups, the London-based VC Firm announced this week. Founded in 2000, Balderton Capital has invested in many of Europe’s most successful tech startups in the past 14 years, including Betfair, Lovefilm (Amazon), and MYSQL – in France, Vestiaire Collective, Psykosoft & Housetrip. Balderton Capital Partner Bernard Liautaud, founder of Business Objects, one of France’s most successful tech companies, has been with Balderton since 2007 as a Partner.
SEE: Sitting Across the table from Bernard Liautaud: CEO, Board Member & Investor
This new fund will bring Balderton’s total funds under management to $2.2 Billion. companies backed by Balderton are currently valued collectively at $10 Billion, says the firm – this, of course, includes Betfair, which is worth nearly $2 Billion today after its London IPO in 2010.
Balderton Capital (and their new fund) represents a great opportunity for French startups. While valuations are typically lower in European countries than in the United States, this is largely due to the lack of competition between VCs in individual European countries, who can more easily work together to control valuations. With London VCs like Balderton, Index, and (less so now than in 2012) Accel, French ( & European startups all over) are finding a larger pool of money available to them for investment, as well as a stronger negotiating position when it comes to investment terms.