The UK’s Blossom Capital has announced its second funding round, totaling $185 million, for early-stage funding of Europe’s tech startups, according to EU-startups.com.
Co-founded by Ophelia Brown, formerly of Index Ventures and LocalGlobe VC, Blosson Capital is aiming to become the lead investor for Series A and seed funding rounds in Europe’s startup scene, with a focus on companies in finance, travel, design, developer tools, and infrastructure.
The new funding round comes less than a year after Blossom’s first $85 million round, which ranked in the top 5 percent of funds raised in Europe and the US, according to data from Cambridge Associates and Prequin.
Blossom has now built a proven track record of investing in Europe’s top startups, including the travel startup Duffel, the payment firm Checkout.com, and the cybersecurity company Tines.
It also pitches itself as a “high conviction” investor, with larger sums invested in a smaller number of startups.
Blossom also promotes its connections to Silicon Valley and US funds that can help with later-stage funding. While many other venture funds have claimed to offer a “bridge to the valley,” Blossom’s track record makes a compelling case. Duffel saw follow-up investment from Benchmark and Index Ventures, while Tines drew investment from Accel Partners, and Checkout.com earned support from Insight Partners.
“The volume and quality of European startups is now five times what it was five years ago. The US funds have noticed this and they are investing more frequently and with more capital in the very best European startups,” Brown said. “Blossom Capital has established itself across Europe as the first choice for entrepreneurs in part because of our strong relationships with the US’s very best investors. Today we announce our second fund through which we will keep investing with conviction in European-founded companies that we know will one day operate successfully in global markets.”
The new funding round, raised in just three months, demonstrates a broader pattern of growing US investment in European startups and venture funds. Investment from the US into European funding rounds rose to $16.6 billion last year, from $10.9 billion the year before, according to data from Dealroom.
Blossom’s first fund set a record for the fastest ever fundraising for a first-time female-led fund in Europe.
“We see 2020 as a real turning point: the year that we’ll see a majority of the top US growth funds actively investing in European startups at the growth stage.”