The European venture capital firm Speedinvest has raised a new €190 million fund to invest in Europe’s early-stage startups, according to EU-startups.com.
Speedinvest met its target for the fund ahead of schedule, thanks to robust investor demand, and the fund is now “oversubscribed,” the firm says.
The firm typically funds promising new companies with anywhere between €50,000 to €1.5 million, but says the new fund includes €100 million set aside for additional investments into successful companies.
Speedinvest says it will focus on fintech, industrial tech, digital health, consumer tech, and “deep tech” startups. Unlike similar firms that rely only on small teams or partnerships, Speedinvest has 40 investment professionals divided into teams specializing in five sectors.
It also offers its portfolio companies access to “operational experts” providing “full-service HR, growth marketing, business development, and U.S. expansion support.”
Speedinvest works out of five cities across Europe, including London, Berlin, Vienna, and Munich, and also has offices in San Francisco. Later this year, Speedinvest plans to build its presence in France, where it’s invested in Actiondesk, Fairmoney, Luko, and Lemon Way.
“Having been a founder myself, I have a clear view on value creation by investors,” according to Speedinvest CEO Oliver Holle. “You need to deliver sector-specific, operationally relevant input that goes far beyond boardroom advice and cash. 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.”
Speedinvest already boasts an impressive portfolio, including some of the fastest-growing tech companies in Europe, such as insurance tech firm Wefox, the e-scooter startup Tier Mobility, Curve, as well as Coachhub, Twaice, Bllie, Tourradar, Inkitt, and Luko.
According to Wefox CEO and founder Julian Teicke:
“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.”
The firm has already invested in ten startups from the new fund—the company’s third, after two highly successful flagship funds.
Photo by Manfred Werner (WMAT) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)