Balderton announces $1.3 billion in new funding to support Europe’s best entrepreneurs in building world-changing businesses

Largest European-focused early and growth funds combined

LONDON, 12 August 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Balderton Capital, one of Europe’s leading technology venture capital firms, today announced the launch of its $615 million Early Stage Fund IX and $685 million Growth Fund II to support Europe’s most ambitious entrepreneurs from seed to IPO.

“At Balderton, we believe that the best way to change the world is to build a business – and that many of those world-changing businesses will be built in Europe,” said Bernard Liautaud, Managing Partner at Balderton. “As a firm, our mission is simple: to be the partner of choice for founders starting and growing European technology companies. These new funds position us to do just that.”

Strong investor demand for Early Stage Fund IX and Growth Fund II, marking the first time Balderton has raised both early and growth funds. The increasingly global mix of LPs in the firm’s funds has been attracted by Balderton’s European focus and track record of success over its 25-year history. This includes one of the largest and most prominent public pensions in the United States, building a selective European VC portfolio, and British Patient Capital, the largest domestic investor in the UK in venture and venture growth opportunities.

Europe has a long and diverse history as a key global technology hub, with proven winners across sectors and countries. In just the last two years, Europe has established itself as a leader in AI, with London and Paris being key innovation hubs. The reasons for this are neither surprising nor new: world-class institutions and engineers, a growing entrepreneurial culture, a strong funding ecosystem and increasingly third- and fourth-generation founders.

The growth of the European tech ecosystem has also brought high returns to investors, with European VC funds outperforming North American funds over both the 10-year and 15-year periods, according to data from Invest Europe and Cambridge Associates.

Since its founding in 2000, Balderton has invested in over 275 technology companies across Europe. The current portfolio includes global category leaders such as Revolut, Dream Games, GoCardless, Contentful, Aircall, Wayve, Writer and PhotoRoom. Many previous portfolio companies have successfully exited, such as Darktrace, Depop, MySQL, Peakon, Recorded Future, Talend and THG. Balderton’s investment history spans technology sectors including AI, fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, mobility, gaming and markets.

In addition to hands-on support from an investment team with invaluable operational and entrepreneurial experience, Balderton offers its founders and portfolio companies a range of services, including:

The Balderton Platform team, consisting of experts in law, finance, talent and people, marketing and sustainability
Resident Directors – Industry veterans with decades of experience building and running startups, with expertise in areas such as sales, engineering, product and law
The Balderton Community, bringing together over 700 of Europe’s leading technology executives from across the portfolio, who come together to support each other, network and attend events, creating one of the strongest startup networks in Europe

In addition, Balderton is taking unprecedented steps to support founders through its industry-leading Balderton Founder Wellbeing and Performance platform, including executive coaching, peer-to-peer support through CEO Forums, a health and fitness program, and access to a digital platform for parent founders.

With a team of 65 across Europe, $1.3 billion in new funding and a strong portfolio of over 125 companies, Balderton looks forward to continuing to work with Europe’s best entrepreneurs as they build world-changing businesses.

About Balderton Capital

Balderton Capital is a multi-stage venture capital firm with over 20 years of experience supporting the best founders in Europe from seed to IPO. We have early stage and growth funds and invest across the technology sector, with a proven track record of supporting companies in AI, fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, mobility, gaming and marketplace. Previous investments include Darktrace (LON: DARK), Depop, Flywire (NASDAQ: FLYW), Kobalt, MySQL, Nutmeg, Peakon, Recorded Future, Talend (NASDAQ: TLND) and THG (LON: THG). Balderton’s current portfolio includes: Aircall, Beauty Pie, Contentful, Dream Games, GoCardless, Lendable, Matillion, Merama, Photoroom, Revolut, Tibber, Wayve, Writer and ZOE.

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