Atomico, one of Europe’s most active VC firms, has raised $1.1bn from investors, according to the Financial Times.
The raise means the London-based VC, founded by Skype founder Niklas Zennström, is close to its £1.35bn target for its new growth and venture funds, despite a challenging economic climate.
The first half of 2023 saw UK tech company investment fall to £5.9bn – the sharpest decline in Europe with interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainty, falling valuations and inflation slowing down the market across the continent.
The knock-on effect of a challenging venture capital climate has been underwhelming recent Nasdaq IPOs from tech companies such as chip designer Arm and grocery app Instacart, resulting in VC firms advising start-ups not to list until next year.
Venture capital: Evaluating the risk profile of investments – How do VCs assess risk when looking forensically at investment portfolios? Here’s how to assess venture capital investments
Despite this, the new raise from Atomico follows London-based Dawn Capital’s raise of $700m – of which it plans on backing B2B software companies – and Highland Europe’s €1bn fund closed in January this year.
Atomico’s portfolio history of over 130 start-ups includes pay-now-pay-later solution Klarna and flying electric vehicle manufacturer Lilium, and it plans on using the new funds to back tech start-ups in the digital work, automation, internet infrastructure, fintech and mobility sectors.
More on tech venture capital
Sapphire Ventures to invest $1bn into AI start-ups – Sapphire Ventures will use capital from existing funds to invest directly into AI start-ups – including generative AI companies
Government launches £50m tech and science fund – Funds will go toward research tackling diseases, climate change and developing emerging technologies
Venture Capital Trusts – a Growth Business guide – Venture Capital Trusts currently manage £6bn worth of investment in UK start-ups invested in more than 1,000 companies. But what is a VCT and how does it differ to regular venture capital?
