Fuel Ventures, the early stage VC, has launched a £45m fund to invest in over 60 tech start-ups within the next 12 months.

The new fund will see Fuel Ventures backing pre-seed tech start-ups for the first time as well.

Fuel Ventures has invested £80m in seed and Series A start-ups since its launch in 2015 including Capdesk, Heroes, OnBuy and Feel.

>See also: Moonfire $60m seed fund invests in dozen start-ups

Over the last 12 months, FuelVentures founders have raised over £180m in follow-on funding.

The VC invests in between 12 and 15 seed/growth companies each year through its existing fund.

By shortening the investment window for the new fund to 12 months, Fuel Ventures says it will become the most prolific early stage investor in Britain.

And the decision to move into pre-seed funding helps fill the gap suggested by TechNation. The TechNation 2021 report found that seed VC is decreasing as a proportion of overall tech VC investment, despite the UK tech scene, valued at $585bn, continuing to lead Europe.

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Mark Pearson, founder and managing partner of Fuel Ventures, said: “Since we launched our first fund five years ago the country’s tech ecosystem has gone from strength to strength and evolved into an ecosystem that’s the envy of many around the world. Now is not the time to take the foot of the pedal and say job done.

“We have a responsibility to invest in the future of the UK tech landscape and build on the strong work done so far. This, for us, means making sure we are providing capital for forward-thinking entrepreneurs and their innovative early stage businesses – even if that means just having an idea or MVP.”

In addition to the new £45m fund, Fuel Ventures is also opening a workspace in central London to offer portfolio founders and their teams a space to work and collaborate.

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