European Deeptech startups get one other shot within the arm this week within the form of IQ Capital’s new $200m enterprise fund. The brand new fund takes its belongings underneath administration to greater than $1bn.
The London and Cambridge, UK-based deep tech VC has closed its fourth Enterprise Fund at that quantity, whereas additionally launching its second $200m Progress Fund to offer later-stage funding, primarily in its enterprise portfolio. The means the VC will be capable of deploy capital throughout extra funding phases.
Since its basis in Cambridge in 2007, IQ Capital has invested in over 100 deep tech startups reminiscent of Thought Machine (banking), Nyobolt (battery charging) and Speechmatics (speech recognition). It’s additionally had exits to Oracle, Google, Apple and Fb, together with a lot of IPOs.
Buyers in Fund IV embrace international establishments, funds-of-funds, household places of work, and British Affected person Capital, the most important LP investing in UK enterprise capital.
Kerry Baldwin, co-founder, Managing Accomplice mentioned deep tech funding was “on the forefront of investor’s minds, topping $17bn in 2022.”
I requested her if it had been laborious to lift the fund on this market: “Clearly it’s been fairly laborious to lift on this in market atmosphere, placing it bluntly. However we’re doing one thing completely different.”
“We’ve raised our flagship fund for deeptech and that’s the place we make investments day by day, in actually, actually deep tech. These deep tech lecturers truly like us to come back all over, like we’ve completed with Thought Machine, like we’ve completed with Speechmatics. However yeah, it’s been an attention-grabbing funding atmosphere.”
Given the massive debate occurring round Generative AI, I requested her if Europe goes to have the ability to compete with the most important Large Tech platforms on that entrance.
“We’ve obtained distinctive expertise in Europe. Generative AI has obtained an extended technique to go, nevertheless it’s not going to unravel actual world issues simply but,” she mentioned.
There’s been criticisms of how College spinouts are hampered by their Alma Maters. What’s her view?
She advised me: “That’s the place Cambridge College has been completely different and clearly our roots from Cambridge and in London, and throughout Europe. I believe it’s going to be attention-grabbing to see the outcomes of the UK Authorities evaluation that’s popping out in early September on this.”
