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Entrepreneurs behind Wise, Skype and Songkick have raised 400 million euros ($436.4 million) for a new Plural fund intended to support tech companies in Europe. The fund seeks to compete with established funds such as Atomico, Balderton Capital and Creandum with its focus on entrepreneur-led companies.
This is stated in an article in CNBC
One of Plural's partners, Taaveet Hinrikus, tells CNB that Plural can serve as a better partner for start-up companies in Europe than most venture capital funds, given that it was started by people with experience of successful entrepreneurs. He says only 8% of venture capitalists in Europe are former entrepreneurs, much lower than 60% in the US.
'If we look at a lot of venture capital funds, they have a lot of people who have done great work with spreadsheets but don't know the life of start-up companies, 'Hinrikus said, among other things.
Plural Fund II, the company's second so far, comes just 18 months after the company raised its last fund, a 250 million euro capital. Among the co-founders are Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of fintech company Wise, Ian Hogarth, co-founder of concert discovery service Songkick, Sten Tamkivi, co-founder of communications platform Skype, and Khaled Helioui, former CEO of Bigpoint Games.
Plural says it wants to build technology giants in Europe, and identify winners in emerging categories that other funds might tend to ignore, such as “deeptech” and “greentech.”
Carina Namih, a former biotech entrepreneur who is now a partner at Plural, tells CNB that she won't be surprised if big tech names on par with US and Chinese giants start popping up in Europe in the near future. She noted that technological breakthroughs are happening much faster now, accelerated by key developments around artificial intelligence and more well-established capital pools.
'The fact that we, in a challenging environment for raising funds, have managed to raise a fund of this magnitude, with a lot of interest from LPs, just shows that some of the world's most sophisticated investors really recognise the opportunity in Europe, and really want to see a fund in the shape of Plural, 'Carina Namih told CNBC.
Here you can find the full CNBC interview.
Entrepreneurs behind Wise, Skype and Songkick have raised 400 million euros ($436.4 million) for a new Plural fund intended to support tech companies in Europe. The fund seeks to compete with established funds such as Atomico, Balderton Capital and Creandum with its focus on entrepreneur-led companies.
This is stated in an article in CNBC
One of Plural's partners, Taaveet Hinrikus, tells CNB that Plural can serve as a better partner for start-up companies in Europe than most venture capital funds, given that it was started by people with experience of successful entrepreneurs. He says only 8% of venture capitalists in Europe are former entrepreneurs, much lower than 60% in the US.
'If we look at a lot of venture capital funds, they have a lot of people who have done great work with spreadsheets but don't know the life of start-up companies, 'Hinrikus said, among other things.
Plural Fund II, the company's second so far, comes just 18 months after the company raised its last fund, a 250 million euro capital. Among the co-founders are Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of fintech company Wise, Ian Hogarth, co-founder of concert discovery service Songkick, Sten Tamkivi, co-founder of communications platform Skype, and Khaled Helioui, former CEO of Bigpoint Games.
Plural says it wants to build technology giants in Europe, and identify winners in emerging categories that other funds might tend to ignore, such as “deeptech” and “greentech.”
Carina Namih, a former biotech entrepreneur who is now a partner at Plural, tells CNB that she won't be surprised if big tech names on par with US and Chinese giants start popping up in Europe in the near future. She noted that technological breakthroughs are happening much faster now, accelerated by key developments around artificial intelligence and more well-established capital pools.
'The fact that we, in a challenging environment for raising funds, have managed to raise a fund of this magnitude, with a lot of interest from LPs, just shows that some of the world's most sophisticated investors really recognise the opportunity in Europe, and really want to see a fund in the shape of Plural, 'Carina Namih told CNBC.
Here you can find the full CNBC interview.
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