Hunting for unicorns could see us miss the easy targets February 8, 2021 Every year, the health of Britain’s venture economy, and particularly tech, ecosystem is judged by the number of unicorns – companies that have secured billion-dollar valuations. The number of unicorns goes up, and the growing strength of the emerging next generation of UK businesses is celebrated. At the pinnacle of the apex, it’s a good [...]
Astia launches $100m venture fund for growth companies with women at the helm February 8, 2021 Astia has launched a $100m early-stage venture fund that will invest globally in high-growth companies that have at least one woman in an executive, equity-holding position. The fund was created to help to address the disparity in funding for companies that include women in founding or executive roles. Mastercard is the fund’s main investor. Astia [...]
Future Fund: Early-stage startups missed out on funding February 2, 2021 Startups in their earliest stage missed out on funding with the majority of the government’s Future Fund investment going to companies at a venture or growth stage. The Future Fund was launched in May to provide support to startups ineligible for the government’s other support schemes. It was designed to provide support to startups through [...]
Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. launches sustainable venture fund January 28, 2021 Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. is launching a rolling venture fund focused on investing in sustainable technology.
Angel CoFund rebrands as it launches new £30m ‘fast-track’ fund January 26, 2021 Angel CoFund has rebranded to ACF Investors as it launches a new £30m fund for early-stage UK businesses as angel activity drops off. The VC firm, which is in its tenth year, makes equity investments of between £100,000 and £1m in the UK’s smaller businesses and invests alongside angel investors. Speaking to City A.M., managing [...]
Global investors flock to London in ‘golden age’ for tech January 14, 2021 London has cemented its role as Europe’s leading tech hub after a near-record year of investment as overseas investors circle in on the capital’s best firms. Global tech investors are piling into the capital with a total $10.5bn (£7.7bn) investment recorded in 2020, a quarter of Europe’s whole VC investment for the year. The amount [...]
Startup predictions for 2021: Why the climate will be key January 4, 2021 The overarching story of 2020 for startups was the pandemic and the battle to innovate and to survive. This year the rise of healthtech and fintech startups will inevitably continue after record levels of investment last year with IPOs on the horizon for many. But away from the pandemic another crisis will become just as, [...]
Beringea: VCs will regret overpaying during the pandemic December 23, 2020 2020 is on track for a record year of VC investment but after a slow start followed by an avalanche of deals in September VCs should be in self-reflection mode. City A.M. spoke to the refreshingly honest Karen McCormick, chief investment officer of Beringea about the lessons learned from the pandemic and where VCs went [...]
Ada Ventures closes first fund for overlooked founders at $50m December 9, 2020 Just a year ago Ada Ventures launched its first fund focused on impact investing. Today it has announced it has closed $50m. Ada Ventures positions itself as a “first-cheque seed fund” which looks to make venture capital more accessible and diverse. The fund is aiming to have the “most diverse pipeline, and portfolio, of any [...]
Data first: How tech startups build trust and tap investment November 19, 2020 When Phil Marshman set about launching his health startup Sentai this year he faced a challenge. For the serial entrepreneur, it was not the pandemic or the intricacies of artificial intelligence or even getting to market that posed a challenge, it was customer data. “For any product team you need to be data first… We [...]