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Connect Ventures has announced the first $55 million close of
its $80 million fifth fund, which will invest in early-stage technology
companies across Europe. The fund is anchored by British Business Bank, with
participation from returning limited partners including Aldea Ventures, Sella
Venture Partners and Molten Ventures. New investors include European family
offices and founders of companies previously backed by Connect Ventures.
Connect leads pre-seed rounds, writing cheques of $500,000 to
$5 million for companies founded across Europe. Fund V will place a particular
emphasis on founding teams with technical expertise at the core of their
businesses, where that expertise shapes the company’s product, ambitions and
development.
The fund continues Connect Ventures’ early-stage investment
strategy, with the firm’s GP-only investment team comprising Pietro Bezza,
Sitar Teli and Rory Stirling. Founders work directly with the partner leading
their investment, who remains involved as the company develops.
Connect operates a low-volume investment model, backing a
relatively small number of startups and working closely with their founders
from the earliest stages.
Sitar Teli, co-founder and co-managing partner at Connect
Ventures, said:
The values and the ambitions for our fifth fund remain
the same: thesis-led, low volume, high conviction and high support. We’re
delighted to reach the first close of Fund V, which enables us to invest in the
most exceptional founders and give them the support they deserve.
In this era,
outlier companies will be built by founders with real technical depth at their
core, and Fund V is built to lead their first rounds – across Europe, from day
zero.
Founded in 2012, Connect Ventures has invested in more than
120 companies across pre-seed and seed stages, including Aikido Security and
TrueLayer.