European VC firm 83North (formerly Greylock IL), which since 2008 has focused on backing startups in Europe and Israel, has closed its fourth fund — taking $250M in a raise that it says was both oversubscribed and its largest to date, and bringing its total capital under management to $800M.
The fund says it will continue to invest in startups in its target regions at all stages — and in both the consumer and enterprise segments, including in fintech, SaaS, IT, adtech and marketplaces — albeit with an emphasis on early stage businesses.
However Laurel Bowden, partner in London, notes that the UK’s vote to leave the European Union is encouraging the firm to keep casting its eye across Europe as a whole, rather than concentrating attention on London.
In a statement she noted that the fund has already backed companies from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain and Sweden, for example, and said it’s expecting European activity to accelerate in tech hubs outside London because of Brexit.
“As we look to the future, the UK’s exit from the EU will accelerate activity in European tech hubs outside the UK. We believe this presents a big opportunity for venture funds, like 83North, that are already well-established in the wider European region,” she said.
“It’s very encouraging for the European market to see such huge ambition to build global, category-leading companies. There have been fifteen exits valued at more than $1 billion that originated from Europe in the past five years compared to only a handful prior,” she added.
83North has invested in more than 40 startups to date. Portfolio companies include Just Eat, Telit, Hybris (acquired by SAP), ScaleIO (acquired by EMC), SocialPoint (acquired by Take-Two), Supersonic (merged with IronSource), Celonis, Mirakl, Via, Wandera, Workable, Wonga, Zerto, NotOnTheHighStreet, Ebury, iZettle, Marqeta and Payoneer.