Northzone Ventures, a Scandinavian venture capital firm that has invested in the likes of Spotify and lastminute.com, has raised a $325 million (€260 million) fund that will be used to back European and US start-ups.
The “Northzone VII” fund is the company’s seventh and its largest to date.
Although a European VC, Northzone is understood to have a considerable presence in London’s exclusive Knightsbridge district, with several investors on the ground.
The venture capital house had an impressive year in 2014, investing in no less than 21 companies in return for an equity stake in their business. Two of those investments were in start-ups, MarketInvoice and Space Ape Games.
The investment in MarketInvoice is indicative of the financial technology (fintech) investments that the company intends to make more of in the future.
Other fintech firms in Northzone’s portfolio include iZettle and Behaviosec.
“We are in the midst of a fundamental transformation of markets fuelled by technology and innovation,” the company published on its web site.
“It has become increasingly evident that traditional banking and finance, entertainment, and retail industry players have difficulties in reinventing themselves and are opening up their vast markets for disruption. Consequently, sophisticated investors are now, more so than ever before, looking more actively to get exposure to this shift.”
“Through our expansion to London and most recently New York, we continue to expand our reach and share our learnings with great entrepreneurs and key stakeholders in these global innovation hubs.”
Other significant European tech investment funds raised this year include that of Mayfair-headquartered Index Ventures, which announced that it had raised €414 million in June, and Balderton Capital (also Mayfair-based), which announced it had raised €246 million in April.
Sam Shead, IDG News Service
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