In a latest development, London-based VC Blossom Capital has completed its third funding round raising $432 million. This amount places Blossom III as the largest Series A fund in Europe, with the total amount raised by the firm since 2019 has now reached $1bn.
Over the years Blossom Capital has focused its investments on many of Europe’s most ambitious startups, including Checkout.com, which is currently valued at $40bn, MoonPay, Pigment, Duffle, and Tines.
Reshaping the landscape of Investing
Blossom capital was founded by the need to challenge the established status quo by putting European ventures to the forefront, rather than turning to the USA for innovation. Since starting to reshape the world of investing in 2019, they have continued on track with rapid development while at the same time remaining highly selective in choosing which companies they work with. The assets managed by Blossom capital are valued at close to $1bn. This fact, along with their third funding round, has helped establish Managing Partner Ophelia Brown as one of the most successful and well-established VCs in Europe. On the recent investment and the ways that Blossom can help startups and businesses grow, Ophelia said:
“We’re delighted to welcome some of the world’s top endowments into Fund III. They share our conviction that early-stage capital can have an outsized impact on the trajectory of a company. We believe European founders choose Blossom because of our local roots, global connections, and relentless focus on helping them scale their company from Series A. With this new fund we are continuing with our high-conviction strategy of providing foundational capital to entrepreneurs, so their Series A creates an undeniable strategic advantage.”
Fund III focus
In all of its investment rounds, Blossom has appeared to be a thematic investor with a focus on consumer internet, cybersecurity, developer tools, and open-source, enterprise SaaS, fintech, and marketplaces. With this next round of funds, Blossom Capital is looking to direct its attention to crypt-related companies. Out of that $432m, one-third will be dedicated to crypto startups and investments. In many ways, this will be a continuation in their investment path, which started with their recent investment in MoonPay. This comes as no surprise as crypto technology, which originally was a niche financial tool has now become a mainstream asset. This is also reflected by the success that crypto start-ups have recently had. Blossom’s first crypto portfolio company, MoonPay raised $555 million in its first funding round, making it clear in this way that crypto investments are likely to pay off.
On MoonPay’s success, Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO and co-founder of MoonPay stated: “With exceptional and dedicated day-to-day support from Blossom, our growth has soared in the past year. Blossom has introduced us to new investors, new customers and new opportunities and has our back in all things. Blossom perfectly combines European knowledge and networks, with global ambitions and connections. They helped us in a way no other investor did, which is why we’re so pleased to have them as our first investor and one of our largest at MoonPay.”
Using AI to find investment opportunities
With Blossom’s unique way of finding investment opportunities using an AI approach, they are usually able to identify and quickly capitalize on some of the most innovative and cutting-edge technologies being developed. In fact, around 30% of Blossom’s current investment portfolio was discovered through the use of such AI tools. From there on Blossom fosters a strong relationship with founders who need guidance to further develop their company and products. On this, recent recruit, and Managing Partner Alex Lim said:
“Fund III is the latest step in our mission to support a new generation of world-beating companies from Europe. Founders need more than just capital from an investor at the early stage; they need partners who go above and beyond to make them successful. We have built a diverse partnership and tailored services offering, and are constantly pushing ourselves to provide ever-higher levels of service to European founders. We are excited to partner with more founders who share our ambition for Europe as a global technology hub.”
