Fuel Ventures, one of the UK’s most prolific early-stage tech VCs, has announced a new £100 million investment fund. The latest fund will be used to back the most promising tech startups in the seed and pre-seed as it ups the ante on its investments in the UK tech ecosystem.
How will it deploy this fund?
Fuel Ventures’ latest fund will be deployed over the next 12 months to more than 60 of the UK’s most exciting, fast-growth startups across software (SaaS), marketplaces, fintech platforms, and e-commerce.
Despite the overall decline in seed funding in UK’s startup landscape, Fuel Venture’s team is doubling down on its long-term commitment. Its biggest fund to date will support a greater number of ambitious founders and teams who demonstrate their tech’s global potential.
While primarily an early-stage investor in exciting, fast-growth startups with investments up to £250k for pressed ventures and £4 million for seed to series A, Fuel Ventures is also setting aside a small percentage of its newest fund for follow-on investments in those portfolio companies who are speeding up their growth and outperforming targets.
Mark Pearson, founder and managing partner of Fuel Ventures, said, “We are investing in the long-term future of the UK tech landscape. Despite the pain the industry is feeling at the moment, now is not the time to hold back. There remains exciting entrepreneurial talent and incredibly innovative tech businesses with huge potential. These are the ones that need our support at their most vulnerable – those early days when capital and support from experienced backers are vital. I have been there myself and know how hard it can be to get a business off the ground. My aim is to invest in and work with a greater number of tech ventures that will contribute to a stronger tech landscape in the years to come.”
Tom Greenwood, Volt founder and CEO added; “Fuel Ventures was one of the first to back and have continued to be by our side as we have grown, expanded into new regions and challenged the market with our approach to real-time payments. They saw the potential right from the get-go, supporting and advising us so that we have been able to get to the extraordinary stage we are today.”
Notable investments by the VC
Fuel Ventures, led by serial entrepreneur and investor Mark Pearson, has invested in over 140 tech startups to date from seed to series A rounds. In over five years, £180 million was deployed by the VC and it has nearly £350 million in assets under management. Here are some notable investments from Fuel Ventures.
Volt.io: A London fintech Volt.io recently raised $60 million in Series B funding to expand its real-time payments technology to new markets worldwide.
Outmin: Dublin-headquartered Outmin, an automated accounting solutions platform, has raised €1.5 million to accelerate the development of its cutting-edge technology.
Spendkey: The London startup providing a fast and real-time spend analytics platform for making business decisions scored £358K in pre-seed funding.
Flowla: London-based sales software startup secured $1.3 million in pre-seed funding.
Other notable investments by Fuel Ventures include Capdesk, which exited for $88 million, Peckwater Brands, which builds data-driven, delivery-only food brands for restaurants, e-commerce marketplace OnBuy and click-fraud fighter, Lunio.
