Growth in business automation is enormous, recently accelerated by Covid. Next-generation technologies such as 5G, quantum computing, AI and blockchain accelerate the trend. At the same time, they help businesses secure vital supply chains and find new ways to manage, manufacture and sell.
Europe focuses on developing world-class technology and the startup ecosystem over there has exploded in the past decade with several companies cropping up across sectors. However, the European startups are outsmarted by their American counterparts and the VC firms need to do more to back these companies.
SuperSeed Fund II
SuperSeed, a London-based seed-stage VC firm was created for this purpose. It focuses on investing in business and industrial automation. Now, the company has just picked up the £31 million in the first closing of its Fund II. The final target of this fund is to close £50 million. The London VC firm will invest £500k to £1.5 million in nearly 30 to 35 B2B startups in the UK in the next 3 to 4 years.
Its Fund II is an Enterprise Capital Fund with a cornerstone investment from the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Fund programme.
Mads Jensen, Founder and Managing Partner at SuperSeed, said “At SuperSeed, we play a highly active role in helping early-stage founders create powerful go-to-market strategies. We provide best practice on how to build a successful B2B startup and work with founders to build out their team, craft processes, and truly accelerate the journey from Seed to Series A.”
Dan Bowyer, Founder and Partner at SuperSeed said “I have quite a lofty take on what automation really is. To me, it’s the technological bedrock that will enable us to keep the promises we’ve made to the climate, our planet and children. On the surface, it helps businesses lower costs and create efficiencies; great, that’s a massive tick. But underneath, it’s a lot more than that. So our thinking when we started the fund was – how do we enable as many smart startups as possible to make it AND have a meaningful impact?”
Ken Cooper, Managing Director, Venture Solutions, British Business Bank, said, “The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers and for those targeting under-served areas of the market. Our cornerstone commitment to SuperSeed’s fund will help them to provide successful finance and support to early-stage, high-potential entrepreneurs and businesses.”
SuperSeed portfolio!
SuperSeed was founded in 2018 by Partners Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen, ex-founders with multiple exits. They believe that venture capital investors need to better support early-stage entrepreneurs. Since its first fund launched in 2019, Superseed has invested in 15 companies, including AI Build, Integrated Finance, Kleene and Duel.
The SuperSeed model is designed to support technical founders in commercialising B2B offerings to help them develop better sales playbooks. A startup’s ability to sell is existential. It invests in startups that transform the way businesses work.
Andrew Thomas, Founder and CEO of SuperSeed portfolio company Kleene, said, “SuperSeed stood out to us for their drive and passion for our space. We’ve found their support to be invaluable, providing a robust and intelligent input to strategy based on their deep experience of how to build SaaS companies.”
Daghan Cam, Founder and CEO of SuperSeed portfolio company Ai Build said: “Having SuperSeed as our lead investor was a game-changer for Ai Build. Their team truly understands the challenges faced by first-time technical founders, and they are always there to help us overcome setbacks and figure out how to progress faster. We consider them an invaluable part of our team.”
Amy Read, CEO and Co-Founder at SuperSeed portfolio company Techsembly, told “From the first call I had with SuperSeed, I knew they were the VC I wanted to work with. Straightforward, down to earth honest advice and support. With SuperSeed, there is no gender bias; they value you for who you are and what they believe you can deliver. I know they’re always at the end of the phone if there’s anything I need, and most importantly, that they have my back.”
