Gideon Valkin, a former Monzo and ClearScore leader, investor, and entrepreneur, has launched Andrena Ventures. It is a $12 million solo GP fund backed by tech’s best founders and VC leaders. The fund has reached its first close with a final close planned for later in the year.
This new fund is aimed at backing founders from Europe’s most successful fintechs building the next-generation of tech firms, at pre-seed and seed.
In addition to launching the fund, he has also announced its first investment into Nustom, a new AI-powered software-building startup from Jonas Templestein, a Monzo co-founder.
Andrena Ventures strategy
The debut fund is backed by global tech leaders, including former employer, Entrée Capital; RTP Global; Taavet+Sten (co-founders of Wise and Teleport respectively); Cherry Ventures Managing Partners, Filip Dames, Christian Meerman, Sophia Bendz; David Haber, Fintech GP at Andreessen Horowitz; Firat Ileri, Managing Partner at Hummingbird Ventures etc. including at least seven VC investors who have featured on the Forbes Midas List.
The size of the fund allows Valkin to bring a level of close support, dedication and alignment to the leaders he invests in. He combines the access and network that founders expect from institutional funds, with the personalised support and operational know-how typically only delivered by angels. It’s an approach that allows him to keep ownership low and value high, providing a fresh alternative to today’s founders who demand much more than just capital.
Gideon Valkin’s portfolio of investments
Valkin has spent 15 years in this ecosystem as a founder, operator and investor, and has already backed some of the best teams to come out of it, both as an angel and as an investor at Entrée Capital. This includes e-commerce enablement startup, Packfleet; rewards credit card company, Yonder; autonomous customer operations agent, Gradient Labs AI; and cross-border B2B payments network, Moment. Valkin’s co-investors across these deals include Index, Accel, General Catalyst, Creandum, LocalGlobe, Northzone, and the foremost angel investors in the ecosystem.
“Europe’s time has arrived,” said Gideon Valkin. “A new power network of founding teams has emerged out of Europe’s first generation of industry-defining companies. These teams are using their lessons and experiences to solve tomorrow’s most pressing and important problems across fintech, AI, climate-tech and enterprise software. They deserve investors who understand these problems, believe in their ambitious vision and have the knowledge and know-how to truly support them.”
