Balderton Capital, a London-based venture capital firm that was launched out of San Francisco’s Benchmark Capital in 2007 and has since raised $4.5B(£33.4B) across ten funds to support some of the UK’s most successful firms, including Revolut, Betfair, and Nutmeg. In a banner year for the portfolio, Darktrace, Flywire, Sophia Genetics, and Truecaller all went public, while Depop, a fashion marketplace, was bought by Etsy.
Now, Europe’s largest venture capital firm has raised $600M(£446M) and it is touted to be the largest early-stage fund ever.
The firm claims to be industry neutral and would invest the amount in 25-30 new enterprises in the region. The typical check size will be between $1M and $20M.
Balderton has backed founders from seed to growth stage across Europe, having made around 300 investments since the firm’s founding 21 years ago. Balderton has invested in 20 new firms since the beginning of the year, in fields ranging from reproductive health to quick commerce to data labelling and gaming.
“Balderton Capital is no longer the same company it was a year ago.” Not only have we created two new funds, but we’ve also expanded and reinforced our team. We’ve entered a new age in which we’ll be able to work at a faster pace and with a broader perspective on when we can help founders. Our shift from Europe’s premier Series A investor to a multi-stage fund affords us greater firepower and flexibility, as well as the ability to find more hidden gems among Europe’s businesses.” Balderton Capital’s Managing Partner, Bernard Liautaud, stated.
Balderton’s portfolio firms have raised more than $6B in follow-on capital so far this year, nearly double the $3.1B raised in all of 2020. Darktrace, Flywire, SOPHiA Genetics, and Truecaller are four of the company’s portfolio businesses that have gone public in European IPOs, and the firm has had ten exits, including Peakon’s sale to Workday, Nutmeg’s sale to JPMorgan Chase, and Depop’s sale to Etsy.
Investment In Europe
Balderton Capital claims to deliver more than what it was promised in Europe as it has raised a record $70B in venture capital investment by the end of the year, more than twice the sum for 2020.
Since 2018, the firm has raised four funds totaling about $2B and has active investments in over 100 firms employing over 26,000 people in 50 countries.
Founder-focused
The Build with Balderton platform of talent, marketing, finance, and legal services benefits Balderton’s portfolio firms, the company claimed adding that it helps in providing founding teams with the resources they need to scale, including operational and functional services as well as access to a supportive community of peers.
Balderton’s Platform continues to grow, with 13 new employees joining the company in the previous year, including Dave Kellogg, the firm’s first executive-in-residence.
