At a time when angel investing has become common in Europe, Odin, an investment platform based out of London, has netted $3 million in a seed round. The fresh funds came from 220 angels from its own investment platform. This platform makes it easier for startups and fund managers to raise funds from investors,
Some of the prominent angels include Sarah Drinkwater, Atomico Angel and former head of Google Campus; Jelle Prins, Uber’s first designer and product manager; Omid Ashtari, previously president of Citymapper; Dorothy Chou, Deepmind’s head of public affairs; Matt Penneycard, co-founder of Ada Ventures; and Kirsten Connell, Octopus Ventures and former Seedcamp general manager.
They were joined by Lincolnshire-based VC firm Haatch (that backed Auddy and Plend), with the family offices O’Shaughnessy Ventures, Material V and IPQ Capital also participating.
In the next 12 months, Odin plans to use the money to roll out a marketplace for people raising money to find investors. Future additions to the site include an angel marketplace to find new funds and syndicates. With scaleup plans across Europe over the next year, Odin will initially focus on France and Germany. It also plans to establish its presence in Asia, especially Singapore.
“I think we are missing a huge opportunity by leaving the power to decide what companies get built in the hands of so few people,” said Mary Lin, co-founder and CEO of Odin. “But if you’re anything like me, you wonder whether AI will save us, serve us or destroy us. And you probably think that a lot of the companies VC’s invest in – things like 10-minute grocery delivery – are a bit … lame. Is this really the best we can do?”
Investing made simple
Odin was founded by Dom Bowcock, Mary Lin, and Patrick Ryan in 2020 in London. The firm’s goal is to provide institutional and private investors with access to unique investment opportunities that can generate consistent and sustainable returns.
It makes angel investing simple by letting investors pump in as little as £1,000, thereby letting them witness more diversity. To date 5,000 have used Odin to invest in more than 300 businesses mostly at the pre-seed and seed level.
