Index Ventures eyes up London for £325m fund
INDEX Ventures, which invested in the recently floated Just Eat and King, will today unveil its seventh early stage fund as the venture capital firm increasingly looks to London for startups with an ambition to become global leaders in their fields.
While the new £325m fund would be spread over investments across Europe, the US and Israel, Index said it would have a particular focus on the core European hubs of London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm.
“London has never been booming more than it now is. The support is coming together from different sources – the regulators, government, mayor of London, incubators and accelerators – and it really has never been better for startups in the capital,” Index partner Jan Hammer told City A.M.
Over the past 12 months, Index has seen seven of its portfolio companies exited for over $1bn, including Zendesk, Criteo, Climate Corporation, Arista and Supercell along with Just Eat and King.
Index currently has 43 investments in London, including Asos, Mind Candy and Citymapper, which combined generated revenue of over £2bn in 2013 and collectively employ over 3,000 staff.