Insights from a startup investor: Tips from VC Kiran Mehta
Get inside the mind of startup investor Kiran Mehta from Mercia Ventures for expert tips and inspiration on startup inve...
Contents
These 21 funds have been the most active VC investors in Bristol-based startups over the past year:
Active Partners
This venture capital firm tends to partner with companies in the consumer, leisure and retail sectors, typically looking to invest £5m to £15m over the life of a company, although starting at smaller amounts.
AI Seed Fund
Invests £100,000 every year into 20 AI and machine learning early-stage products and businesses. The seed fund aims to support start-ups through its networks, subsidised work spaces and AI Phd work placements.
Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd
Founded in 1997, this is a venture capital for technology companies. It has raised over $1bn for 130 growing companies.
Atomico
One of Europe’s largest funds. Brands itself as ‘not the traditional VC firm’ offering extensive support to their partners. Atomico invests at Series A and beyond.
Bloc Ventures
Invests in early-stage tech companies around Series A. The venture capital is headed by experts from Vodafone PLC and ARM Holdings who look to take an active role in the companies they invest in through their operational model that aims to build enduring companies.
C4 Ventures
Passionate about investing in early start-ups wanting to challenge the status quo centred around smart hardware, commerce and digital media. C4 Ventures invests in larger Series A rounds and often follows on.
Calculus Capital
Having launched the UK’s first approved EIS fund in 1999, Calculus typically invests between £2m-£5m across a range of sectors.
Downing
Comprised of over 25,000 investors focusing on investments in technology companies at Seed to Series A and beyond.
Draper Esprit
The first tech centred VC that’s not tied to 5 year fund cycles with a fund size of $1bn with around 20 deals per year.
Force Over Mass Capital
A London based Venture Capital which focuses on investments in early stage technology companies with a risk mitigating approach. The stake usually taken by investors in these deals averages 23.7% at a £7.68m pre-money valuation*.
Gresham House Ventures
This VC fund looks to provide both growth capital, insight and expertise in order to accelerate businesses specialising in technology, customer insight and service excellence. Typically invests between £500k and £10million.
Kindred Capital VC
Kindred prefers to invest around £700k into a company’s first round of institutional funding. The firm’s £80m fund then reserves 70% of its capital for follow-on investment. Kindred is sector agnostic.
MMC Ventures
A research-led venture capital firm with a portfolio of over 60 companies investing up to £5m at Series A.
Nauta Capital
This Pan-European Venture Capital firm focuses on investments into B2B early-stage software companies who look to challenge the status quo. The stake taken by investors in these deals averaged 32.1% at a £16.9m pre-money valuation*.
Oxford Capital
Oxford Capital invests in entrepreneurs with early-stage tech-driven companies as well as the media sector, especially independent films. Usually invests between £500k and £4 million.
Parkwalk Advisors
One of the UK’s most active investors in over 100 university spin-outs including Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge.
Perivoli Innovations
This venture capital fund allocates all its profits to The Perivoli Schools Trust which focuses on improving education in sub-Saharan Africa. It has so far participated in 6 fundraisings with an average fundraising size of £3.61million.
Technology Venture Partners (TVP)
TVP focuses on investments in technology and healthcare companies, currently with $100 million in venture capital and growth equity investments.
The Summit Group
A venture capital business actively investing in early stage companies. Also provides finance, business relationships, management and administrative support across its fundraisings which currently total over £15 million.
Worth Capital
Worth Capital is an EIS and SEIS fund centring around product and service investments, averaging a size of £96.5k across 29 fundraisings*.
YFM Equity Partners
This private equity businesses tends to invest up to £10 million with offices all around the UK.
* Starred statistics kindly provided by Beauhurst.
