London and Antwerp-based Hummingbird Ventures, which counts Deliveroo and Showpad in its portfolio, has closed a new $95 million fund to invest in tech startups at the “late Seed and Series A” stage.
Targeting Europe and also further afield, having invested in more nascent ecosystems such as Turkey, Brazil and the continent of Africa, the VC is particularly on the lookout for startups operating in the areas of marketplaces, gaming, SaaS and crypto. It typically invests between $500,000 and $5 million.
In a post published on Medium, Hummingbird Ventures founding partner Barend Vanden Brande says the new fund — the VC’s third, not counting the $25 million “Opportunities fund” it raised in 2014 for later-stage follow-on investments — was raised in just 40 days. Its LPs consist of 100+ private investors, including “entrepreneurs who built $1bn+ tech companies, strategic family offices and entrepreneurs who we once backed at seed stage”.
He is also keen to point out that no tax-payer money has gone into the fund. “We did not rely on any special tax incentives or the EIF’s of the world,” writes Vanden Brande.
The Hummingbird VC also reckons the fundraise could have been even larger, but that a decision was taken to cap it at $95 million. “Firstly, we believe this segment looks crowded in Europe, especially with U.S. funds swooping up many of the best European Series B deals. But most importantly, we want to stay true to ourselves. Our heart is in early stage investments: It’s what we do best,” he says.
Despite only announcing today, several investments out of Hummingbird Ventures III have already been made. They include Instacarro (Brazil), Frontier Car Group (Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Indonesia), and a stealth company in New York.
That said, Vanden Brande writes that the VC firm isn’t in the business of “spray and pray,” arguing it is more selective than a lot of early-stage venture capital. “We’ve done ~20 investments over 5 years, rather than the usual 20 investments per year,” he notes.
