Atomico announces $765m investment fund to boost European tech

London-based VC Atomico has raised $765m for its fourth investment fund to support disruptive European tech startups.

The fund, Atomico IV, will focus on making investments from Series A onwards in startups which have already achieved market fit and are ready to scaleup.

In a statement, Atomico said: “Raising a fund of this size is testament to the growing confidence in European tech – which we have championed from the start – and our unique approach to partnering with founders to help them build successful companies and create value.

“When we invest in a company, we give everything we have, not just capital.”

Founded in 2006 by Niklas Zennström, founder of Skype, and tech VC Mattias Ljungman, Atomico has a team of 40 individuals including founders and executives from the likes of Facebook, Google, LastMinute.com, Spotify, Uber and Virgin.

“We use that experience to coach and push entrepreneurs, hard, in areas where they need help the most, like user growth, hiring and retaining the best talent, market-entry and partnerships, or marketing and communications,” Atomico added.

Demonstrating the VC’s growth, this news follows on from the launch of Atomico’s $476m fund, Atomico III, back in November 2013.

“We’re excited that we’re now in a position to invest one of Europe’s largest funds and deploy Europe’s most experienced venture team to partner with even more superstar founders,” Atomico concluded.

UK tech

Headquartered in London, Atomico naturally plans to invest in UK tech. Mattias Ljungman, co-founder of Atomico, told Tech City News: “We’re really excited about the tech ecosystem here. As our State of European Tech report shows, London alone has over 300,000 professional developers, and the UK leads Europe in deep technologies like AI.

“There are incredible things going on in UK tech, and it’s a great opportunity for investors. We’re already working with some remarkable UK companies, like LendInvest, which is re-inventing the concept of a mortgage, and Farmdrop, which is tackling big problems with the food supply chain,” he added.

Additionally, the fund itself itself is sector-agnostic, meaning a wide range of tech startups are on Atomico’s investment radar.

“We’ve invested in a range of sectors across technology, from SaaS to FinTech, transportation to e-commerce,” said Ljungman.

“What our investments have in common is that they are all in the most ambitious founders with disruptive technology and a vision to change our world for the better.”