One of Europe’s leading VC firms Index Ventures has raised over half a billion dollars to invest in and build some of the most iconic companies in Europe, US and Israel.
It comes off the back of a successful year for the Index. Seven companies they have funded exited for over $1 billion in the last year which include the four European ventures Just Eat, King, Zendesk, and Criteo.
This is their seventh venture fund. It will be used to invest in comapanies from seed and early stage, scaling up to $20m depending on a company’s needs.
Focus on marketplaces
The fund is likely to be invested in certain tech sectors that Index Ventures are keen to focus on.
We can expect them to invest heavily in network-driven/marketplace companies. They have previously invested in marketplace companies, including Just Eat, NotOnTheHighStreet, and Farfetched. 
Ben Holmes, a partner at Index Ventures, explained:
We are looking to invest in companies that are bringing together a large number of buyers and sellers for a particular product of service – a sector we have had a huge amount of success in.
Fintech looking strong
The company are also poised to invest in fintech companies.
They have had a success with companies like Funding Circle, iZettle, and Transferwise.
They believe there is room for further disruption in the banking sector and will be looking for companies that do what the banks do but in a much slicker way.
This bodes well for London-based fintech companies who have been deemed European leaders in the sector.
Holmes added that he believes there are exciting developments happening in gaming which they will look towards.
London leads
When asked about where they will be invested Holmes suggested that signs are positive in London.
The British capital holds the highest density of investment from Index Ventures – 43 in total – and that trend seems set to continue.
Earlier this year, Just Eat floated in London valued at nearly £1.5bn. It was the largest technology float on the London Market in eight years.
Their valuation was 15 times their sales figures and was deemed high by some analysts.
Holmes, who is on the board of directors at Just Eat, doesn’t feel the valuation was inflated:
Just Eat are a company that have very real revenue and profit, growing at a phenomenal rate.
Companies like their and King among others are businesses that are hard to value but are fantastic businesses which will perform well over the medium to long term.