European Investor Seedcamp Closes On $320M Across Two Funds To Back Seed Startups And Reaches $1B AUM

Seedcamp, one of Europe’s earliest seed investors, has closed on its 7th fund of $220 million and a select fund 2 of $100 million to invest in winners from the core fund.  

Since its launch almost two decades ago in 2007, the firm — which had an initial fund of just $3 million —  has invested in around 550 companies. With this latest fund, its assets under management have reached $1 billion. 

Crunchbase News spoke with Carlos Espinal, the firm’s managing partner who joined Seedcamp in 2010 and Hilary Howe, who rejoined the firm in 2022 to head up the select fund and establish a New York presence. 

Since fund 2, it has invested in 100 companies per fund. “What we’ve learned is that you need a community to support each other,” said Espinal. The tipping point for the firm was 70 companies where it became clear that founders were helping one another, becoming customers, and teams starting new companies.

“We realized early on that the best thing a founder can get is access to another founder who just went through that experience — not necessarily a founder who is successful 10 years down the road and is a great figurehead, but someone just a little bit ahead. That’s effectively our secret sauce,” said Espinal. 

Seedcamp also invests in software and vertical AI, but is careful about what is compelling and unique. “We’re trying to monitor so we’re not one of eight bets in one area that’s been overinvested within the AI vertical space, and making sure that you’re not betting on number 100 in a space that’s hypercompetitive,” Espinal said. 

Seedcamp plans to invest in 35 new companies per year, totaling 100 to 120 for the new fund. It invests up to $1.3 million in its initial check, and will lead roughly 70% of those deals with a 5% to 10% ownership target. 

The firm reserves 40% for follow-on seed and Series A rounds. Its select fund will invest in portfolio companies from Series B onward.

“Building is so much easier and faster now,” Howe said. “Signals of product-market fit are there earlier. The founder DNA is still the same, but the ability to see it in action earlier is there with the AI lift.”

New York presence

Howe, who heads up the New York office, noted that European companies are heading to the U.S. earlier. “Historically, maybe we’d see a company raise a round and stay in Europe, dominate their local market, raise a few more rounds, and then come to the U.S.” she said. “Now we’re seeing them come right from the get-go.”

From fund 3, its 2014 vintage fund, the firm’s return is 13x distributions to paid-in capital, with Revolut, UiPath and Pleo seed investments from that fund.

Related Crunchbase queries:

• Seedcamp Investments 
• Seedcamp Portfolio Companies

Illustration: Dom Guzman