Global venture capital (VC) fund White Star Capital has made $180m (£134.7m) available to tech startups from seed to Series B stage, in an oversubscribed fund that closed significantly above its initial $140m target.
Following on from its first $70m fund in 2015, todays announcement will see the VC firm invest in around 20 new companies with initial injections of between $1m and $6m. The second fund has already provided leading or co-leading investment in eight companies across the globe, including fintech and insurtech companies like Canadian lender Borrowell and German digital wealth manager Clark.
In the UK, White Star Capital has previously led investments into startups like Echo, a healthtech prescription tracking app founded by former Apple and Lloyds Pharmacy employees that received £7m in Series A funding.
Read more: An app taking the hassle out of repeat prescriptions raises £7m
The firm says it has built a global investor base for its second fund, with partners hailing from North America, Europe and Asia. Notable backers include institutional investors such as the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Korea Venture Investment Corporation (KVIC) and Portag3 Ventures, alongside corporate groups like Ubisoft, Veolia and La Capitale.
“We have purposely sought a diverse and global investor base for our second fund, many of whom are repeat investors from fund one, and we would like to thank them for their continued support,” said Eric Martineau-Fortin, co-founder and managing partner at White Star Capital.
“Our growing team has extensive operational experience and we are passionate about supporting ambitious entrepreneurs with truly global ambitions. Internationalisation represents a huge opportunity for many high-growth companies and our global reach means we can support companies looking to scale outside of their home market.”
Read more: Rocket Internet reveals £2.3bn up for grabs in fintech and AI
White Star Capital has invested in 26 core companies at early stages to date, which have since gone on to raise more than $650m in total funding and employ 1,600 people across 20 countries.
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