Finch Capital, a leading venture capital firm with a presence in the UK and Netherlands, announced the first close of Europe III, its €150 million investment fund, to invest in the European fintech companies working on technologies like Artificial Intelligence. The investment focus will be on financial technology startups with €2 million to €5 million in revenues.
According to the official announcement, Finch Capital is planning to invest €2 to 10 million in Series A and Series B stages. The VC firm is also planning to back 15 to 20 European fintech companies, targeting Liquidity 3 to 5 years post-investment, over the fund’s 3-year initial investment lifespan.
Last year, Steve Crossan joined Finch Capital as a venture partner to expand the firm’s AI expertise. Crossan previously worked with Google and joined DeepMind as Head of Product.
Commenting on the recent announcement, Radboud Vlaar, MD Finch Capital, said: “We have always been bullish on investing in Financial Technology. Moving forward, we are doubling down on Financial software, especially those companies that Leverage AI to this end. We have seen the industry mature, giving rise now to a rich but fragmented landscape of robust businesses with EUR 2-5 million in revenues. These are the companies we are focused on working with now. With the right support and management, they have great risk/return outcomes and they are ready to build leading positions and consolidate the European market.”
Europe and Southeast Asia
Finch Capital is focusing primarily on the fintech startups from the European and the Southeast Asian region. In 2020, The firm announced a $50 million Finch Capital SEA II to invest in Southeast Asian startups. Finch Capital is planning to expand its presence in Europe with the recent launch of a €150 million fund.
“Europe is ready to compete in the global enterprise tech arena, with more capital being deployed in AI/deeptech than any other industry $20B last year alone. In the wake of general performance pressure, we see the acceleration of the Finance sector in their tech understanding and adoption creating pressure for additional innovation in these areas,” Crossan said.
