Last year, Niklas Zennström’s venture capital firm Atomico released its second Slush report on the state of European tech, and with it the revelation that the UK is the number one destination for international tech talent. Read more: Europe's 100 hottest startups 2016
The report found that a quarter of all ‘tech migrants’ moving to Europe are heading for the UK, that Europe is leading the way or at least on a par with the US when it comes to deep tech (AI, machine learning and robotics), and European startups are at the top of US tech giants’ acquisition list, with the sale of ARM, NXO and Skyscanner alone in the UK totalling $71 billion.
“Now is the best time in history to be an entrepreneur in Europe,” it concluded.
Now, London-based Atomico is putting money behind this statement with the announcement of a $765 million Series A fund, one of the largest of its kind. In fact, a 2016 report by Business Insider using CB Insights data, ranked Index Ventures’ $706.16 million fund as the largest in Europe at the time.
Skype cofounder turned VC leader Niklas Zennström said: “We’ve raised one of the biggest funds, and built the best operational team in Europe to partner with the most ambitious entrepreneurs to help them become global category winners.
Read more: 'Tech migrants' are invading Europe – and many are heading for the UK
“We’ve advocated the strength and depth of European tech for more than ten years and Europe is now producing some of the greatest technology companies in the world. With a deep talent pool of engineers and tech hubs springing up from Lisbon to Tallinn, there’s never been a better time to be a founder in Europe.”
Atomico’s staff hail from the world’s tech giants, including Facebook, Google, Uber and Virgin, but it has maintained a “founder-centric” approach, with its most recent hires being entrepreneurs. Cofounder and CEO of games studio eRepublik Labs, Alexis Bonte, and founder of The Twenty Minute VC podcast, Harry Stebbings joined Atomico’s solid list of Entrepreneur Partners last year, which also includes Lastminute.com cofounder Brent Hoberman and Supercell cofounder Mikko Kodisoja as advisors.
The Atomico IV fund will be aimed at Europe’s “most ambitious” tech founders - companies that are ready to scale globally.
As part of its announcement, the firm acknowledged there is a funding gap in Europe at the growth stage, which has been preventing some startups from scaling. The consensus is that Europe has the academic institutions, talent and expertise to succeed but acquisitions by US tech giants will remain the peak if the funding to scale is withheld.
“By backing companies at the point they are ready to go global, Atomico IV will help to redress this balance by being able to invest at Series A and beyond for the whole journey,” the company said.
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This article was originally published by WIRED UK
