Venture capital company Act has launched its new €140m that will back early-stage tech companies and which is its sixth and largest fund to date.
Act said it had reached the first close of the Act VI fund, with more than 80% of the fund already committed by investors.
"We will target 35 companies with the fund targeting 75% of companies to be seed stage"
News of the new fund came amid a slew of new funding announcements, including Delta Partners (€70m), which is backed by Bank of Ireland and Enterprise Ireland as cornerstone investors along with Fexco and various family offices, Elkstone (€100m) and Melior (€160m) – all underpinned by the Government’s €90m investment in seed capital revealed in February.
The new Act VI fund is backed by institutional investors including the European Investment Fund, Enterprise Ireland, ISIF and AIB along with various founders and entrepreneurial family offices.
Act managing director John Flynn said that the focus of the fund will be supporting “great companies” built by “great founders who sacrifice so much along the way to turn their vision into a reality.”
In a post on the Act Venture Capital website, Flynn wrote: “Our strategy is not changing. We will continue to back exceptional and passionate founders tackling big problems, but with more capacity to support founders earlier.
“In the Irish market, we have witnessed the market over double in size within four years and we are incredibly excited about the future of Irish tech companies and the talented and ambitious founders that will build them.
“We will target 35 companies with the fund targeting 75% of companies to be seed stage. With a capacity to write cheques anywhere from €100,000 – €10m and the capacity to add significant additional co-investment through our LP base, we have a platform to support ambitious founders seeking to build the next generation of category leaders and exceptional companies.
“Act is a people-driven business, and we will continue investing in outstanding founders, partnering with, and supporting them through the scaling journey.
“Finally, we partner exclusively with companies that target long-term, sustainable growth, which seek to improve the world we live and work in.
“We are in a privileged position to be agents of positive change and will continue backing founders that have a mission and values that go beyond financials. We know we all need to do more as diversity is still a big problem and climate change is the existential crisis of our time. We truly believe the companies that prioritise the ESG agenda have proven that, on top of making a positive change, they attract better talent, and provide a better financial return for investors.”
Source: ThinkBusiness