Data-driven VC EQT Ventures raised one of Europe's largest funds to bring hot US tech startups to the continent

EQT Ventures

Hjalmar Winbladh managing partner at EQT Ventures

• Swedish investor EQT Ventures has just raised a €660 million ($725 million) second fund to scale tech startups in Europe and help US tech companies move to the continent.
• EQT Ventures says it uses an artificial intelligence platform to source deals for the fund alongside its partners in a predominantly data-driven investment thesis.
• The Stockholm-based fund also has offices in London, San Francisco, Amsterdam and Berlin.
• "Five years ago EQT Ventures was an idea, now we're backing the most ambitious European entrepreneurs," said Hjalmar Winbladh, managing partner at EQT Ventures, in an interview with Business Insider.

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Swedish investment firm EQT Ventures has just raised one of the continent's largest funds.

The firm has closed a €660 million ($725 million) second fund to scale tech startups in Europe and help US tech companies move to the continent. The company is spun out of Stockholm-based private equity firm EQT and was founded in 2016 with a focus on data-driven investment.

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"Five years ago EQT Ventures was an idea, now we're backing the most ambitious European entrepreneurs," said Hjalmar Winbladh, managing partner at EQT Ventures, in an interview with Business Insider. "We entered the market with a fresh approach and the size of this fundraise is a testament to the successful working strategy we've had so far."

The new fund continues the firm's multi-stage strategy of investing in mostly Series A and B rounds in Europe and helping to scale US startups with ambitions in the European market, mostly at the Series B and C stage. EQT has garnered attention for its data focused investing thesis which was borne out of its artificial intelligence platform, Motherbrain.

EQT Ventures has backed around 40 companies since its launch with 40% of its last 10 investments coming through Motherbrain. Of particular interest to the firm is the enterprise software space, a specialism of the fund's US partner Alastair Mitchel. One of the firm's prominent investments in the area is Handshake, with a $40 million Series C. Other US investments to-date include Standard Cognition ($35 million Series B) and Darkstore ($21 million Series B).

"We saw a gap in the market where US companies struggled to get a foothold in the European market due to the language barrier and different regulation so we've taken a localized approach to that," Winbladh added.

The fund has offices in San Francisco, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam alongside its Stockholm hub. EQT Ventures fund had its first exit when it sold its stake in mobile games company Small Giant Games to Zynga in a deal valued at $700 million having previously backed the company's $5.7 million Series A in 2017.