Europe's flurry of venture capital raises continues with Spotify backer Northzone's new $500 million fund
- European investment firm Northzone has raised a $500 fund to invest in European startups.
- The firm has seen notable exits in the form of Swedish successes like Spotify and iZettle and its current portfolio contains Europe's most valuable company, Klarna, and scooter startup Tier.
- "We've been successful because we have true founder empathy, four out of our five general partners are former founders so we are sticking to what's working," Paul Murphy, general partner at Northzone, told Business Insider in an interview.
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A spate of major fundraises from European venture capital has continued with a new $500 million raise from Northzone.
The Stockholm-based investor has raised its ninth fund which will serve as a multi-stage investment vehicle for European companies at the Series A and B stage as well as serving US startups looking to scale, specifically on the east coast.
The firm has seen notable exits in the form of Swedish successes like Spotify and iZettle and its current portfolio contains Europe's most valuable company, Klarna, and e-scooter startup Tier.
Recent investments have included a $60 million Series B for Pollen, a $22.3 million Series B for Klang Games, and a $38 million Series C for Barcelona's Red Points.
"We've been successful because we have true founder empathy, four out of our five general partners are former founders so we are sticking to what's working," Paul Murphy, general partner at Northzone, told Business Insider in an interview. Murphy has been promoted from partner as part of the new fund's launch while Hello Fresh cofounder Jessica Schultz has also been made a general partner.
The firm has been in operation for 23 years and Murphy insists that the fund is disciplined its approach to investing across cycles. Northzone has offices in Stockholm, London, New York, and Oslo. LPs in the fund weren't named but are thought to be a mix of old and new, with the majority being European institutional investors.
Northzone's experiences in New York have been a "natural landing spot for founders," according to Murphy. Many Northzone portfolio companies have set up in operations in the US as a result of the fund's relationships on the east coast which is something the firm is keen to continue.
It's the third large fundraise from European VCs in recent weeks following similar sized moves from Sweden's EQT Ventures and London-based firm Balderton Capital.