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It’s sometimes said that European VC doesn’t have the firepower to compete with VCs in the U.S., which regularly raise billion-dollar+ funds these days. Perhaps further evidence of this view persists in the news that Berlin-based Cherry Ventures has closed its latest fund at $500 million, to be split between early-stage rounds and follow-on rounds at Series B and beyond.
A statement from Cherry laid out its ambition. It wants to use this fund to help build the “first trillion dollar company in Europe.” With this, it called for the reversal of the “doom and gloom” narrative about Europe’s economy.
That’s great, although evidence that European startups are currently on the trillion-dollar path remains thin on the ground. Case in point, if AI plays out as the juggernaut everyone is saying that it will be, just a handful of the most-capitalised companies in the field come from this neck of the woods. Recent research estimated that some $8 billion was raised by AI companies in Europe, compared to some $97 billion raised in the U.S. for AI startups. Yes, it’s not only about money, but as Cherry and other VCs know, that capital is a critical part of the mix.
Cherry did not put a timeline on its aspirations.
In the U.K., the biggest startup market in Europe, October venture capital funding for U.K. startups fell by 50% from the previous quarter, as startups secured only around $2.9 billion, according to a Dealroom and HSBC Innovation Banking report.
Cherry Ventures itself did not even appear in last year’s HEC-Dow Jones Venture Capital Performance Ranking, with the top title being taken by Earlybird Digital East Fund.
Meanwhile, Revolut backer Balderton Capital recently managed to raise $1.3bn for European tech start-ups, while concurring that Europe is missing out on the AI boom.
Cherry’s last fund, announced in early 2022, came in at €300 million ($312 million). The VC’s portfolio includes space-tech The Exploration Company, grocery delivery startup Flink, neurosurgical microbots company Robeaute, Greyhound owner Flix SE, and logistics unicorn Forto.
LPs in the new fund include entrepreneurs Miki Kusi from Wolt; Ilkka Paananen, chief executive of Supercell; and Jochan Enghert from Flix.
Cherry Ventures’ 18 exits have included CoWSwap, Ninetailed, and Homelike.
Mike Butcher (M.B.E.) is Editor-at-large of TechCrunch. He has written for UK national newspapers and magazines and been named one of the most influential people in European technology by Wired UK. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum, Web Summit, and DLD. He has interviewed Tony Blair, Dmitry Medvedev, Kevin Spacey, Lily Cole, Pavel Durov, Jimmy Wales, and many other tech leaders and celebrities. Mike is a regular broadcaster, appearing on BBC News, Sky News, CNBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg. He has also advised UK Prime Ministers and the Mayor of London on tech startup policy, as well as being a judge on The Apprentice UK. GQ magazine named him one of the 100 Most Connected Men in the UK. He is the co-founder ThePathfounder.com newsletter; TheEuropas.com (the Annual European Tech Startup Conference & Awards for 12 years); and the non-profits Techfugees.com, TechVets.co, and Coadec.com. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2016 for services to the UK technology industry and journalism.
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