Menlo Park, CA, Chevy Chase, MD and Vienna, Austria – May 28, 2015 – Global venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) and Speedinvest GmbH today announced a collaboration that could see $55 million in early-stage and growth capital reserved for the best global companies to emerge from Europe’s burgeoning startup scene.
While European countries such as Germany and Austria have produced global brands like SAP and Red Bull, European entrepreneurs traditionally face a shortage of venture capital and small, fragmented local markets. Speedinvest was designed to provide not only the necessary seed-stage capital, but also the hands-on support of its founders, all successful serial entrepreneurs, in addition to a strong EU-USA bridge program.
The Speedinvest formula has yielded excellent results in a short time, and New Enterprise Associates announces today that it will be focusing some of its capital and resources in an effort to help provide a global platform for the best European startups. NEA will invest $5 million directly into Speedinvest’s newly launched second fund, and anticipates reserving $50 million for follow-on investment in Speedinvest portfolio companies.
NEA is one of the largest venture capital firms in the world with over $17 billion cumulative committed capital since inception, having recently closed its fifteenth fund with $2.8 billion dollars in committed capital. The firm has invested in companies such as Salesforce, Groupon, Box, Silicon Graphics and Macromedia that have defined the technology and economics of Silicon Valley. NEA executes a diversified venture strategy across geographies, with offices in China, India and across the US, in addition to having a broad portfolio, investing in companies at all stages of growth and across a diverse range of sectors including healthcare, consumer technology, and enterprise software and services.
‘We see tremendous opportunity in the European startup ecosystem, and have invested in some very promising companies like GoEuro. By collaborating with Speedinvest, we can create a platform that helps ensure the very best EU startups have sufficient access to capital to achieve global scale,’ said Scott Sandell, NEA Co-Managing General Partner. ‘Like NEA, Speedinvest is a team of company builders. We believe that supporting Speedinvest’s innovative model is a great way to expand our focus in this key market.’
In addition to providing capital, Speedinvest’s general partners also take operational roles with portfolio companies to accelerate growth, particularly in business and corporate development. Speedinvest’s Silicon Valley operations shorten the steep learning curve, and provide seasoned entrepreneurial talent for fundraising and customer acquisition that are often out of reach of European startups. This ‘hands-on’ formula addresses the primary challenges facing European founders, and has been validated with strong results. Speedinvest has produced 4 exits in the past 12 months.
‘NEA and Speedinvest are well aligned in their view of the opportunities offered by the European startup market, and for Speedinvest this collaboration represents the best possible opportunity for our companies,’ said Oliver Holle, founder and CEO of Speedinvest. ‘It gives them the ability to achieve a global scale that only a handful of funds can provide. NEA also represents the very top-tier of the Sand Hill Road funds, a firm that has written the history of venture capital, and their support is a great show of appreciation for what we have built here in Europe.’
About NEA New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a global venture capital firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With nearly $17 billion in cumulative committed capital since inception NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. The firm’s long track record of successful investing includes more than 200 portfolio company IPOs and more than 320 acquisitions. www.nea.com.
About Speedinvest Speedinvest is an Austrian venture capital fund founded in 2011 with €68M under management that invests in European early stage technology startups. Besides providing financial investments, Speedinvest actively deploys its network and know-how to support its portfolio companies. Speedinvest’s office in Silicon Valley supports portfolio companies entering the US market. www.speedinvest.com.
