Fintech investor Index Ventures secures $2bn in fresh funds

The company has invested in a number of well-known fintechs, including Revolut and Robinhood

The venture investor Index Ventures has secured a fresh $2bn in capital amid fears over a fundraising freeze for tech start-ups.

The money will be split into two funds, with Index Ventures 10 getting $800m and $1.2bn going to Index Growth 5. These funds will invest across the start-up spectrum, from pre-launch firms to growing businesses seeking international expansion.

The company said it will use the fresh injection of capital to invest in companies that are “fundamentally transforming the way we live and work, as well as those providing the enterprise infrastructure and Artificial Intelligence to underpin these changes in society and the economy”.

Jan Hammer, a partner at Index Ventures, said: “Innovation is often born out of adversity. The path to building a great company is not a straight line, with many obstacles and forks along the way. We take the long view and remain committed to investing in ambitious entrepreneurs at this unprecedented time.”

Hammer told Financial News the $2bn is for new investments, but added that it will also “free up some capacity” in the firm’s existing funds, allowing them to provide more support to start-ups that Index has already invested in.

The news will be cheered by Britain’s tech start-ups, which have rallied behind calls for government to step in with an emergency bailout fund to support them through the coronavirus crisis. Without intervention, these predominantly loss-making companies will face “a huge liquidity crisis”, lobby groups have warned.

Index Ventures has backed a number of well-known fintech firms in Europe and the US, including the digital bank Revolut, the share trading app Robinhood and Adyen, the Dutch payments firm which went public in 2018.

Source: Financial News

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