Finch Capital eyes more Irish start-ups after first close of €150m fund

Finch Capital is to step up its investment in Irish start-ups after the first close of a new €150 million fund.

The early-stage venture capital firm, which has offices in Amsterdam, London and Singapore, is a partner with Enterprise Ireland in a €20 million fund aimed at fintech companies. It also backs companies focused on areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IOT).

Mike Brennan, a principal at Finch, said the new fund, the VC's third, will see it investing in 15 to 20 European start-ups, putting in between €2 million and €10 million at Series A and B funding rounds

He said the VC was keen on acquiring significant minority stakes in companies with revenues in the range of €2-€5 million, a segment Finch believes is underserved by the European VC sector.

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“We are closing a couple of new Irish deals currently under our second fund and will be making more under the new one,” Mr Brennan said.

Start-ups backed

Among the Irish start-ups backed by Finch is Aylien, an AI-risk intelligence provider, which secured €5 million in funding in a round led by the VC in late 2019. Other companies in the portfolio include Zopa and Grab.

Since its inception in 2013, Finch Capital has made 40 investments across Europe and Asia and its assets now total $400 million (€330 million).

Enterprise Ireland made a €10 million investment in Finch in early 2019 under its Seed and Venture Capital Scheme as part of the establishment of the €20 million fintech-focused fund, which is managed by the VC.

Finch's made its first foray into the Irish market in 2018 when it co-led a €4 million funding round for Supply Finance, a newly established, Dublin-headquartered start-up set up by entrepreneur Brian Norton, who previously founded student loan specialist Future Finance.