Sunstone Technology Ventures closes €160 million in fresh capital
Many good things come in pairs. We are proud to announce that we have made the final closing of not one but two new funds totalling €160 million in committed capital. Sunstone Technology Fund IV with €112 million in committed capital is a continuation of our core strategy to invest in the early-stage rounds of technology companies all across Europe. Sunstone Progression Alpha with €47 million is a new growth opportunity fund that allows us to continue to support our portfolio companies as they reach the growth phases raising €25 million or more in single financing rounds. Historically, each fund generation, from Fund I to III, has been around €100 million. Hence, in this fund generation we have raised 60% more capital than in the past. This was only possible with the continued strong support from our existing limited partners combined with support from new limited partners.
For the past ten years we have backed exceptional and purpose-driven entrepreneurs. And what a journey! We have been truly impressed with the growing start-up communities across Europe. When we started Sunstone, a €20 million growth round was a rare event in Europe. During the last couple of years, over 10 of our own portfolio companies have raised growth or pre-IPO rounds between €25 — €75 million. Some of them have already raised those amounts twice. What used to be a rare event has become the norm. Not only is Europe creating more success stories, but the companies also raise substantially more money than they did ten years ago.
When we invest in an early stage start-up we pledge to the entrepreneurs that we will be their trusted companion from the very early days all the way to the exit. Historically, we have relied on our limited partners for carrying a substantial part of the investments in the growth phases. For instance, in Boozt, the Nordic fashion eCommerce market leader we listed in Stockholm in May 2017, we partnered with one of our limited partners when we raised a significant pre-IPO round. Going forward, we will be able to carry a larger part of that investment ourselves and thereby remain loyal to our pledge of being the entrepreneurs’ trusted partners all the way.
With Sunstone Technology Fund IV we aim to invest in around 30 new promising technology companies, and we have already made more than 10 of those. Among the new members of the Sunstone family are Aire, the London based credit-scoring company, RFRSH Entertainment, the Copenhagen based eSports platform company, Lillydoo, the Frankfurt based babycare FMCG company, Travelperk, the Barcelona based enterprise travel company and Werlabs, the Stockholm based blood analysis company.
Today we are also thrilled to announce that we have made the first investment from Sunstone Progression Alpha. Sunstone Technology Fund III company, GetYourGuide, the largest online booking platform for travel activities, today announced that they have raised a $75 million growth round led by Battery Ventures. Sunstone Technology Fund III and Sunstone Progression Alpha have committed $10m in the round. GetYourGuide founders Johannes and Tao are showing the world that they are building a company that matters. The company has experienced explosive growth this year and we are truly humbled and thrilled to keep supporting the GetYourGuide team on their continued journey to build one of the most important travel companies in Europe, and what we expect to be the next German success story.
Coming into our next fund generation we have strengthened our team with Deepka Rana who has joined as an associate in our Berlin office. Deepka joined from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was an associate in the technology investment banking team in London. Brianna Cho has joined us as an analyst in our Copenhagen office relocating from Paris to Copenhagen. Finally, we are excited to share the news that we have decided to open an office in Paris in order to further strengthen our European exposure. Aside of having our first French limited partner in this fund generation, we have been following the progress of the Paris start-up scene. Both Berlin and Paris have grown in importance in the recent years. Yacine Ghalim, who joined us four years ago from Goldman Sachs will head Sunstone’s Paris office.
