London-headquartered venture capital (VC) firm Highland Europe has launched a €1bn (£879m) fund to invest in grow-stage software and consumer internet businesses across Europe.
It is Highland Europe’s fifth fund, bringing its total capital raised to €2.75bn (£2.42bn).
Fergal Mullen, partner, Highland Europe, said: “We want to thank all of those European founders who chose to partner with us over the past ten years. It is their ambition, talent and drive that inspires us as we build category-defining businesses together.”
Highland Europe, which has an additional office in Geneva, has in the past backed eGym, Malwarebytes, WeTransfer and led nutrition company Huel’s £20m funding round in December.
“Current market conditions are not easy, but our founder-led companies continue to scale impressively and efficiently, with several world leaders in the mix,” added Mullen.
“We’re pleased that our investors share our conviction and thank them for their continued trust.”
The sizeable fundraise comes amid a broader slowdown in tech startup funding, triggered by rising interest rates and the falling value of public tech companies. A recent report found that UK businesses secured £22.7bn in VC funding in 2022, a 30% decline on the year prior. UK technology fared a little better, with only a 22% decrease according to another report.