Today, the European Investment Fund (EIF) announced that it has invested €350 million in Kembara Fund I FCR, a venture capital fund with a target size of €1 billion focused on deeptech and climate. The fund will operate at a pan-European level and is managed by Alma Mundi Ventures SGEIC (Mundi Ventures), a Spanish company.
The world faces the greatest wave of innovation in history with the convergence of cutting-edge technologies such as AI, quantum computing and synthetic biology.
Europe has the research capacity and talent necessary to play a leading role in the most disruptive technologies and technologies applied to climate action.
However, to do this, it needs to mobilise investment to support the growth of its most promising startups.
Kembara aims to invest in technology startups in the growth phase (series B and C), focusing on deeptech and climate, mainly in Germany, Spain, France, and Sweden, as well as in other EU Member States.
The EIF is the lead investor in Kembara and will play a catalytic role in helping the fund reach its target size of €1 billion through contributions from additional investors. The experience of the Kembara management team and its differentiated strategy have been vital to receiving the support of the EIF.
Kembara is the latest of the EIF’s investments in a growth fund for technology companies within the framework of the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI), the fund of funds promoted by the European Union to encourage investment in leading technology startups with high growth potential (scale-ups) and accelerate digital transformation in Europe.
ETCI contributes to covering the financing needs faced by European technological scaleups, thus preventing their relocation and reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness.
“ETCI aims to support large European funds so that they can invest in leading technology startups and provide them with the large-scale financing they need for their growth,” said Marjut Falkstedt, CEO of the EIF.
“We are delighted to support Kembara and, through this fund, to technology entrepreneurs throughout Europe. ETCI is consolidating and helping the brightest ideas get started and grow and prosper in Europe.”
Kembara will support startups with strong intellectual property that combine disruptive advances in science and engineering, next-generation hardware, and high capital needs and focus on cutting-edge technologies such as AI, future computing, robotics, space technologies, advanced materials, and new-generation energy systems.
These areas of action also coincide with technological areas identified as critical to guaranteeing the strategic autonomy and economic growth of the EU.
Javier Santiso, CEO and founder of Mundi Ventures and co-founding partner of Kembara, shared:
“It is an honour for us to have been chosen by the FEI as one of the platforms to promote companies with the greatest potential in deeptech and Europe’s climate. Gradual changes are not enough.
We are here to support the most ambitious deep tech entrepreneurs who want to solve humanity’s most critical challenges, particularly climate change.”
Lead image: Wiliiam Bossen.
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