London’s Entrepreneur First secures $115m for new global deep-tech fund

Talent investor Entrepreneur First (EF) has secured $115m (c.£88.2m) for a new fund supporting tech startups across the globe.

The round was led by a number of prominent institutional investors from Europe, the US and Asia, including TransferWise founder Taavet Hinrikus; Zoopla founder Alex Chesterman; and EF alumnus Rob Bishop, co-founder of Twitter-owned AI startup Magic Pony Technology.

The new ‘deep-tech’ focused fund, which is among the biggest pre-seed funds ever raised, will allow EF to back more than 2,200 individuals and help create over 300 venture-backed companies in the next three years.

Founded in London eight years ago by Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck, EF has since helped over 1,200 individuals build more than 200 technology businesses in London, Paris, Berlin, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangalore.

Companies supported by EF are now collectively worth $1.5bn (c.£1.15bn).

The company’s approach, which merges traditional venture capital funding with startup development, sees it investing in talented entrepreneurs and their startups at earlier, pre-seed stages.

Matt Clifford, co-founder and CEO of EF, said: “What the most ambitious people choose to do with their lives has a profound impact on society, the economy and culture.

“Our ambition at Entrepreneur First will always be to identify and enable the most extraordinary individuals to build globally important companies.”

He continued: “As we undertake further global expansion, the support of our investors enables us to continue building more deep tech startups than anyone else.

“In empowering thousands of talented individuals across the globe we can help them realise their true potential to create an impactful legacy.”

Alice Bentinck, EF co-founder and CPO, commented: “We pioneered a new model of talent investing, and it’s encouraging to see this become a new frontier for venture capital.

“We believe the world is missing out on some of its best founders because of ecosystem constraints, a lack of co-founders and difficulties getting early pre-company funding. Entrepreneur First is changing that.”

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