Blossom Capital announces second fund of $185 million, less than a year after firm's first fundraise

London’s Blossom Capital has announced its second fund, $185 million to invest in early-stage European tech companies. Less than a year after the firm’s first fundraise, the new fund brings the VC’s total to $270 million. Launched by Ophelia Brown in 2017, the firm has since invested in a variety of high-performing companies, such as payments unicorn Checkout.com, traveltech startup Duffel and cybersecurity platform Tines. Blossom aims to connect ambitious European founders with its regional network as well as later-stage funds in the US. “When we looked at the data it was very clear at the growth stage that, outside of Index and Accel, the most successful European outcomes were driven by the combination of European early-stage investors and top-tier US growth investors,” explained Blossom Capital partner, Imran Ghory. “From day one we prioritised building those relationships, both to share knowledge but also provide a bridge for European founders to access the best growth capital as they scale.” With the second fund, the firm plans to stick with its current strategy, partnering at seed and Series A level with startups in the fintech, travel, devops, infrastructure and cybersecurity sectors. Founder Ophelia Brown commented: “The volume and quality of European startups is now five times what it was five years ago. The US funds have noticed this and they are investing more frequently and with more capital in the very best European startups. Blossom Capital has established itself across Europe as the first choice for entrepreneurs in part because of our strong relationships with the US’s very best investors. Today we announce our second fund through which we will keep investing with conviction in European-founded companies that we know will one day operate successfully in global markets.” Louise Samet, partner at Blossom Capital, said: “The beauty of investing in Europe is the sheer diversity of teams, cultures and ideas often coming from new or unexpected places.  Beyond the usual suspects – London, Paris, and Berlin – the likes of Munich and Hamburg are fast becoming hubs, while in the Nordics we're seeing founders emerging from the alumni of successful startups like Spotify and Klarna. Discovering founders solving some of society’s biggest problems wherever they are is a significant strength of Blossom Capital and we’re poised to continue this with our second fund.”