London-based VC Blossom Capital raises €378.9M fund; aims to invest in crypto startups

London-based Blossom Capital, a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in consumer, enterprise, internet, and startup sectors, announced on Tuesday that it has raised a $432M (approx €378.9M) fund to help visionary European founders at the Series A stage.

The company claims Blossom III is the largest Series A fund in Europe and will focus on helping founders thrive at a critical stage in their company’s journey. 

Blossom’s Managing Partner Ophelia Brown says, “We’re delighted to welcome some of the world’s top endowments into Fund III. They share our conviction that early-stage capital can have outsized impact on the trajectory of a company. With this new fund we are continuing with our high-conviction strategy of providing foundational capital to entrepreneurs, so their Series A creates an undeniable strategic advantage.”

“Early stage capital is long-term strategy”

Founded in 2017 and led by Ophelia Brown and Alex Lim, Blossom Capital is Europe’s largest dedicated Series A fund. It leverages local roots with global connections to deliver an advantage for founders across consumer internet, crypto, cybersecurity, developer tools and open source, enterprise SaaS, and marketplaces. 

The firm is very selective in choosing to work with a select number of companies where they believe partnering unlocks outsized ambition and potential.

Currently, Blossom manages assets of almost $1B and the portfolio includes Checkout.com, MoonPay, Pigment, Duffel, and Tines. Companies in which Blossom has invested have raised follow-on funding from the likes of Accel, Addition, Coatue, Greenoaks, and Tiger Global.

The firm has recently recruited a Managing Partner Alex Lim, whose prior investments feature Discord, Hopin and UiPath, and Talent Partner Kim Goddard. Goddard was previously recruited across tech, product, and design at Atlassian, Facebook, and Nubank, underscoring Blossom’s commitment to helping build ‘world-class’ teams at the early stage.

Aim of the fund

The proceeds from this round will enable Blossom Capital to target crypto startups for up to a third of its investments. Recently, the firm invested in MoonPay, which raised $555M in its first-ever fundraising round.

Blossom Capital claims to have pioneered an AI-approach to sourcing opportunities, with 30 per cent of its portfolio discovered through such tools. This strategy positions Blossom to be able to identify and capitalise on the ‘most cutting-edge’ trends, technologies, and companies. 

Alex Lim says, “Fund III is the latest step in our mission to support a new generation of world-beating companies from Europe. Founders need more than just capital from an investor at the early stage; they need partners who go above and beyond to make them successful. We have built a diverse partnership and tailored services offering, and are constantly pushing ourselves to provide ever-higher levels of service to European founders.”