Cottonwood Technology Fund announces €25M first close of its fourth fund to fuel hard tech startups

Cottonwood Technology Fund, an early-stage venture capital fund, announced the first close of its fourth investment fund at €25M for its Cottonwood Technology Fund IV. 

The fund was backed by Caterpillar Ventures, The Merrion Oil & Gas Family, Dutch regional investor NOM, Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), and over 20 other entrepreneurs and family offices.

“There is an equally disruptive innovation in northwest Europe with an even greater need for seed stage capital than the US,” says Alain le Loux, a General Partner of the fund and leading the European activities.

“More than 10 years after opening our office in the Netherlands, we see strong advantages of a venture capital fund active on two continents. We bring technologies from the United States to Europe and vice versa. All our investments have been focused on global growth from the start, creating an economic and sustainable impact and contributing to a better world,” adds Loux.

Fund utilisation

Like Fund III, Fund IV aims to raise €80M to create a diverse portfolio of early-stage B2B startups that specialise in hardware technologies across deep-tech industries.

Cottonwood focuses on the Southwest United States and Northwest Europe, both known for their strong tech ecosystems.

Cottonwood aims to invest in startups that address major global challenges.

They have previously funded innovative technologies in areas such as advanced materials, nanotechnology, micro- and nano-electronics, quantum technologies, photonics, medical technology, and clean energy.

Cottonwood Technology Fund: Impact investments in deeptech & hard science

Led by Dave Blivin and Alain le Loux, Cottonwood Technology Fund is an early-stage venture capital fund that makes impact investments in key enabling technologies — Deep Tech & Hard Science.

Cottonwood Technology Fund seeks to invest in opportunities at the Pre-Seed, Seed, and Early Stage levels, with a ticket size that ranges from a minimum of €1M to a maximum of €3M in the first funding round.

The VC has been making investments since 2010. Current and prior investments include Skorpios Technologies, Sarcos Robotics ), BayoTech, Sencure, Infinitum Electric, Flexiramics, Armonica Technologies, SoundEnergy, Circular Genomics, Green Theme Technologies, Reyedar, Smartnanotubes Technologies, Keiron Printing Technologies, Orange Quantum Systems and Q*Bird.

Dave Blivin, founder and managing partner, says, “The shift of traditional venture firms to software technologies over the last 15 years leaves a large gap for hard tech support, particularly at the earliest stages. Yet this is where the greatest opportunity lies for long-term disruptive impact. These companies take longer to grow and exit so we appreciate the patient support of our current investors.”