By Daniel Lanyon on Tuesday 3 August 2021
Element aims to invest in 15 portfolio companies initially, with cash mainly coming from founders looking to make a return from enterprise financial technology startups.
Element Ventures, a new B2B fintech-focused VC has closed its first $130m fund.
Run by Michael McFadgen, Steve Gibson and Spencer Lake, HSBC's former Vice Chairman of Global Banking and Markets, Element aims to invest in 15 portfolio companies initially - sees its main USP as its platform and network. LPs in the fund include Lord Michael Spencer, the founder of ICAP / NEX Group, as well as over 30 B2B-fintech founders.
These include Laurent Useldinger, founder of ULlink; Cris Conde, former CEO of SunGard; Marc Murphy, founder of Fenergo; Hamilton Matthews, former CEO Acuris, Pierre Naude, co-founder of nCino; Neil Eckert, founder of Brit Insurance, Brendan Woods, founder of Autoentry; David Rutter, founder of R3; Christian Nentwich, founder of Duco and Anna Ewing, former Nasdaq CIO.
Isomer Capital, another venture capital fund, will join as a limited partner in the fund.
The new fund will be investing in enterprise financial technologies globally across Europe, the US and Asia. Specifically in banking-as-a-service offerings, payments platforms, insurtech, asset management and infrastructure providers at both Series A and Series B stages.
Existing investments include Hepster, the embedded insurance platform; Billhop, the B2B payment network; Coincover, cryptocurrency recovery service; and Minna, the subscription management platform which has partnerships with Lloyds Banking Group, Swedbank and ING.
Steve Gibson, Partner at Element Ventures, said: “When we created Element Ventures we believed that a sector-focused, founder-focused venture platform was what Europe’s B2B fintech entrepreneurs needed. This has been validated by both founders and LPs. We’ve been able to build a platform for fintech founders, backed by fintech founders, that will help to scale transformative businesses in the industry.”
