Outward VC Closes £51M Fund, British Business Bank Leads Way With £30M

This week, London-based investment firm Outward VC announced the first closing, at £51 million, of its Fund II. The fund received a £30 million investment from the British Business Bank, which is deploying capital through its Enterprise Capital Funds program. Several private investors also participated.

The fund will start investing immediately. Outward VC’s focus is on early-stage firms.

Outward VC was established in 2019 to focus on early-stage companies operating at the intersection of financial services with global challenges such as data privacy, healthcare, pensions, education and artificial intelligence. It was amongst the earliest investors in Bud (raised an $80m Series B), Curve (raised a £133m Series C), Peppy Health (secured a $45m Series B), and Vauban (exited to Carta).

As with its first fund, Outward VC will be leading pre-Series A funding rounds of up to £5 million, with a significant portion of the fund allocated for follow-on investments.

“Starting as a founder is one of the toughest challenges out there, especially at the early stage,” Outward VC co-founder Devin Kohli said. “Our new fund continues our mission to make the early-stage experience easier for founders, starting with leading their first institutional funding round. As a testament to our personalized approach, we are often the first call that our Founders make when facing an important challenge.”

“We help early-stage start-ups break through by leading their first institutional funding round. In our first fund, after we deployed £20 million into early-stage funding rounds. Our portfolio companies went on to secure more than £570 million of follow-on equity funding within three years”,  added Outward VC co-founder Kevin Chong.

“The British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds programme is key in helping to develop and maintain effective venture capital provision in the UK, lowering the barriers to entry for emerging fund managers. The programme has backed 46 funds, representing more than £2 billion of finance. Our commitment to Outward VC builds on that success and will help early-stage Founders across the UK to build their businesses,” noted Ken Cooper, managing director of venture solutions for British Business Bank.

Outward VC said fintech has been a significant success story for the UK over the last decade, saying it has created more than 75,000 jobs, filled gaps in SME lending, and driven financial inclusion and growth across the country.



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