Aloha fun lovers,
We’re back once again with all the good stuff. Ten BACKED tales from the year so far.
1.
We raised €150M across two new funds.
We raised a €75M seed fund (BACKED Core 2) and a €75M follow-on fund for later-stage rounds of existing portfolio companies (BACKED Encore 1).
Our investment focus has evolved, now thematically centering on Web3, Biotech, Fintech and Sustainability. But we retain our human-centric ethos: providing world-class post-investment support to our founders, and nurturing community both within the portfolio and across our investment areas.
We’re sending a huge shout out to all the exceptionally talented, hardworking founders and teams we’ve backed so far. We wouldn’t be anywhere without your dedication and ambition. You bring the magic, day-in and day-out, we’re merely a supporting act.
You can read more about the funds, our ethos and why we’re winning, in our Tech EU interview with Dan Taylor.
2.
We backed Laguna Games.
A next-generation blockchain game studio. They’re creating gaming titles designed for real-time, large scale, and highly social competition.They’re the team behind the NFT-based game Crypto Unicorns, where players can raise, breed and equip collectible unicorns to compete in races – and even jousting competitions – against other players. Wild.
It’s clear that there are challenging times ahead in the blockchain economy (and the tech sector at large), but our fundamental belief in blockchain as a new technology paradigm remains strong. As with other major technological breakthroughs – from AI and robotics through to biotech – the direction of technological development marches ahead, despite periods like these; and crypto is no different. We believe this moment presents even more opportunities for those prepared to take them.
3.
We backed Footium.
A Web3 multiplayer football management game that lets players own, manage and scout for a metaverse football club. Club owners already include football media heavyweights Copa90, Dutch Football star Nigel de Jong, international cricketers Ravi Bopara & Carlos Brathwaite, and Man-U alumni Chris Smalling. Footium joins our Web3 gaming cluster alongside Sky Mavis (Axie Infinity), Laguna Games (Crypto Unicorns), Medal and others.
4.
We backed Molecule.
A decentralized biotech protocol, building a web3 marketplace for research-related IP. Their framework for biotech DAOs connects academics and biotech companies with quick and easy funding, while enabling patient, researcher, and investor communities to directly govern and own research-related IP. Put simply, Molecule represent a step towards truly democratizing biopharma research and development.
5.
We backed CoSyne Therapeutics.
A revolutionary computational platform to identify vulnerabilities in brain cancer cells. One of their aims is to create a new class of drugs to treat the deadliest form of human brain cancer known, Glioblastoma Multiforme.
Today we’re one of Europe’s strongest biotech and biopharma seed venture funds, with robust knowledge-bases and networks built through our early investments in Lab Genius, FabricNano, Ochre-Bio, Hoxton Farms, LadderTx, Phytoform and others.
6.
We backed Pillar.
A game-changing fintech platform to provide credit access to immigrants globally. Pillar’s co-founder Ashutosh Bhatt (ex-Revolut) explains why this matters: “Over 10 years ago, I arrived in the UK, earning a decent salary, working at Barclays, but found I couldn’t even get an iPhone! Fourteen years later, and the world of credit still hasn’t changed, so with Pillar we’ve set out to break down data silos and credit borders to solve this massive problem faced by financially secure people moving to a new country.”
7.
We made 20 follow-on investments into BACKED portfolio companies including Black-beauty brand RUKA, cell and gene therapeutics startup NuntiusTX, and the fast-growing hotel management software Amenitiz.
8.
The first BACKED Founder Retreat.
We brought together 40 of our portfolio founders for a long weekend of self-development, knowledge sharing and relationship building. We’re proud to say this retreat was a true manifestation of everything we stand for: founder-first, community-driven and human-centric.
The feedback from founders has been overwhelmingly positive and we’ll proudly share one piece here: “I’ve been to a lot of these things. A lot. But you guys have taken it to a whole new level with the thought, love, dedication you’ve put into this thing.”
9.
The Coin-Op Summer Retreat.
We invited 20 blockchain-gaming founders, builders and investors to put down their phones, hang out, and hatch plans on a Mediterranean island.
Coin-Op is our global community of entrepreneurs, builders and investors operating at the intersection of gaming and blockchain. Launched via a flagship event at the London Science Museum last year, the community now counts over 120 members that gather online and offline across multiple high quality events. LFG.
10.
The BACKED AGM.
BACKED LPs united for a day covering our performance, strategy, market deep dives and some fantastic showcases from across the BACKED portfolio including:
This | Andy Shovel (Co-Founder & Co-CEO)
LadderTX | Rabia Khan (Founder & CEO)
Amenitiz | Alexandre Guinefolleau (Co-Founder & CEO)
Optimal Labs | David Hunter (Founder & CEO)
Medal | Pim de Witte (Co-Founder & CEO)
BCB Bank | Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie (Founder & CEO)
You can watch the wrap up here.
Bonus Round:
We welcomed Tom Hopkins and Ambi Mistry to Team BACKED. Tom takes the reins as our COO, bringing over fifteen years of VC experience. He previously held leadership roles at Parkwell Advisors and MMC. Ambi joins as our new Head of Networks, previously designing and launching The Design Museum’s accelerator programme, and the community programme at FounderVine. She’ll be leading the evolution of our venture scout programme, DE&I commitments and then some. Her dancefloor moves are already pretty legendary – as witnessed by everyone at the last Family Affair. IYKYK.
That’s all for now, friends. Wishing you well.
Team BACKED x
