Index Ventures, arguably one of the most prominent venture capital funds around, has announced the closure of a $2 billion investment fund.
According to a press release, $1.2 billion will go towards backing growth rounds and the remaining $800 million will be used to support more nascent companies.
[Read: Don’t believe the hype: Why skepticism is increasingly important for VCs]
Interestingly — and perhaps unsurprisingly given the current climate — the fund will specifically target companies fundamentally changing how we live and work, as well as those providing enterprise infrastructure and AI to underpin these changes.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
The news is likely to provide a much needed injection of positivity for founders and entrepreneurs suffering the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Jan Hammer, Partner at Index Ventures, said: “Innovation is often born out of adversity. The path to building a great company is not a straight line, with many obstacles and forks along the way. We take the long view and remain committed to investing in ambitious entrepreneurs at this unprecedented time.”
[Read: How travel tech companies aim to survive the coronavirus pandemic]
The fund’s launch comes after several of Index Ventures’ portfolio companies — including Adyen, Datadog, and Slack — IPO’ed last year.
Other well known investments include Alan, Collibra, Confluent, Deliveroo, Facebook, Glossier, KRY/LIVI, Notion, Pilot, Revolut, Roblox, Robinhood, and Scale AI.
Several other funds have announced important fundraises in recent months.
Back in February, Atomico, the VC firm set up by Skype‘s co-founder Niklas Zennstrom closed an additional $820 million fund to back “mission-driven” European tech startups.
Earlier this week, Blossom Capital said it was launching a $5 million angel program targeting European technology startups.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.