Crane Venture Partners, a new venture capital fund aimed at raising early stage finance for European start-ups, has raised $90m (£71m) in funding.
The new fund is aimed at start-ups focusing on data-driven solutions for large-scale businesses.
It has already made several investments in European pre-Series A start-ups, including Aire, Avora, Stratio Automotive and Tessian.
Crane’s backers include British Patient Capital, a subsidiary of British Business Bank; MassMutual Ventures, the VC arm of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company; as well as other institutions, private investors and VCs based in the US, Europe and Asia.
Previous investments by Crane’s founders, Scott Sage and Krishna Visvanathan, include Trustpilot, Icera, H2O.ai, Netronome and Onfido.
Crane Venture Partners recently opened its first office in Soho, London.
Krishna Visvanathan, co-founder and partner of Crane, said: “We are truly excited to be at the forefront of a new era of thematic venture capital investing. Crane’s Partners have supported ambitious, highly technical founders building transformative companies for over 20 years. Our strategy and unique team enable us to genuinely impact the trajectory of companies we work with.”
“A superior technology offering isn’t sufficient for success; execution is what makes truly successful companies. We designed Crane to be able to help founders transition from building products to delivering commercial outcomes,” said Scott Sage, co-founder and partner at Crane.
Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO, British Patient Capital, added: “Crane’s focus on early stage technology-rich businesses provides an ideal fit with our mission to enable long-term investment in innovative companies across the UK, led by ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build successful, world-class businesses.”
“We are excited to form a strategic partnership with one of the leading enterprise software venture capital teams in Europe, one that is highlighted by our investment in Crane’s new offering for enterprise and deep tech founders in the region,” said Doug Russell, managing director and head of MassMutual Ventures. “The Crane partners have a long and successful history of investment success, and we look forward to supporting its portfolio through leveraging our operating and venture businesses, deep relationships and presence around the globe, as Crane seeks rapid scale and market access.”
