Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/18\/with-government-backing-irelands-elkstone-closes-first-vc-fund-at-108m-for-early-stage-startups\/<\/a><\/br>
\nWith government backing, Ireland\u2019s Elkstone closes first VC fund at $108M for early-stage startups<\/br>
\n2023-05-18 21:59:21<\/br><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

Yet another early-stage VC fund has closed in Europe this week, as Elkstone<\/a> finalized a \u20ac100 million ($108 million) pot aimed at Irish startups. It comes a day after Lifeline Ventures closed a \u20ac150 million ($163 million) fund<\/a> for fledgling startups in Finland, while several others have landed across the continent in the past few months.<\/p>\n

Elkstone, a wealth management firm that for the past decade has invested privately at the seed stage in future unicorns such as Flipdish<\/a> and LetsGetChecked<\/a>, has launched its inaugural venture capital fund with the backing of the state\u2019s Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF<\/a>) and Enterprise Ireland<\/a> (EI).<\/p>\n

The new fund claims around 250 limited partners (LPs) in total, including a host of undisclosed business people from Ireland.<\/p>\n

A year in the making<\/h2>\n

Elkstone first announced plans for its VC fund in January last year<\/a>, initially targeting \u20ac75 million. Within three months, though, it revealed<\/a> it was raising the ceiling to \u20ac100 million, with a view toward backing seed and pre-Series A startups with investments in the range of \u20ac1 million to \u20ac2 million.<\/p>\n

Although the fund has only officially closed now, Elkstone says that it has already deployed around 10% of the cash across six startups, including Bluedrop Medical<\/a> and\u00a0Inclusio<\/a>, with several more deals closing \u201cimminently.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the big driving forces behind the new fund was a recent legislative tweak<\/a> the Irish government made to the Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS<\/a>), an initiative that enables Irish startups to secure investment that are more tax efficient for the investor. The changes, which Elkstone had pushed for, mean that investors now benefit from tax relief of up to 40 percent. Up until that point, Elkstone says a fund of this size would not have been possible due to the risk\/reward ratio.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fund investor base, comprising both entrepreneurs and private capital alongside EI and ISIF, is a key edge in helping us bring meaningful value add to Irish founders as they look to fulfil their businesses potential and scale internationally,\u201d Elkstone chief executive Alan Merriman said in a statement. \u201cWhilst the macro backdrop is undoubtedly challenging, it is a good time to be investing and we are very positive on the outlook for disruption and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that VC funding has mostly declined across all stages over the past couple of years, but data indicates that earlier-stage<\/a>\u00a0funding\u00a0has been<\/a>\u00a0more resilient, particularly at the seed stage<\/a>. In addition to Finland\u2019s Life Ventures\u2019 new fund announced yesterday, since February we\u2019ve seen a number of early-stage VC funds arrive on the European scene. For example, the\u00a0U.K.\u2019s Amadeus Capital Partners partnered with Austria\u2019s Apex Ventures<\/a> for a \u20ac80 million ($87 million) fund aimed at deep tech startups, while in France Emblem<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Ovni Capital each announced<\/a> new \u20ac50 million ($54 million) funds. In London, meanwhile,\u00a0Playfair Capital closed a $70 million<\/a> pre-seed fund.<\/p>\n

As for Ireland specifically, Elkstone\u2019s new fund represents one of the largest \u2014 if not the largest \u2014 to emerge from The Emerald Isle<\/em>. For comparison, Dublin\u2019s Frontline Ventures launched a \u20ac70 million seed fund<\/a> for European B2B startups back in 2021.<\/p>\n

Having ISIF on board as an LP is a huge boon for Elkstone, and it comes at a time when Ireland is clearly doubling down on its investment ethos \u2014 just last week it revealed plans to establish a sovereign wealth fund<\/a> year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fund expands our reach in early-stage venture capital and gives Irish businesses a valuable new option for attracting the capital they need to grow,\u201d ISIF director Nick Ashmore added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n

Science, Tech, Technology<\/br>
\n<\/br>
\nSource:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/18\/with-government-backing-irelands-elkstone-closes-first-vc-fund-at-108m-for-early-stage-startups\/<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/05\/18\/with-government-backing-irelands-elkstone-closes-first-vc-fund-at-108m-for-early-stage-startups\/ With government backing, Ireland\u2019s Elkstone closes first VC fund at $108M for early-stage startups 2023-05-18 21:59:21 Yet another early-stage VC fund has closed in Europe this week, as Elkstone finalized a \u20ac100 million ($108 million) pot aimed at Irish startups. It comes a day after Lifeline Ventures closed a \u20ac150 million ($163 million) fund […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-tech","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n