Faber launches third VC fund with $34M first close, aims for $64M

Date:

Share post:


The startup ecosystem in the Iberian Peninsula — the region encompassing Spain and Portugal — has been on a roll the last couple of years. The value of Spanish startups surpassed €100 billion in 2023, according to Dealroom data, with venture investment of €2.2 billion across some 850 rounds. Meanwhile, Portugal has produced a slew of VC firms such as Shilling, Indico, Armilar, Bynd and more.

Lisbon-based venture firm Faber has become the latest to double down on the region — it recently launched its third fund, marking a first close of €31 million (about $33.9 million). The fund is anchored by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and has received major contributions from the NATO Innovation Fund and Portugal’s Caixa Capital, as well as family offices. It’s aiming to raise €60 million (about $64.2 million) in total.

The new fund, titled Faber Tech Fund III, will target pre-seed and seed-stage startups in deep tech, AI, robotics and biotech across Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands.

Alexandre Barbosa, managing partner at Faber, told TechCrunch that the new fund is meant to focus particularly on deep tech, AI/ML and data-related technologies. “The first investments are lined up in photonic chips, analog chip design and synthetic biology,” he said. 

The firm’s thesis, Barbosa said, is backed by the fact that scientific and technical talent continues to flow towards Southern Europe, especially given that Portugal and Spain are among the top five destinations for exchange programs. 

“Maintaining Europe’s technological edge is critical to ensuring the region’s security and resilience,” Chris O’Connor, managing partner of the NATO Innovation Fund, said in a statement.

Faber’s last fund raised about $24 million, and the firm also has a “blue” fund, Faber Blue Pioneers, through which it invests in ocean technologies. Its most notable portfolio companies include Sword Health, Smartex, Mitiga, Luminate Medical, Unbabel and Microharvest.



Source link

Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden is a news writer for LinkDaddy News. She writes health, sport, tech, and more. Some of her favorite topics include the latest trends in fitness and wellness, the best ways to use technology to improve your life, and the latest developments in medical research.

Recent posts

Related articles

OpenAI acquired Chat.com

OpenAI bought Chat.com, adding to its collection of high-profile domain names. As of this morning, Chat.com now redirects...

This Week in AI: It’s shockingly easy to make a Kamala Harris deepfake

Hiya, folks, welcome to TechCrunch’s regular AI newsletter. If you want this in your inbox every Wednesday,...

AI coding assistants can help startups develop products, seed VCs believe

By now, there’s hardly a coder in the world who isn’t using an AI copilot in some...

How Trump’s election could affect the startup-friendly Inflation Reduction Act

President-elect Donald Trump spent plenty of time on the campaign trail railing against key portions of the...

Lyft partners with May Mobility, Mobileye to bring autonomous vehicles to the app

It seems Lyft is hoping to catch up to Uber’s string of autonomous vehicle partnerships. Lyft announced...

MoradaUno wants to make it easier to rent apartments in Mexico

Renting in Latin America is restrictive. Most landlords require three months of rent as a deposit and...

Apple may update Find My to let you share locations of lost items

Apple could soon let users share the location of lost or missing items — such as an...

It’s Election Day, and all the AIs — but one — are acting responsibly

Ahead of the polls closing on Tuesday, most of the major AI chatbots wouldn’t answer questions about...