Accel
- Venture-capital fund Accel raised $3 billion across three new funds in the US, Europe, and Israel.
- The firm wants to double down in Europe, where it wrote early checks for Hopin and UiPath.
- Accel lost one of its brightest investing stars to Sequoia, which expanded to Europe last year.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The race to find and fund entrepreneurs in Europe who will build the next multibillion-dollar startups is heating up.
Venture-capital firm Accel has raised $3.05 billion across three new funds, as its European arm sees growing competition from US funds setting up shop in Europe and new players such as hedge funds entering venture.
It has raised a $650 million early-stage Europe and Israel fund, a $650 million US early-stage fund, and a $1.75 billion global growth fund.
Big companies in Accel’s European portfolio include software startup UiPath, which went public in April; UK food-delivery firm Deliveroo, which went public in March; and Hopin, the year-old live-events startup that is already valued at almost $6 billion.
The US fund is Accel’s 15th to date. Since opening its London office in 2000, Accel has become one of the biggest early-stage backers of European startups.
“We’ve been on the ground for two decades now and have seen a number of winners emerge across several technology cycles, but never at the pace we’re experiencing now,” partner Harry Nelis said in a statement.
