Funding for European startups is at a record-high so far for this year, with €73.7 billion raised in the first three quarters, and the full year on track for more than 8,000 deals, according to research from PitchBook. To keep up with the pace, London firm Balderton is today announcing its latest fund, a $600 million war chest targeting early-stage investments.
The fund is Balderton’s biggest yet earmarked for seed and Series A bets, and it comes five months after the firm closed a $680 million fund for later and growth-stage investments, bringing the total funds to over $1.2 billion.
Balderton has traditionally been seen as one of the big four VCs based out of London — the other three being Accel, Atomico and Index. In years past, it held the distinction of being the most active of all early-stage investors in the region.
These days, in part because there are so many more companies launching and growing, we’re seeing a significantly bigger presence from a wider range of investors. The deep …