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Despite an ‘unprecedented correction’, Atomico’s newest partner wants to help European founders thrive



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It has been a busy few months for Atomico, the European venture capital (VC) juggernaut founded by Skype co-creator Niklas Zennström some 16 years ago. After promoting three investors to partner back in April, it then brought in former Revolut and Uber executive Don Hoang as partner a month later.
To cap off this frenzy, Atomico today announced that former Balderton Principal Laura Connell has joined as its latest partner to work on Atomico’s growth-stage investments.
The appointment comes a little more than two years after Atomico closed its fifth fund at $820 million, and with a reported two new funds in the works totalling more than $1.3 billion, it’s clear that the company is preparing to scale despite a broader economic downturn.
An ‘unprecedented correction’
There’s no escaping the elephant in the room here. Mass layoffs are affecting companies of all sizes and industry, while a giant reset has hit valuations for public and private companies alike. Just this week, Atomico’s portfolio company Klarna confirmed a fresh round of funding at a whopping 85% lower valuation than the corresponding period last year.
While all this upheaval undoubtedly hurts those inside the companies themselves, it’s not necessarily the worst time to be an investor, with valuations being brought crashing …

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