In June this year Flint Capital, a Boston-based venture firm with Russian roots, closed its second venture fund, attracting $103 million to invest in startups from Seed, to Series A and B stage startups.
The firm publicly announced its new fund only this week, as it already invested in no less than 18 startups with two successful exits — Loom Systems (acquired by Service Now) and Voca.ai (acquired by Snap).
This new fund is hunting for startups in Europe, Israel and the USA. Targeted segments include enterprise software, cybersecurity, fintech, digital health, AI, consumer mobile applications, and marketplaces.
Startups with roots in Eastern European are among Flint’s sweet spots. “We believe that Eastern European companies, alongside Israeli ones, have the greatest potential,” the press service told East-West Digital News, citing Flo as an example of Flint Capital I’s successful investments. Born in Belarus, this women tech startup is now headquartered in London, and boasts a $800 million valuation.
Launched in 2013, Flint Capital I invested some $107 million in 45 companies. It claims 13 successful exits and three unicorns, as well as “a TVPI [total value to paid-in] rated in the top 10% of funds globally.” Its most highly valued portfolio companies are Socure ($4.5 billion), Walkme ($2.5 billion) and Flo.
Flint touts its ability to assist startups both operationally and strategically. “We help startups not only by providing expertise, but also by finding other investors and supporting business growth,” says Sergey Gribov, one of the firm’s partner.
Recently, several new funds emerged to invest in startups from, or connected to Eastern Europe. Among them is The Untitled, an established Russian venture firm, raised €100 million for a new, London-based vehicle that will typically invest in startups with Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian founders. Moscow-based Leta Capital just launched a new fund with a similar target.
