As Balderton Capital announces the close of its eighth early-stage fund alongside its growth stage fund earlier this year, we are delighted to share background on why we invested in both funds.
Venture capital plays a significant role in shaping society; funding startups and backing early-stage and emerging companies that can drive technological change and better meet people’s needs. We see this as an opportunity to create positive social impact and have been building our work in impact venture to help nurture and scale innovative ways of tackling social issues in areas such as health, education and financial inclusion. We believe that with the right support, impact startups can deliver both strong financial returns and meaningful social impact at scale.
As we increasingly see mainstream venture turning towards impact, we believe that by working with market leading venture firms we can both accelerate this shift and help shape it towards more meaningful engagement with impact. We are seeking value-aligned venture investors, who are thoughtful about impact and bring deep expertise in venture investing.
We believe Balderton Capital is one such firm. Balderton is a market leading venture investor, having made close to 300 investments across nine funds over the last 21 years. Balderton shares our belief that purpose-led startups have the potential to deliver strong financial and impact returns. In recent years it has defined its Sustainable Future Goals, which outline ESG-related goals and actions it will take as a firm, in its investment activities, and across its portfolio. As part of continuing this journey, we will be working with Balderton to help further refine its approach to social impact.
We have invested in two Balderton funds launched this year, an early-stage fund and a growth stage fund. Both seek to invest in the UK and Europe’s best technology companies, many of which have the potential to deliver strong economic, social and/or environmental outcomes on a transformative scale. Balderton believes that impact can be a driver of value within a company – helping to attract and retain talent, customers, and investors over the long term.
The early-stage fund will focus on investing in startups at Series A stage, as they demonstrate product/market fit and lay the foundations for scale. The growth stage fund will focus on startups at Series C, as they expand their activities and grow to reach truly transformative scale. We believe the combination of these two strategies will provide a pathway for impactful startups to grow both their commercial and their impact outcomes.
In previous funds, Balderton has backed impactful startups such as Wagestream, an income streaming service seeking to improve the financial health of people in work; Kaia Health, a provider of next generation musculoskeletal care for people with chronic conditions; and Cleo, a smart savings and budgeting tool.
These companies and others that Balderton supports in future years will be aimed at transforming the industries they are part of. We believe that, by working with Balderton in this way, we can help to build an impact venture ecosystem that supports impactful startups in reaching significant scale and improving people’s lives across the UK.
We look forward to working together in the years to come and to being part of Balderton’s continuing impact journey.
