The London arm of venture capital company Accel has raised $525m for a new fund for venture investments which will all be invested in European companies.
In a separate fund-raising, Accel also raised $480m for a new US-based fund to be called Accel Growth Fund for investing in late-stage financing rounds.
Before the Accel Growth Fund, Accel’s VC funds had all been focussed on early-stage financing. Both the London and US fund-raisings of over $1bn in total were raised in a couple of months starting in October.
It is seen as particularly admirable to have been able to raise $1bn for VC investing when the IPO markets are closed. Trade sales remain the only viable exit strategy for VC-backed companies.
In April this year, Accel’s London office sold the de-duplication technology specialist company Diligent Technologies to IBM’s systems and technology group. It is now part of IBM’s system storage business.