02 August 2022
Furthr will now be able to invest up to €650,000 in early-stage Irish software and medtech start-ups.
DBIC Ventures has changed its name to Furthr and grown its seed fund for Irish start-ups to €32m.
Launched in 2019, Furthr’s latest seed and early stage fund raised an initial amount of €23m with the aim of investing in up to 30 globally scalable Irish software and medical device start-ups.
Since then, the Dublin-based VC firm has invested in 15 companies across a range of sectors, including interactive voice response (IVR) testing SaaS company Klearcom, construction computer vision company Evercam and diabetes medical device company Bluedrop Medical.
The growth in the Furthr fund has been backed by 20 new investors in addition to existing ones. Investors in the fund include Enterprise Ireland as well as a host of tech entrepreneurs, business leaders and private backers.
Furthr said its latest seed fund is the fourth of its kind since the 1990s and has completed seven new investments so far in 2022.
“By working closely with investee companies, we help them to navigate the scaling journey and in doing so, create significant shareholder value,” Richard Watson, managing partner at Furthr.
“We are continuously on the lookout for new software and medtech start-ups as investment opportunities for the fund.”
Across its many funds, Furthr has invested in more than 75 Irish tech start-ups, including digital health company SilverCloud, smart grid company Grid Beyond and taxi dispatch platform iCabbi.
The additional funding will help it to make investments of up to €650,000 in each business, as well as a total of up to €3m through subsequent follow-on rounds.
“Our new name reflects the ambitious plans that we have for our investors and the start-ups that we are investing in,” said Furthr partner Colm O’Sullivan.
“We are backing companies from seed to Series A stage, with a strong ability to follow on in subsequent rounds, ensuring that we are a vital part of businesses’ success stories and Ireland’s economic future.”
Source: Silicon Republic
Pictured: Saurabh Kumar, Richard Watson and Colm O'Sullivan - Furthr