The German VC group, which operated independently with two $1bn funds, now has $322m from Rocket Internet's balance sheet to invest.
Global Founders Capital, the German venture capital firm launched by the co-founders of ecommerce group and startup incubator Rocket Internet, will act as the latter’s subsidiary, TechCrunch reported today.
Formed in 2013 by Rocket Internet co-founders Oliver and Marc Samwer, Global Founders Capital had two $1bn funds that have both been fully deployed. The firm had broad coverage investing in companies across all sectors, stages and geographies.
Global Founders Capital will now exclusively invest from Rocket Internet’s balance sheet, meaning it will be much smaller in size and only has five partners remaining on the team.
Its first fund backed unicorn-to-be companies such as human resources management platform Personio and SumUp, which provides payment processing services for small businesses. The second fund’s portfolio included insurance technology developer Seyna and wholesale marketplace Ankorstore.
One of the partners told TechCrunch that the team had decided not to raise another fund but would use Rocket Internet’s capital. The fund said it had €300m ($322m) to deploy for venture investments on the balance sheet.
The reason for the restructuring was not clarified, with Global Founders Capital simply telling TechCrunch it was not the right time to raise another fund.
Under the new arrangement, the unit will focus on early-stage investments and follow-on deals in later rounds from series A and beyond.
