UK’s Moonfire VC raises its second fund at $115M to goal at early stage startups

It was again within the Pandemic period of 2021 that we reported on the launch of Moonfire, on the time a $60 million “Fund I” seed-stage “data-driven” VC geared across the new world of distant working and distant pitching.

It’s new $115 million fund-raise (“Fund II”) plans to proceed what it calls its “data-driven” method.

Since its launch by former Atomico co-founder Mattias Ljungman, Moonfire says it has built-out customized AI fashions and a tech stack to seek out new potential startups.

It now claims, in a statment, to evaluate “as much as 50,000 firms each week” (though this declare has not been independently verified by TechCrunch).

That stated, it claims, as an illustration, to have found UK Fintech LiveFlow through its AI engine, happening to steer the Pre-Seed spherical alongside Seedcamp.

The fund says it’s taking a look at firms in AI, Web3, and AR/VR, in addition to well being, work, finance and gaming.

Ljungman stated the fund is now mixing its remote-investing model with in-person conferences: “The in-person is completely taking place extra. We try this on a month-to-month foundation. We even have our Pulse occasion and our Seed occasion as nicely. So we imagine within the integration of distant and likewise in-person.”

Moonfire says it has led 23 offers and co-invested in an extra 27 alongside VCs akin to Sequoia, Accel, Index, Basic Catalyst and Accel.

Portfolio firms embrace Humaans (raised a $15m Sequence A), Lightdash ($7M spherical led by Accel), and GOALS ($20m Sequence A spherical with Seven Seven Six). Along with its $90M Fund II, the agency has raised $25M to take a position through its Alternative Fund. 

Moonfire Ventures companion Mike Arpaia added: “The facility of the AI and VC partnership has all the time been on the core of Moonfire and, with the launch of Fund II, we see it transfer to the following stage. This new stage combines human and machine like by no means earlier than, hoping to show an inefficient and inequitable business on its head.”