London VC firm Mosaic Ventures closes $150m second fund for startups
London-based venture capital (VC) firm Mosaic Ventures has today announced the close of its second fund, Mosaic II, at $150m (£115m) for startups across the capital and beyond.
Intending to cut cheques at series A-stage for between $3m and $7m, Mosaic Ventures has previously backed the likes of London automated mortgage broker Habito, crypto wallet Blockchain and period-tracking app Clue.
The VC firm, which celebrates its so-called Silicon-Valley attitude, tends to invest in startups across its five chosen "themes". These include blockchain and cryptocurrencies, machine intelligence, digital health, fintech, and mobility and location services.
Co-founder and partner Simon Levene told Morning Wire it will continue this trend for its second fund, highlighting blockchain and next-generation fintech as particular focuses as a result of the ecosystems of superior talent on its London doorstep.
Read more: UK fintech tops the US on investment for the first half of 2018
"There's more engineers here, and it comes down to the amount of talent," Levene said.
"If you count the numbers of where engineers live on Stack Exchange or LinkedIn, London has the single largest ecosystem in Europe." Coupled with strong talent coming out of universities, Levene said it's "clear" that London has the advantage.
Mosaic itself has grown substantially over its four years in existence, recently adding four more investment partners to its roster, and plans to grow even further with Fund II. It has invested in more than 20 startups to date.
While the future terms of Brexit remain uncertain, Levene warned that immigration will become a vital issue for startups in the UK going forward.
"We haven’t seen any impact ourselves, but there’s still uncertainty," he said.
"Right now if you’re a startup and you raise from a VC and you want to use that money for hiring, your talent base is 300m people across Europe. That’s more attractive than if you’re limited to people just in the UK."