Nico Rosberg: Former F1 champion launches £26m venture capital fund
Former Formula One champion Nico Rosberg, who clinched the title in 2016 before stepping away from the racing scene, is veering into asset management with a €30m (£25.7m) venture capital fund.
Rosberg Ventures will target tech-focused venture capital firms on behalf of affluent family offices across Europe.
Expected to raise €75m (£64.3m) by year-end, the fund plans to inject capital into VC outfits such as Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, and Accel, according to The Sunday Times.
It is a “fund of funds”, a type of investment fund that invests in other investment funds rather than directly in individual securities.
“I’ve really found my new mission here with my business life after F1,” he told the paper. “It’s really full-on every day. I’m the CEO. I set the vision. I set the strategy, and I build the team. I’m at the absolute forefront of this mission every day.”
With over 35 start-up and growth-stage investments under his belt, Rosberg has been actively involved in venture capital for the past eight years.
But perhaps his investment career is failing to provide the same buzz that racing once did.
“In sports, you don’t know until the corner if you’re going to win this or not,” he said. “But you cross that finish line, and you know in that instant that you’ve won, and you can just explode with emotion.
“And in business, I just had it recently when we did our €30m first close, it’s not a clear finish line. Because you get the last call, and yes, there’s €30m in, but there’s still this missing, or that missing, that still needs to be put in place — and so it’s never that very sharp, huge celebration.
“And that’s a little bit of a difference and a little bit of a pity. Nevertheless, it’s still very exciting,” he added.
Born in Germany and raised in Monaco, Rosberg, the son of Finnish F1 racing legend Keke Rosberg, now divides his time between Monaco and Ibiza.
He also participates as a key figure on Germany’s equivalent of Dragon’s Den, known as Die Höhle der Löwen, which translates to Lion’s Den.
Alongside his investment activities, Rosberg co-founded Berlin’s GreenTech Festival, focusing on sustainable tech and attracting investors.