Prime Ventures is a public venture capital firm with interests in the European technological entrepreneurial market. Prime Ventures aim to support and invest in the future of Europe’s entrepreneurs with the highest potential and so concentrates on companies that already have some momentum. With a widespread network, and years of experience, they are able to guide their investments into becoming international dominators. 

Brief History

Founded in 1999 by Sake Bosch, Prime Ventures is based in the Netherlands and in the United Kingdom, with a current base of over half a billion Euro in committed capital. Since its inception, Prime Ventures have raised four successful funds: 

• In August of 1999, Prime Ventures I raised €60m in funds
• In January of 2001, Prime Ventures II raised €50M in funds 
• In January of 2007, Prime Ventures III raised €156M in funds 
• In January of 2013, Prime Ventures IV raised €167M in funds

To date, a total of EUR€433 million has been raised by Prime Ventures.

Geographically

Prime Ventures, headquartered in Amsterdam, have offices based in tech-savvy Cambridge, in the UK. Prime Ventures has a focus on the European entrepreneurial market, and through their global network of advisory boards and experts, they aim to internationalize their investments and build upon existing international business networks.

Significant Investments

In June of 2000, Prime Ventures invested in YellowBrix, formerly known as NewsReal, a corporate information desk platform, founded by David Hoppmann and Jeff Massa. In February of 2005, Prime Ventures acquired Codenomicon, a disruptor in the tech security industry, aimed at raising awareness of cyber threats. In keeping with their focus on disruptors in the connectivity and technology sector, Prime Ventures invested in online chat community platform e-Messenger in February of 2008. The company has a successful smartphone application, compatible on iOS and Android, and Windows devices alike, alongside the desktop/personal computer clients. In January 2010, they invested in the Series A round of investment, in an online food delivery company servicing Continental Europe and Vietnam. Prime Ventures further invested in the second Series B round in April of 2014, allowing them to successfully sell 2.4 million shares in 2018. 

Other notable investments are Slimpay, in which they invested in July of 2015. Slimpay is a disruptor in the fintech sector, allowing merchants the ability to install debit orders, and giving the end user a secure, speedy way to recieve payments. In October 2016 they invested in the info-tech disruptor Zappi.io, a company that provides users with access to market research and marketing, allowing clients to develop into disruptors within their own sectors. With an eye on global expansion still at the forefront of their ethos, Prime Ventures began 2018 with an investment in Almotive, an AI-based automotive tech company, focused on self-driving vehicles. 

Prime Ventures in the News

In 2018 it was reported by silliconrepublic.com that one of the up and coming top Tech startups to look out for in Budapest was AImotive, one of Prime Ventures’ most recent investments. To date, the AI auto-tech company has raised a sum total of US$47.5 million to date.