Scaleup programmes
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Balderton Capital
Finance and Risk Capital
Impact for scaleups
41
UK companies backed
37%
Follow-on investments
29%
Investments outside of London
90%
Growth-stage investments
Key sectors
Founded in 2000, Balderton Capital is a London-based venture capital firm focused on Series A and B investments into European technology companies. It typically invests between $1 million and $20 million in businesses with the ambition to scale globally and disrupt large industries. With a portfolio of more than 275 companies, Balderton supports founders through its Build platform—offering talent, legal, marketing, and operational support—and its dedicated Founder Wellbeing programme.
The fund primarily invests in businesses based in the UK, US, and Europe, with a broad sector focus across the technology and internet landscape. Between 2017 and June 2024, it invested in 41 UK-based companies across 65 fundraisings, with 37 of these at growth stage. These companies had an average turnover of £109 million and employed an average of 354 people.
In August 2024, Balderton launched two new funds: a $615 million Early Stage Fund IX, aimed at supporting European founders at Series A, and a $685 million Growth Fund II for companies scaling beyond that stage. Together, these bring the firm’s assets under management to over $6 billion. Despite the challenging economic environment, Balderton remains focused on supporting high-potential scaleups across sectors such as AI, enterprise software, and consumer marketplaces. Its 2024 portfolio includes AI-driven companies such as Sylvera, and the firm also participated in notable funding rounds including the $52 million raise for Carwow.
The firm also connects founders and teams to a peer community and offers resources on topics such as employee equity schemes, board structure, and global expansion. Scaling companies benefit from access to Balderton’s executive council of global technology leaders and a CEO community of over 100 individuals who share insights and support through a private network.
Balderton’s Founder Wellbeing programme is designed to help entrepreneurs maintain high performance and resilience, based on the principle that “high-performance athletes don’t train at 100% intensity, 7 days a week – and neither should high-performance founders.”
Its Sustainable Future Goals initiative brings together more than 60 portfolio peers engaged in sustainability and impact to share learning. The firm has also appointed its first executive in residence to advise founders on SaaS metrics, strategy, marketing, and US expansion.
