Eka Ventures’ Fund II has raised $107m (£80m) to become the UK’s largest early-stage impact VC in the health, wellbeing and sustainability arena.
The firm’s oversubscribed second fund will invest in up to 30 UK startups in the seed and pre-seed stages. The raise was backed by major limited partners such as the British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, the Guy’s & St Thomas’ Foundation, and Wrap.
Eka uses a proprietary AI data platform to identify founders that other VCs have missed, before leading investment into their companies with a “founder-centric” process “designed to build trust” with the startups they back.
“Our philosophy from day one has been that investing in the right founders and giving them the autonomy to move fast, take risks and set audacious goals is what unlocks truly game-changing outcomes, both commercially and societally,” said co-founding partner Camilla Dolan.
Founded by Dolan and Jon Coker – who made their names investing in the likes of Gousto, and Bloom and Wild – the firm’s first round saw an average investment of $2m, with Eka leading or co-leading 90% of its deals.
The fund’s portfolio included fitness platform Runna, which has recently exited to Strava, socially responsible insurer Urban Jungle, energy platform Axle, zero-emissions delivery service Hived and AI physiotherapy platform Flok Health. Eka has claimed the fund is in the top 5% of the 2021 ‘vintage’ of VC investment rounds for both its distributed-to-paid-in capital, and total value to paid-in capital – both key metrics of VC funds’ relative success.
Coker said: “No society can succeed without a healthy population, a sustainable climate, and communities that have access to essential services.
“That’s why our conviction in these markets is unwavering: startups innovating in these spaces are not only laying the foundations for a better future, but are also tapping into the biggest market opportunities the world has ever seen. As a fund, it’s a privilege to find, back and support the country’s most ambitious founders as they leverage technology to solve our biggest challenges.”
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