Portugal-based venture capital firm Armilar Venture Partners has completed the first close of a €60m ($67.8m) fund following commitments from the investment arms of industrial holding company Semapa and telecommunications firm KPN.
The TechTransfer Fund, Armilar’s fifth, has raised more than $50.8m following an anchor investment by the European Investment Fund and limited partner commitments from a group of 10 other investors that included Semapa Next and KPN Ventures.
The corporates were joined by academic institutions including engineering school Instituto Superior Técnico, unnamed family offices, founders of some of Armilar’s portfolio companies and members of the Armilar team.
Founded in 2009, Armilar Venture Partners targets seed and early-stage companies in Portugal, Europe and the US, focusing on healthtech, cleantech and information and communications technology.
TechTransfer will invest and fund the development of companies that aim to commercialise the results of research output, focusing on Portugal and other European markets.
The firm has more than $290m under management and four funds already deployed. Its previous investments include fibre laser supplier Multiwave, risk management software developer Feedzai, textile dyeing and printing technology developer Ecofoot and soil sensor manufacturer AquaSpy.