CommerzVentures, the venture capital firm financed by Germany-based financial services firm Commerzbank, launched its €300m ($335m) third fund today.
The firm was formed as Commerzbank’s dedicated corporate venturing unit, closing a €100m debut first fund in 2014 and a €150m successor five years later, by which time it had been spun off through an independent investment manager while retaining the bank as its sole limited partner.
The fund will continue to focus on financial technology, and in particular the junction between fintech and climate technology. The firm is also committing to arrange and fund what it describes as high-quality carbon offsets for its portfolio companies.
CommerzVentures additionally intends to increase the size of its team by 50% as it looks to expand geographically, having made its first African-centred investment through online payment platform developer MFS Africa’s $100m series C round in November 2021.
Fund III was announced today in tandem with a statement claiming Commerzbank has increased its revenue target for 2024 from €8.7bn to €9.1bn and that it has approximately $14.5bn in net exposure to Russia, equating to 0.4% of its overall exposure.
The bank added in a statement: “Commerzbank is deeply concerned about Russia’s attack on a sovereign European country and feels for the people in Ukraine. It is closely monitoring further developments in Russia and Ukraine and will continuously adapt its business strategy and risk assessment to the current situation.”
Heiko Schwender, partner at CommerzVentures, said: “Over the past eight years, our team has leveraged our extensive experience to back founders reimagining the financial services industry across Europe, the US, Israel and Africa.
“We are proud and grateful to our portfolio of companies we have worked alongside, now including almost a dozen current and future unicorns. With our third, €300m fund, we are thrilled to continue establishing CommerzVentures as one of most successful early-stage fintech VCs with roots in Europe.”
Photo courtesy of Commerzbank AG.
