Kompas, a Denmark-headquartered venture capital partnership managed by former corporate venturers Sebastian Peck and Talia Rafaeli, has formed a $160m first fund anchored by building materials manufacturer VKR Holding.
Kompas’ Fund 1 will target late seed to series A-stage startups across Europe, Israel and the United States working on smart city, climate, enterprise software and industrial automation technologies applied in the real estate, construction and manufacturing sectors. The initial ticket size will be between $1m and $5m per deal.
Netherlands-based Peck had previously been managing director for InMotion Ventures, the investment arm of automotive manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover, for nearly five years from 2016 in the UK. His deals there included ride hailing service Lyft, roadside assistance provider Urgently and Zeelo, which operates an on-demand coach travel service.
Fellow general partner Rafaeli is located in Israel, having worked at Porsche Ventures, part of carmaker Porsche, for three years from 2018. She had been a Germany-based investment director, focusing on deals in Europe and Israel including auto sensor technology providers TriEye and Tactile Mobility.
Peck said: “Tackling the existential threat of climate change requires us to think differently [about] how we design and build our future cities, commercial buildings and residential homes.”
Rafaeli added: “VC plays a critical role in funding the development of breakthrough solutions to mitigate the climate impact of modern industry and underpin more sustainable business practices.”
