Russian fintech venture capital firm Life.Sreda is looking to raise $100 million for a second fund as it bids to find the next Square or Lending Club.
The firm has already secured $20 million and is now in fundraising talks with banks, telcos and retailers, many in Asia, founding partner Vladislav Solodkiy told Bloomberg.
Life.Sreda used its first fund of around $40 million mainly to invest in Russian startups but also took punts on western firms, including SumUp, Moven, and Simple, which was acquired by BBVA for $117 million earlier this year.
With Russia's place in the world economy facing scrutiny in the wake of sanctions related to the Ukraine crisis, Solodkiy says that the new fund will concentrate on European and US fintech startups, with a focus on mPOS, P2P lending and PFM.
Fintech funds are becoming increasingly common as money rushes to the newly-sexy financial technology world. According to Accenture, overall global fintech investment tripled between 2008 and 2013 from $928 million to $2.97 billion and is expected to double again to between $6 billion and $8 billion by 2018.
Banks, including Santander, HSBC and BBVA have all set up their own funds, while Money20/20 founders Anil Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner recently joined with Oak Investments on the launch of a $500 million healthcare information and fintech venture fund.