Irish private equity firm VentureWave has acquired a majority stake in Funderbeam, a blockchain-based startup for angel investors in growth companies founded by former Nasdaq Tallin stock exchange head Kaidi Ruusalepp.
VentureWave acquired the majority stake in a €40 million investment round that also included participation from existing backers, Mistletoe, Draper Associates, and FunderBeam CEO Ruusalepp.
The deal gives VentureWave the technology to target the entire life cycle of global venture investments and secondaries, from early-stage angel funding until pre-IPO secondaries. For FunderBeam, the transaction gives the company the opportunity to scale up from angel markets to additionally serve institutional clients, such as VC funds, family offices, brokers and investment banks.
Alan Foy, VentureWave chairman, bills the investment as a "game-changer" for venture markets. "Together, we have the necessary assets, technology, and capital to take on the entire venture investment life cycle. This represents a transformative moment to put impact at the centre of the investment industry," he says.
The company is looking to break out of Europe and scale globally through VentureWave subsidiary Vestiver, which helps founders to manage their venture stage fundraising process digitally and handle investor relations after securing funding. VentureWave says the group is gearing up to enter the US market in 2024.