Sadiq Khan-backed tech fund announces 100th deal and 1,000 jobs created

An early-stage London tech fund, backed by the Mayor of London's office, has just announced its 100th investment while revealing it has ploughed more than £100m into the capital's startup scene.

The London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF), launched in 2015, contributes money alongside select seed and venture capital funds including Seedrs, Crowdcube and Albion Capital.

LCIF invested in 50 tech companies last year and most recently partnered with Startup Funding Club to support Tapoly, an on-demand insurance provider for gig-economy workers such as Deliveroo riders and Uber drivers.

"These 100 investments have supported London’s thriving tech sector and enabled many innovative entrepreneurs to make their ideas a reality, creating almost 1,000 new jobs and safeguarding more than 300," said deputy mayor for business Rajesh Agrawal.

"This fantastic milestone shows that London is open for business and continues to attract investment."

The fund, which was initiated when Boris Johnson was mayor but has continued under Sadiq Khan, has invested in startups including home and office therapy service Urban Massage, smart chatbot artificial intelligence company Action AI, and Airbnb hosting outsourcer Airsorted.

LCIF itself has provided £15m of capital to businesses since inception, but together with partners has invested more than £106m.

The first company to receive funding was Dojo, a business-to-consumer app which curates events happening around London for residents and visitors. Since the 2015 LCIF investment, Dojo's value has rocketed by around 4.7 times.

Run by Funding London and entrepreneur network Capital Enterprise, LCIF has now invested more than half of the £25m it received from the mayor's Growing Places Fund.

Let's block ads! (Why?)