Brighteye Ventures, the European edtech VC firm, has raised $54 million in the second funding round, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $112 million.
Several existing and new investors have backed the firm. The firm will start the next funding round in 2021 and it will include additional international investors. Although the VC firm has raised a hefty sum of money, it is still less than other VC firms, like Balderton Capital.
Brighteye was founded back in 2017, and it calls itself a thesis-driven fund and invests in startups that enhance learning. The VC states that it sees a great opportunity within the $7 trillion global education sector. Moreover, the pandemic has created a new opportunity for the firm as educators and students are moving to distance learning.
From this new funding, Brighteye will invest in 20 companies in the seed and Series A stage. Moreover, it will write the checks up to $5 million.
Alex Latsis, the managing partner at Brighteye Ventures, states, “We mostly invest in startups which use technology to enable skills and learning. We also help companies that address the structural needs in the educational sector. For example, Zen Educate addresses the problem of teachers shortage in the U.K. through the on-demand platform. This saves a lot of money and allows educators to learn more. We invest in companies, like Zen Educate and many others.”
The VC has also invested in Ornikar, the online driving school in France and Spain which serves over 1.6 million students. Another investment of the VC includes Epic, a reading platform used in 90% of U.S. schools. The firm has also invested in Tandem, the Berlin-based language learning platform with 10 million members.
Brighteye states that it will keep on expanding its advisory team to support the new fund. The firm aims to grow from three members to 10 within the next 12 months. Moreover, David Guerin has been promoted to principal in order to manage the portfolio support in Paris. The firm also expects to open a DACH presence by summer 2022.
