HIGHLAND-EUROPE
7.12.2020 13:33:03 CET | Business Wire | Press release
Highland Europe has strengthened its industry-renowned team with the promotion of Jean Tardy-Joubert, Gajan Rajanathan and Ronan Shally to Partner. Tardy-Joubert and Rajanathan joined Highland in 2017/18 from Qatalyst, the San Francisco-based boutique investment bank serving the global tech sector, while Shally has been with the firm since 2014 and is Highland’s Chief Financial Officer. By promoting Gajan, Jean and Ronan, Highland Europe is better positioned than ever to help the founders it backs to achieve their ambitions. Highland Europe is differentiated by a high-touch, collaborative approach to helping companies scale globally.
Highland Europe also announces today that it closed its fourth fund, raising €700M to double-down on its strategy of backing the continent’s most outstanding founder-led teams in software and internet businesses.
Building on a track record of investing in consumer tech brands and software companies such as AMCS, Brandwatch, ContentSquare, Featurespace, GetYourGuide, Huel, Jellysmack, MatchesFashion, Nexthink, PhotoBox, WeTransfer, Zwift and Wolt, the new fund takes Highland Europe’s assets under management to €1.8bn.
Over the past 12 months, the firm has backed seven exceptional founding teams investing nearly €200M in Alkemics, Cobalt, DominoDatalab, Farewill, Meditopia, Modulr and Supermetrics as well as the existing portfolio. Highland Europe’s portfolio companies attracted exceptional external investment appetite with €730M follow-on investment in the last 12 months, some of which fueled seven M&A transactions completed by portfolio companies. Last but not least, the team helped two founder-led teams (Spot and Smartly.io) navigate strategic and private equity interest, resulting in substantial liquidity events.
Just as mission-critical tech and innovation have been instrumental in enabling businesses and individuals to continue functioning during the pandemic, technology looks set to play a key role in an eventual economic recovery. Reflecting this, Highland saw significant commitment from investors, resulting in an oversubscribed €700M fund.
Fergal Mullen, co-founder and partner at Highland Europe, said: “During 2020 we have seen 10-year trends in tech adoption compressed into one year across both consumer and business segments. Software has gone mainstream and it is mission-critical. The opportunity at the growth stage in Europe has never been more evident or more urgent. Highland Europe’s role is to bring capital, our deep network and scaling expertise to companies that can make it all the way to IPO. We have the track record, the team and a highly selective and focused strategy to help Europe’s most promising tech businesses become global leaders.”
‘Growth funding deficit’
Scaling software businesses to become global leaders requires expertise, insight and capital. Europe’s tech companies are proliferating at Seed and Series A, but remain starved of funding at growth stage. Figures from Dealroom.co show that European companies raised 38% of global venture capital at Seed, but this figure dropped to 21% at Series B and 14% at Series C (rounds of €40-100M). Until this is fixed, Europe will not reach its full potential, let alone challenge the dominance of the American and Asian tech giants.
Without good European sources of capital, many promising tech companies will struggle to raise the funds needed to fuel international success. According to one estimate, just one in eight European companies reach scale, compared with one in four in America. Highland Europe is determined to address this massive opportunity with a continued focus on mission-critical growth stage software and consumer technology companies, which have demonstrated compelling market traction and global ambition.
--ENDS--
About Highland Europe
Highland Europe invests in exceptional growth-stage software and internet companies. Active in Europe since 2003 as Highland Capital Partners and formally launched in 2012, Highland Europe has raised over €1.8 billion and has invested in companies such as Adjust, AMCS, Camunda, ContentSquare, Featurespace, GetYourGuide, Huel, Jellysmack, Malwarebytes, MatchesFashion, NewVoiceMedia, Nexthink, Spot, Supermetrics, WeTransfer, Wolt and Zwift. Highland’s collective history of investments across the US, Europe and China includes 46 IPOs and 19 billion-dollar-plus companies.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201206005032/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Cognite Positioned as a Front Runner in LNS Research Solution Selection Matrix for Industrial AI Platforms23.4.2026 20:00:00 CEST | Press release
Cognite, the global leader in Industrial AI, has been named a Front Runner in the LNS Research Solution Selection Matrix for Industrial AI Platforms (SSM). The LNS Research SSM evaluates vendors using a rigorous methodology that leverages its “3P” framework—Product, Potential, and Presence—to assess both current capabilities and future readiness. Within the report, Cognite is recognized in three key areas: depth in user-centric industrial AI applications, its knowledge graph-based data model, and its strong partner ecosystem. Together, all three give Cognite the ability to unify and contextualize complex industrial data, enabling organizations to operationalize AI at scale. “Cognite brings a sophisticated data model built for industrial complexities, along with advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, which is crucial for industrial organizations to achieve meaningful productivity gains and enterprise-wide ROI,” said Vivek Murugesan, Research Analyst at LNS Research. “These capabilit
Venture Global Announces Closing of $750,000,000 Senior Secured Notes by Venture Global Calcasieu Pass, LLC23.4.2026 19:47:00 CEST | Press release
Venture Global, Inc. (“Venture Global”, NYSE: VG) announced today that its subsidiary, Venture Global Calcasieu Pass, LLC (“VGCP”) has closed an offering of $750,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 6.000% senior secured notes due 2036 (the “Notes”). The Notes will mature on May 1, 2036. VGCP used the net proceeds from the offering, together with cash on hand and proceeds received from certain hedge terminations, for the prepayment, in full, of VGCP’s outstanding term loans, and to pay fees and expenses in connection with the offering. The Notes are guaranteed by TransCameron Pipeline, LLC (VGCP’s affiliate). The Notes are secured on a pari passu basis by a first-priority security interest in the assets that secure VGCP’s existing senior secured first lien credit facilities and VGCP’s existing senior secured notes. The Notes were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdictions, and the Notes
Does Muscle Composition Identify High-Risk Individuals in Chronic Kidney Disease? New AMRA Medical Study Says Yes, Reveals Strong Link to Mortality23.4.2026 17:10:00 CEST | Press release
AMRA Medical researchers recently set out to answer the question: what is the relationship between adverse muscle composition (AMC) and mortality in kidney disease? Recent findings demonstrate that AMC, characterized by low muscle volume z-score and high muscle fat infiltration, is an independent and strong predictor of all-cause mortality in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The findings, published in Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, were based on data from the UK Biobank imaging study and further reinforce the clinical relevance of MRI-derived muscle biomarkers in identifying high-risk populations across chronic diseases. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260423198497/en/ AMRA's MRI-based muscle biomarkers in clinical trials Researchers from AMRA, alongside our collaborators at Linköping University (LiU), analyzed 894 participants with CKD using AMRA’s MRI-based body composi
Diligent Unveils AI Board Member and Agentic GRC Workforce at Elevate 202623.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Diligent’s agentic AI strengthens board oversight and transforms how GRC teams work — reducing manual effort and outside-advisor dependency, tightening control over sensitive workflows and enabling leaders to make faster, more defensible decisions Diligent, the AI leader in governance, risk and compliance (GRC) SaaS solutions, today unveiled a new generation of autonomous AI agents, including AI Board Member — a secure AI assistant for directors — and a coordinated network of agents embedded across the Diligent One Platform. Accessible through a single command center, agents automate multi-step workflows across governance, risk, compliance and third-party management, giving organizations the impact of a “GRC manager” without adding headcount. “AI supercharges teams that embrace it, and boards are no exception,” said Brian Stafford, President and CEO of Diligent. “With AI Board Member and a network of autonomous agents woven through the Diligent One Platform, we’re giving the C-suite an
Safe Software Bolsters Leadership Team with CFO and CPO Appointments to Drive Next Phase of Growth23.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
CFO and CPO executive hires to enhance operational and financial performance on the company’s path to $250M by 2028 Safe Software (Safe), creator of FME, the only All-Data, Any-AI enterprise integration platform, today welcomes two executives to its leadership team as it moves into the next phase of growth. Judd Lee has been appointed as the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Vanessa Ribreau has been appointed as Chief People Officer (CPO). Having recently crossed $100M in revenue, the expanded leadership team will further enable the company to scale as it accelerates toward its goal of reaching $250M in revenue by 2028. Judd Lee is a seasoned CFO with over 15 years of experience partnering closely with CEOs to align financial strategy and accelerate sustainable growth. He is known for his strong commitment to mentorship and for building high-performing global teams rooted in trust, morale and a shared sense of purpose. With more than two decades of financial leadership acros
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom