SECTOR FUNDS

Building European Champions – SBI and Redstone have established a pan-European venture capital fund with the mission to provide capital to high-tech Industry 4.0 technology companies. Europe is the world’s most active innovation hub enabling the digitization of industrial systems, yet the high-growth, high-tech companies behind the trend struggle to find smart capital to commercialize or scale their technology. Future Industry Ventures targets European industrial technologies as a way to seek higher financial returns and positive impact contribution. The fund is operated by Redstone and SBI Holding Inc., a Japanese financial conglomerate and world-leading investment group with unparalleled expertise, specialized in digital and innovative investment verticals.

BTG opens up a world of opportunity for senior debt investment. In Europe’s and especially Germany’s underserved venture debt market, Bridge to Growth provides on the one hand a unique offering for institutional investors, and on the other hand a non-dilutive financing opportunity for young fast growing companies. The fund fills a funding gap for young, fast-growing companies in need of bridge, growth and pre-IPO capital, when equity gets too expensive and traditional debt is not available yet.

The Swiss health insurance company CSS launches the SwissHealth Ventures fund with Redstone, whose goal it is to set new standards in the field of digital health by investing in innovative start-ups and trend-setting technologies. Under the umbrella of CSS, SwissHealth Ventures AG forms its own company, whose investment activities are planned and controlled by the insurance group with Redstone. The company’s investment focus is on advancing concepts in the areas of prevention, recovery, care and special treatment, and on further developing and expanding innovative start-ups with a focus on telemedicine, early detection diagnostics and digital tools for the chronically ill. SwissHealth Ventures positions itself with relevant expertise in the areas of healthcare and venture capital investment as a professional investor for ambitious start-ups and thus sets the course for the high-quality, cost-efficient healthcare of the future.

Together with Berliner Volksbank, Redstone initiated 2014 the Berliner Volksbank Ventures fund with the target to finance and grow promising startups in the fields of FinTech and PropTech. The fund is closed and currently managing 12 portfolio companies. Alongside with global co-investors like Insight Ventures, e.ventures, Partech, Cherry Ventures and Project A Ventures, BVB invested in Planradar, LIQID, Remind.me, Tradeplus24, Finleap Connect, Roobeo, Hypatos.ai, Marley Spoon, Acatus, Inventorum, Flexperto, and Bergfürst.

South-Savo Startup Fund invests in recently incorporated and seed-stage startups with operations in the region without sector limitations. First closing of the fund is EUR 3.5m and it consists of investments by the Cities of Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Pieksämäki – in Finland, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, private investors and Redstone. Typical investment is EUR 25-150k in equity with the potential for follow-on investments up to 350k in total. The fund is managed by Redstone partners Oskari Lehtonen and Kaj Hagros.