Four top UK digital media innovators have joined forces to
set up an investment fund for fledgling internet companies.
The group is led by
Michael Birch, co-founder of social networking service Bebo
that was acquired by AOL last year for £520m.
He has raised £18.4m so far in partnership with
Brent Hoberman, co-founder of Lastminute.com and Mydeco, Peter
Dubens who was behind Pipex, 365 Media and now Oakley Capital, and
Jonathan Goodwin, who sold media-focused investment bank LongAcre
to Jefferies in 2007.
They plan to double the PROfounders Capital fund by bringing in
other partners to replicate the US Silicon Valley model of
established entrepreneurs investing in the next generation of
start-ups, according to the
Financial Times.
The PROfounders said they will invest in "digital disruptive"
businesses, such as digital health and education.
The fund will focus on investments between £500,000 and £1.5m in
new firms to fill the gap left by venture capitalists, who favour
more mature companies.