Brighteye Ventures reaches $54 million first close of second edtech fund

Brighteye Ventures, a European venture capital firm focused on education technology, announced on October 14, 2020, a $54 million first close of its second fund. The firm said the new capital took its total assets under management to more than $112 million.

Backing came from existing and new investors, mostly international family offices that were not named, and a second close including institutional investors was expected in 2021. Brighteye planned to invest in 15 to 20 companies over three years at the seed and Series A stages, writing checks of up to $5 million. Its portfolio at the time included Zen Educate, Ironhack, Ornikar, Tandem, Litigate and Epic. The firm also said it would expand its team from three members to 10 within a year and open a presence in the German-speaking DACH region by summer 2022.

Founded in 2017, when it raised a first fund of €50 million, the Luxembourg-based firm invests in startups that use technology to support learning, skills acquisition or research. It tied the timing of the new fund to the large-scale shift to distance learning and to rising demand for upskilling, in a global education sector it put at $7 trillion.