Index Ventures

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Index Ventures
Company typePrivate Company
Industry Private equity
Founded1996;29 years ago (1996)
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jan Hammer
Martin Mignot
Danny Rimer
Shardul Shah
Nina Achadijan
Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas
Vlad Loktev
Products Venture capital, growth capital
Total assets €11.7 billion
Website www.indexventures.com
Footnotes /references
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Index Ventures is a European venture capital firm with headquarters in London and offices in San Francisco, New York City, Geneva and Jersey.

Contents

History

Index Ventures has its origins in a Swiss bond-trading firm called Index Securities, founded by Gerald Rimer in 1976. [7] [8] In 1992, Rimer recruited his son Neil to join the firm, launching a technology investment arm that evolved into Index Ventures. [8] [9] [10]

Index Ventures was officially founded in Geneva in 1996 by Neil Rimer, David Rimer and Giuseppe Zocco. [11] The firm established its London office as its base in 2002. [12] It began investing in Israel in 2003, and by 2005 raised €300 million for its third fund. Two years later, it raised an additional €350 million for its fourth found, which focused 15 to 20 percent on investing in Israeli companies. [13]

In 2012, Index closed its sixth fund, raising €350 million from limited partners to invest in technology startups across Europe, the U.S., and Israel. [14]

“In 2014, Index Ventures announced a new early-stage fund of $550 million aimed at technology startups in Europe, the U.S., and Israel. [15]

In 2017, it raised €400 million for its seventh fund, focusing on companies in Europe, the U.S., and Israel. [15]

In 2021, Index Ventures raised a total of $3.1 billion across new funds, allocating $900 million to early-stage ventures, $2 billion to growth-stage investments, and an additional $200 million toward a seed fund. [16] The firm also closed a second seed-focused fund of $300 million in 2022. [17]

Having focused on technology and life sciences for its first two decades, the firm spun off its life sciences business in 2016 as Medicxi Ventures, an independent venture capital firm specializing in life-sciences investments. [18]

Index Ventures' office in San Francisco was opened in 2011, as the firm expanded to the US. [19] The firm has offices in Geneva and Jersey [20] and opened a New York City office in 2022. [21]

References

  1. "Europe's biggest venture capital fund told us what it looks for in a company". Business Insider. November 28, 2015.
  2. "Index Ventures closes $550M fund, promotes Shardul Shah to partner". PitchBook. February 4, 2016.
  3. Williams-Grut, Oscar (November 28, 2015). "Europe's biggest venture capital fund told us what it looks for in a company" . Retrieved August 22, 2024.
  4. Botros, Alena (November 6, 2023). "Former Airbnb executive joins Index Ventures as its newest partner". Fortune. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  5. O'Hear, Steve (November 11, 2020). "Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas, angel investor and COO of GoCardless, is joining Index as partner". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  6. Butcher, Mike (November 17, 2022). "Index Ventures thinks new startups will emerge in the downturn and is putting $300M behind that bet". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  7. "What They're Reading". The New York Times. September 5, 1995.
  8. 1 2 "25 Rising Stars". Fortune. May 14, 2001. Archived from the original on October 7, 2024.
  9. "Wall Street Journal Fast Forward: Speakers and Guests". Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  10. "Levie, Damelin, Rimer, Onur, Klein, Khan To Speak at TechCrunch Disrupt Europe". TechCrunch. July 24, 2013.
  11. Moules, Jonathan (April 24, 2010). "A venture capitalist's European mission". Financial Times.
  12. Butcher, Mike (November 30, 2011). "Index Ventures forth, bridging Silicon Valley with Silicon Roundabout". TechCrunch.
  13. Grimland, Guy (February 19, 2007). "Index Ventures, Open for Business". Haaretz.
  14. Primack, Dan (June 17, 2012). "Index Ventures raises €350 million for new fund | Fortune". Fortune.
  15. 1 2 Butcher, Mike (June 10, 2014). "Index Ventures Raises New $550M Early-Stage Fund for Europe, the US and Israel".
  16. Busvine, Douglas (July 22, 2021). "Index Ventures raises $3.1 billion in new funds". Reuters. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  17. Dillet, Romain (July 10, 2024). "Index Ventures raises $2.3B for new venture and growth funds". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
  18. Armstrong, Stephen (October 17, 2017). "How VC firm Index Ventures is hunting for the next Deliveroo". WIRED.
  19. "Index Ventures Raises $700M Fund, Opens San Francisco Office (But Keeps Focus on Europe)". TechCrunch. November 8, 2011.
  20. Hammond, George; Bradshaw, Tim (July 9, 2024). "Index Ventures raises $2.3bn to chase AI breakthroughs". Financial Times. Retrieved June 2, 2025.
  21. Szkutak, Rebecca (September 28, 2024). "Why Index Ventures is bulking up its investment team in NYC". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 2, 2025.