Money for martech and adtech as FirstPartyCapital and Astus announce a primarily UK-focused partnership
London-based early-stage VC FirstPartyCapital(FPC) and global corporate barter company Astus have announced a partnership which sees a new investment portfolio focus on accelerating adtech and martech solutions in the UK and around the world.
FPC has already raised $10 million and invested in 13 companies since it was founded in 2021. Approximately £4 million in funding has been provided to 8 UK start-ups such as Lumen, Good-loop, and Evorra. The firm’s aim is to complete 20 investments and have $15 million AUM by the end of 2023, before seeking to raise a $50 million second fund next year.
“The FPC fund invests in diverse new businesses across digital media and, as the pre-eminent angel-backed venture fund investing in adtech and martech companies globally, it really matches our ambitions going forward. This investment creates huge opportunities across the industry, even more so because our agency partners are also interested in FPC clients, creating even more potential value propositions. This is especially true of the UK where, as a result of a VC pullback in North America, there is even more opportunity to create innovation and growth at a local level,” says Frances Dickens, Chairman and founder, Astus.
“Marketing spend is expected to reach $5 trillion by 2025, yet there are only a handful of sector-focused funds investing in the next wave of innovation that will power the future of the industry. Therefore, we saw a huge opportunity to truly add value to founders in this underserved segment, by not only providing them with capital, but also by connecting them to new commercial opportunities, through our extensive network of individual and corporate investors globally. Astus’ experience and incredible relationships across the media industry, will be a key growth driver for our portfolio companies,” says Rich Ashton, Managing Partner, FPC.
