Moonfire Ventures, a European venture capital (VC) firm founded by Mattias Ljungman, former co-founder of Atomico, has been making waves in the VC industry since its launch in 2020. What sets Moonfire apart is its unique approach, positioning itself as both a VC-focused tech startup and a traditional VC firm. The firm has developed custom AI models and a large-scale tech stack, enabling it to integrate technology across the entire VC value chain, from identifying promising founders to guiding their companies to successful exits.
This symbiotic approach combines the power of AI with the expertise of the investors and engineers at Moonfire. The AI assists investors in making better investment decisions, while the investors and engineers continuously improve the AI based on evolving market trends. This approach directly benefits founders by allowing investors to build deeper relationships with them, providing valuable guidance and support.
Moonfire’s technical prowess, combined with the team’s operational experience, makes it an attractive partner for founders facing complex technical challenges. The firm is uniquely positioned to help founders leverage AI and machine learning to maximize their potential, in addition to providing guidance in areas such as hiring, go-to-market strategies, and fundraising. Moonfire firmly believes that its approach represents the future of VC, enabling its team to have a greater impact, be more productive, and drive more value for the founders it supports.
With the launch of Fund II of $115M , Moonfire is taking its approach to the next level. The firm now reviews an impressive 50,000 companies every week, a figure over 600 times higher than the average traditional VC. Moonfire’s focus is on identifying the best founding teams in Europe that are leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI, Web3, and AR/VR to transform four key sectors: health, work, finance, and gaming. The firm sees this intersection of disruptive sources and innovative sectors as pivotal in creating a more accessible, sustainable, and equitable society.
Moonfire’s investment in UK Fintech LiveFlow exemplifies its tech-first approach in action. By leveraging its AI engine, Moonfire identified LiveFlow and led the Pre-Seed funding round alongside Seedcamp. The firm then used its technical expertise to help LiveFlow build a recruitment funnel that facilitated the hiring of a highly experienced Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As a result, LiveFlow successfully raised a $4 million Seed round, valuing the company at more than double its initial pre-Seed valuation.
Mattias Ljungman, Managing Partner at Moonfire Ventures, emphasized the transformative potential of AI in technology companies and the firm’s commitment to supporting early-stage founders. He acknowledged Europe’s leadership in AI and expressed Moonfire’s dedication to helping the next generation of founders tackle major challenges in sectors such as health, work, finance, and gaming.
Ljungman’s extensive experience in investing in tech leaders, including Klarna and Supercell, informed the foundation of Moonfire Ventures. Partner Mike Arpaia, a computer scientist specializing in AI and quantitative finance, brings his expertise from previous roles at Kolide, Facebook, Etsy, and Workday. The team at Moonfire is composed of entrepreneurs and technologists, with 90% of them having founded and scaled their own companies.
Since its inception, Moonfire has led 23 deals and co-invested in an additional 27, partnering with renowned investors such as Sequoia, Accel, Index, General Catalyst, and Accel. Notable successes from its first fund include portfolio companies like Humaans, which recently raised a $15 million Series A round, Lightdash, which secured a $7 million round led by Accel, and GOALS, which closed a $20 million Series A round with Seven Seven Six. In addition to its $90 million Fund II, the firm has raised