Icon Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm specialising in Series B and C funding rounds, is opening an office in Dublin as it looks to invest in European start-ups.
The new operation intends to co-invest with European VC firms in promising companies. Irishman Michael Mullany, a general partner at Icon, is to lead the Dublin office.
Mr Mullany who recently relocated here from California, joined the VC in 2014 and has led investments in a number of companies, including Streamlabs, which was acquired by Logitech in a $89 million deal two years ago.
Icon is one of a number of US VC firms that have recently turned their gaze towards Europe. Others include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, Bessemer Venture Partners, Founders Fund and Greylock Partners.
“Europe has established itself as a market with exceptional talent and the innovative products needed to create great companies,” said Mr Mullany.
“With the emergence of category leaders like Stripe, Spotify, UiPath and others, we found ourselves increasingly looking to Europe for compelling investment opportunities consistent with our investment model.”
With more than $1.1 billion (€920 billion) under management, Icon has had 33 successful exits that exceed over $90 billion in exit value.
Among the companies it has previously backed are FireEye and Palo Alto Networks.
