LONDON (Reuters) - Canadian pension fund OMERS has launched a 300 million euros (£256.8 million) venture capital fund to target technology start-ups in Europe.
OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of OMERS which manages C$97 billion in assets, said in a statement on Monday it was seeing a "huge spike" in start-up activity in Europe.
The OMERS Ventures fund will target companies seeking Series A and B stage financing and typically invest between 5 million and 10 million euros per round, it said.
"We have seen the European tech sector reach escape velocity over the past couple of years, producing more and more companies recognised worldwide," Managing Partner and Head of OMERS Ventures Damien Steel said.
"As the next step in our global expansion strategy, we are now committing dedicated capital to the Continent's most innovative startups because we believe the best is yet to come."
The new fund is led by Harry Briggs, formerly of Balderton Capital, Tara Reeves, previously at seed investor LocalGlobe, and Henry Gladwyn, who managed seed investments for the founders of DeepMind.
OMERS Ventures says it manages around C$800 million across more than 35 investments in North America and Europe.
(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Alexander Smith)
