Amadeus launches seed fund

Amadeus Capital Partners, the London/Cambridge-based technology investor, has launched Amadeus Mobile Seed Fund, which has just achieved a first closing of GBP6 million.

Of this amount half has been raised from corporates in the mobile sector and the other half has been invested from Amadeus’ second fund. This second fund raised GBP235 million, a leap on the first fund that raised just GBP50 million. However, both fund I and fund II will invest in around 25 companies so the launch of the Mobile Seed Fund is seen as a way to stay in touch with the early stage technology market.

Amadeus Mobile Seed Fund is expected to invest in between five and eight companies but it will also provide amounts of circa GBP50,000 for proof of concept/blue-sky projects. The eventual target is for the Mobile Seed Fund to raise GBP20 million: GBP10 million from corporate investors and GBP10 million from Amadeus Capital Partners.

Laurence John was recruited earlier this year to lead the Mobile Seed Fund and he would like to see corporate investors in the fund range through operator, software, infrastructure, client devices and technical support i.e. consultancy companies in the mobile space. John previously spent six years with Motorola, where he was latterly global director of mCommerce within the software-solutions group. Once Amadeus Capital Partners decided to target its planned seed fund in the mobile space John was bought on board. He expects to recruit one or two more professionals as the fund gets underway.

Of the GBP3 million in corporate investment so far received by the fund part has been raised from Lucent Venture Partners and Lucent Technologies’ venture arm and TTP Communications plc.