OMERS Ventures Raises $750M Transatlantic Fund to Target Startups Across Two Continents
OMERS Ventures consolidates its European and North American investment efforts into a single $750 million fund. The firm also adjusts its strategy to help portfolio companies navigate the COVID-19 pandemic with longer financial runways.
OMERS Ventures, the venture capital arm of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, launches a new $750 million fund to invest in startups across both Europe and North America. This massive capital pool replaces the firm's previous separate funds, which included a €300 million European fund announced in 2019 and a $300 million North American fund from 2017. By consolidating these efforts into a single transatlantic fund, the firm aims to create a more cohesive investing group.
The venture capital firm plans to deploy approximately $200 million per year across the two continents, maintaining a similar pace to its previous investment efforts. Managing partner Damien Steel notes that most of the original European fund remains reserved for follow-on investments, but this leftover capital becomes largely immaterial given the new, much larger financial reservoir now available to the team.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, OMERS Ventures adopts a new mindset regarding startup runway expectations. Instead of the typical 18-month window between funding rounds, the firm now plans for 24 months or longer to help startups weather the current economic downturn. Fortunately, many of their portfolio companies already sit on substantial cash reserves, having raised ample capital during the cheap-money environment of 2018 and 2019.