London’s Octopus Ventures raises $280 million to expand its seed and early stage investing

Octopus Ventures announced that it has raised an additional $280 million, bringing its total assets up to $1.2 billion as it continues to pursue international expansion of its early stage investment strategy.

Founded just over a decade ago, Octopus has backed 89 startups through 199 funding rounds. That includes 16 new companies over the past year. From its base in London, the firm has opened branches in New York, Shanghai, and Singapore.

“We’ve always believed that the most talented and ambitious entrepreneurs choose their backers, and not the other way around,” said Octopus Ventures CEO Alliott Cole, in a statement. “The U.K.’s entrepreneurial network has evolved rapidly over the past 11 years, and the resources we now have at our disposal will better equip us to support the tech disruptors of the future. The pipeline of high potential, fast-growth businesses has never been so strong, and we are excited about the seed and early stage ventures we can help scale.”

The company’s more notable investments include Big Health, Digital Shadows, Eve, Graze, Magic Pony, SwiftKey, Secret Escapes, and Zoopla. The VC firm has 10 exits among its portfolio companies, including acquisitions by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.