A new fintech-focused investment firm, MiddleGame Ventures (MGV), is planning to put together a EUR150 million fund to target post-seed startups in Europe and North America.
The Luxembourg Future Fund (LFF) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) are anchor investors in the new MGV fund, which has achieved its first close but has a final target of $150 million.
It will invest in B2B and B2B2C startups "driving the transformation of financial services from analog to digital and from centralized to decentralized," with an emphasis on middleware and back office tech, says a statement.
This will see a focus on regtech, digital identity, 'FinData', and crypto-enabled infrastructure across the FS industry.
MVG has been set up by Pascal Bouvier, Michael Meyer and Patrick Pinschmidt. Bouvier and Meyer have fintech investment experience having co-founded Route 66 Ventures and consulted with Santander InnoVentures. Pinschmidt was a senior official at the US Treasury Department.
Says Bouvier: "Our investors agree that specialist funds with experience working with entrepreneurs, incumbent financial institutions and regulators are best placed to thrive in an environment characterised by financial and technological cross-currents and significant regulatory constraints."