Blue Horizon Ventures’ flagship fund attracts EUR 183 million

In 2018 serial entrepreneurs and investors Roger Lienhard and Michael Kleindl established Blue Horizon Ventures as a sustainable food system focused venture capital fund. Its mission, besides financial performance and market-rate returns, is to generate value for investors by supporting and promoting a positive global impact on the environment, human health and animal welfare with the main focus on investments into alternative proteins, synthetic biology, cultivated food (cellular agriculture), smart packaging and food waste. 

Blue Horizon Ventures capitalizes on long-lasting industry access and network. It has developed partnerships with many like-minded, mission-aligned co-investors and innovation hubs such as relevant incubators, accelerators and universities. The firm invests across the globe, stage agnostically and typically from ticket sizes as small as EUR 300'000 of up to EUR 25 million over a company's lifetime. 

The Zurich-based vegan-based venture capital firm has completed the final round of its flagship fund, Blue Horizon ventures I, raising EUR 183 million, beyond its initial target of 100 million euros. The fund has attracted Limited Partners (LPs) worldwide, ranging from private investors (numerous large single and multi-family offices) to corporates and institutional investors. Renowned investors include the European Investment Fund EIF, Wire Group’s Private Markets Funds, Givaudan, Group Bimbo, Sigma, B8Ventures, Korys/Colruyt Group. In total, more than 100 different investors from around 20 nationalities subscribed to the fund. 

Blue Horizon Ventures, where about 90% of the staff are vegan or vegetarian, has so far backed various startups including Switzerland based Planted and New Roots. The new Fund will invest in food-tech startups from alternative proteins to smart packaging, especially in the post-pandemic world. 

Michael Kleindl, Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Horizon Ventures, said: "The global capital, accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, is moving towards impact at great speed. This allows more and more entrepreneurs to start their ventures in the food sector. We are delighted to have reached the final close for our first flagship fund. The overwhelming interest and final fund size combined with our pace and quality of portfolio building reflect the enormous potential of our investment thesis: Financial performance paired with an attractive risk-return profile and tangible impact.”

As revealed to Bloomberg, Blue Horizon Ventures is planning to launch a second Fund in the fourth quarter, larger than the first one.

(Press release)