Oxx, a specialist investor in European B2B SaaS companies at the scale-up stage, has reached the final close of its second fund generation at €172 million. The firm invests in companies that have reached Product-Market fit, and helps them unlock and navigate the Go-to-Market fit stage to achieve explosive growth. Based between London and Stockholm, Oxx’s portfolio includes such successes as Funnel, Goodlord, and Gravitee, and the fund is supported by LPs such as British Patient Capital, Saminvest, KfW Capital, Argentum, Pool Re and Coeli.
Oxx has attracted several new LPs to its second fund generation with its promise of a growth equity risk profile at the same time as a significant venture-driven upside. The firm has deep knowledge of SaaS: co-founders Richard Anton and Mikael Johnsson have invested through every cycle of SaaS development with a great track record. In building Oxx for the long term, they have brought together a highly skilled, hand-picked team with experience from various investing and operational backgrounds, making the firm uniquely placed to identify key opportunities and shepherd them to success at the advent of a very exciting new chapter of SaaS development in Europe.
Richard Anton, General Partner of Oxx, said: “We invest with evidence-based, absolute conviction in companies with strong fundamentals, where we can generate sustainable, capital efficient and consistent growth. In this challenging market, we are thrilled to have raised a fund that comfortably enables us to action this strategy in supporting promising European scaleups during the next stage of their growth journeys. The trust shown by both returning and new LPs is a testament to our highly selective and hype-resistant approach resonating with the wider community and proves that our commitment to maintain a strong LP/GP relationship is valued by our stakeholders.”
Mikael Johnsson, General Partner of Oxx, commented: “The SaaS industry has undergone a seismic shift over the past decades. Technological development has pushed innovation through various paradigms – from on-premise, to cloud, to a hybrid model. We are now at an inflection point, entering the early innings of the AI paradigm of SaaS. AI is not merely hype, it is the technological driver underpinning a structural shift and spurring another tidal wave of innovation, driving migration from incumbent legacy systems and applications. Therefore, the software industry and SaaS as a business model will continue to have a foundational impact in the future. With this fund, we are solidifying Oxx as a partner and producer of standout SaaS companies for the long term.”
Founded in 2017, Oxx’s specific focus is on the scaleup stage in Europe. This is a particular area where there is a great opportunity, but one that is often misunderstood and overlooked by investors. Many SaaS companies building profound and sophisticated products don’t come flying out of the gates commercially, but instead spend a period experimenting and adapting as they take the time to find Product-Market fit. Though once Product-Market fit is found, rapid acceleration can take place as long as they can secure the required growth capital to do so. In Europe, access to capital for these businesses is not at the same level as in the US, which presents a great opportunity for skilled investors.
Johnsson, added: “The European SaaS industry has proven that it can deliver healthy returns that outperform other areas of the tech market. In Q3 2023, of the top 10 venture backed exits, most were in the software industry.[2] The European SaaS ecosystem now boasts a high number of serial founders, and a deep engineering and tech talent pool. This, along with the still unrealised potential of digitisation across multiple industries and the foundational impact AI is looking to make across industries, are reasons to believe that we are still only at the beginning of the European SaaS boom.”
Anton also added: “We believe the best VCs are those that are in it to create long term value, not merely ride on the coat tails of short term momentum; and the best companies will be those that prioritise pragmatism, ambition and persistence. We look forward to partnering with the next generation of European SaaS founders and helping them build a pathway to global scale.”
