Launch of Irish Focused Fund

28th July 2023

Molten Ventures plc

("Molten", the "Group" or the "Company")

Launch of Irish Focused Fund

Molten Ventures plc (LSE: GROW, Euronext Dublin: GRW), a leading venture capital firm investing in and developing high-growth digital technology businesses, today announces the launch of its Irish focused fund, with investment from existing Molten shareholder Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (“ISIF”), to back high growth technology companies whose core activities, management and expertise are located in the Republic of Ireland.

This builds on Molten’s existing presence and strength in Ireland, where it has been active for over 10 years and where current portfolio companies Manna, Sweepr, &Open and Vaultree are based. Previous successful investments in Ireland include Movidius and Clavis Insights. The fund brings additional third party capital alongside Molten’s existing investment criteria and deployment plans, thereby unlocking further capital for the Irish market.

The first close of the new fund is €50m with the scope for this to increase with participation from an additional syndicated partner. Molten’s commitment as a 55.5% LP is €27.75m, with ISIF committing the remaining €22.25m. Two existing Irish portfolio investments of Molten will be transferred into the fund at their net asset value generating immediate cash proceeds of around £2.5m to Molten. The fund has a ten-year lifespan, with future investments expected to be made over a three year period subject to the existing Molten investment criteria.

In line with the Group’s stated strategy to build out third-party managed funds, the new fund will generate both management and performance-related fees for Molten through its role as manager, bringing an additional pool of capital alongside the plc balance sheet, EIS/VCT funds and syndicated Fund of Funds programme.

Martin Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Molten Ventures, commented:

“We have always been invested in the success of high-growth technology businesses in Ireland, which is a key European centre for the global technology industry. The launch of our new Irish focused fund continues our long-standing relationship with ISIF as a strategic partner and enables us to continue to back promising Irish technology companies and visionary founders inventing tomorrow. We look forward to updating you on the progress of our investments in due course.”

-ENDS-

Enquiries:

About Molten Ventures

Molten Ventures is a leading venture capital firm in Europe, developing and investing in disruptive, high growth technology companies. We inject visionary companies with energy to help them to transform and grow. This energy comes in many forms - capital, of course, but also knowledge, experience, and relationships. We believe it is our role to support the entrepreneurs who will invent the future, and that future is being built, today, in Europe.

As at 31 March 2023, Molten Ventures had a diverse portfolio with shareholdings in 70 companies, 17 of which represent our Core holdings and account for 62% of the Gross Portfolio Value. Our Core companies include Thought Machine, Coachhub, Graphcore, Aiven, Ledger and Aircall. We invest across four sectors: Enterprise Technology, Hardware and Deeptech, Consumer Technology, and Digital Health and Wellness, with highly experienced partners constantly looking for new opportunities in each. We look for high-growth companies operating in new markets, with high potential for global expansion, strong IP, powerful technology, and strong management teams to deliver success. We also look for businesses with the potential to generate strong margins to ensure rapid, sustainable growth in substantial addressable markets.

Molten Ventures provides a unique opportunity for public market investors to access these fast-growing tech businesses, without having to commit to long term investments with limited liquidity. Since our IPO in June 2016, we have deployed over £1bn capital into fast growing tech companies and have realised over £480m to 31 March 2023.

For more information, go to https://www.moltenventures.com/