Venture Capital

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Lead advisor in the largest venture capital funding rounds in the Netherlands

We regularly advise founders of growth companies and investors on venture capital deals. The depth of our experience with large and complex funding rounds enables us to add significant value during the fundraising process, both from a legal and strategic perspective. We often work on transactions involving major investors from both the Netherlands and the United States, which allows us to anticipate and prepare for customary key deal items and advise on the appropriate transaction process.

Venture capital funding rounds are typically hectic and fast-paced and often require the buy-in from a large group of stakeholders. We therefore aim to provide our clients with pragmatic and to the point advice and creative solutions, mindful of the financial and commercial interests at stake. As a large and full service law firm we are ready to ramp up our team when needed and efficiently deal with any specific issues that may come up during the transaction process.

A venture capital transaction is an important milestone in the journey of a growth company, but typically not the end stage. The deal terms should reflect this and allow appropriate flexibility for future transactions, such as additional funding rounds, a sale of the company or even an IPO. With our broad expertise and experience covering the full corporate spectrum, ranging from mergers and acquisitions to corporate advisory and capital markets, we ensure that parties will be well-positioned for the next step.

Recent Matters

12 July 2023

SMART Photonics secures €100 mln in additional funding

De Brauw advises SMART Photonics on attracting EUR 100 million in additional fundingDe Brauw acted as sole advisor to SMART Photonics Holding B.V., the Dutch foundry for photonic integrated circuits, in securing an additional round of funding of EUR 100 million from a group of strategic industry and financial Dutch players and the Dutch government.Among the group of new lenders are strategic players from the semiconductor industry (ASML, NXP and VDL Groep) as well as financial institutions (ING, BOP Impact Ventures and Deep Tech Fund, which is part of Invest-NL and partly funded by the ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy). Previous investors, including Innovation Industries, BOM, PhotonDelta and KPN Ventures have joined in this funding round again. The government of the Netherlands separately provides EUR 60 million public funding as part of the approved National Growth Fund project PhotonDelta.With this new round of funding, SMART Photonics will be able to strengthen its role as the leading manufacturer of next generation chips in a growing, resilient European photonic value chain. SMART Photonics will use the funds to extend its manufacturing capabilities and accelerate the development of the company’s photonic integrated chip technology platforms and its Process Design Kits (PDKs).
7 September 2022

DataSnipper completes minority investment from Insight Partners

De Brauw acted as lead counsel to the shareholders of DataSnipper on its first venture capital funding round (Series A). DataSnipper is a tech scale-up focused on transforming the financial audit industry. It provides auditors with an intelligent automation platform to increase the quality and efficiency of audit procedures. The investment was effectuated by an offering of a minority participation to Insight Partners, a U.S.-based global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software and internet start-up and scale-up companies that are driving transformative change in their industries.
7 June 2022

Backbase raises EUR 120M in Series A funding round at a EUR 2.5B valuation

De Brauw has advised Backbase on its first venture capital funding round (Series A), raising EUR 120 million growth capital at EUR 2.5 billion valuation. Backbase is a global fintech company that provides the leading Engagement Banking Platform that empowers banks and other financial institutions to help digitize their processes. The investment was effectuated by a primary offering to Motive Partners, a fintech specialist private equity firm. Backbase is Motive Partners’ first Dutch investment.
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DE BRAUW PARTNERS WITH SCALE-UP ECOSYSTEM SCALENL/HOLLAND IN THE VALLEY

De Brauw has partnered with ScaleNL — Accelerator and Holland in the Valley, two initiatives by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco to help Dutch tech entrepreneurs innovate and scale in the world's tech capital Silicon Valley and other parts of the United States.

This partnership aligns perfectly with De Brauw's commitment to nurture innovation and invest in promising startups.

De Brauw will contribute to this ecosystem by, amongst others, its involvement in the educational and mentoring program and offering legal counsel to the selected Dutch start-ups and scale-ups.

Are you curious to learn more about this program? Feel free to reach out to jaap.barneveld@debrauw.com

The Bay Area offers an unmatched environment for Dutch tech entrepreneurs to amplify their impact. This partnership allows us to offer our experience in handling the legal complexities of scaling and funding a Dutch business to these budding tech companies. We look forward to becoming part of those endeavours and help these entrepreneurs where we can.

Jaap BarneveldPartner