LongeVC mulls 2023 fundraise for second fund

Agne Mazeike
11 May 2022

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Latvian biotech-focused sponsor LongeVC could hit the fundraising trail as early as next year as it gears up for its second fund, Managing Partner and co-founder Sergey Jakimov told Unquote.

The Latvia-based, biotech-focused sponsor will target USD 180m-USD 200m for its next vehicle, which could be incorporated in the US or the EU, Jakimov said. The investor has offices in Lugano, Switzerland and Riga, Latvia, and analysts working from the US and Germany, he added.

The firm is currently deploying equity via its Cyprus-registered debut fund LongeVC, which was launched in late 2021. It has a hard-cap of EUR 35m that it expects to reach by the end of this year, he said. LongeVC would be ready for the fundraising of a larger fund once its first vehicle has held its final close, he added.

The sponsor is not ruling out involving an external advisor for the fundraising, Jakimov said. It is not using any external advisors for the fundraising of its debut fund, which targets investors including high-net-worth individuals and family offices among its LPs, he added. With the new fund, it expects to also target investors like pension funds, Jakimov said.

LongeVC specialises in investing into companies focused on age-related diseases and developers of longevity technology, he said, mentioning immuno-oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, epigenetic reprogramming and gene therapy among examples for its therapeutic focus. Non-therapeutic technology examples could include predictive diagnostics, AI for drug discovery or early diagnostics of age-related diseases, Jakimov said.

The new fund is expected to have a mandate to invest into clinical-phase therapeutic companies, as well as making Series A and B investments into non-therapeutic companies, he added. It estimates investing from USD 5m to USD 11m-12m per company from the new fund, Jakimov said.

While the life-cycle of its new fund is still an open question, it can be up to eight or nine years, Jakimov said.

The debut fund is focused on making seed or pre-Series A stage investments into non-therapeutic startups, or investing into pre-clinical phase therapeutic players, Jakimov said. Its current ticket for initial investments stands between EUR 500,000 and EUR 1.5m. LongeVC can invest up to EUR 2.3m per company in follow-on investments, he said, adding it aims to have 25-27 portfolio companies by the end of its investment period in late 2024.