Cambridge Gateway Fund receives £2m from NIF

The Cambridge Gateway Fund, which closed in April on £32.3m (7 May 2001, page 8), has subsequently received £2m of investment from Nippon Investment Fund – the second largest VC fund in Japan. This later-stage investment, which took place in September, in turn prompted the fund’s existing cornerstone investors to subscribe a further £1m in order to maintain their stakes; bringing the total raised to £35.3m. The investment from NIF came about through what Alan Barrell, who manages the Gateway Fund, has described as ‘classic networking’; he was introduced to Mitzuhiko Hashimoto, head of international operations at Nippon Investment Fund, by Peter Hiscocks, director of the Cambridge Entrepreneurship Centre. This introduction has lead to a mutually beneficial business relationship, with NIF joining Gateway Fund in the £3.4m round of funding in smart antenna company antenova in May (7 May 2001, page 21) and looking to co-invest with them on a regular basis in the future.

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