MassMutual Ventures starts European deployment with USD 300m Fund III

The fund will deploy tickets of between USD 1m and USD 10m in the digital health, fintech, enterprise SaaS, and cybersecurity sectors in early and growth-stage companies. 

MMV likes to be the lead investor at the Series A stage and re-invest all the way through to a full exit, Ryan Collins, the firm's managing director, told Unquote.

It expects to make 15-20 investments across its life cycle. 

The fund's sole LP, US-based life insurer Mass Mutual, can and has co-invested to provide capital in the later, bigger, growth stage rounds. 

The sponsor's first two funds — which raised USD 50m and USD 100m — focused solely on APAC, but the sponsor is now looking at Europe. 

"With this new fund, we're combining the Europe and Asia Pacific mandates," said Collins. "We're not strangers to Europe: compared to 16 years ago it's a thriving global hub. There are tonnes of opportunity, the talent is evenly distributed, and the ability to scale globally exists wherever you're based." 

It has so far announced one investment in Europe, deploying USD 10m into Berlin-based HelloBetter, which offers digital therapy. 

At a subsector level, MMV is more focused on digital health and fintech in Europe, and typically invests in B2B companies. It is interested in software round asset management, decentralised finance, digital therapeutics, remote patient monitoring, and clinical trials, as a few examples. 

In terms of geography, the deal flow naturally leads to the UK, Germany, France, and Sweden although Collins is quick to say that it will look at deals across the continent. 

LPs
MassMutual Ventures is a corporate fund with its sole LP as American life insurer MassMutual. Bringing in external LPs is something that the fund would "think about", Collins said. 

The sponsor has also taken LP positions to gain niche sector or country exposure, although Collins described this as "atypical".

In the past, it has invested in Seedcamp's GBP 60m fourth fund and Crane Ventures seed-focused USD 90m first fund. 

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