Sky is to expand its startup investment and commercial partnership activity with the opening of a new office in Berlin. There will also be a $4 million commitment to Israeli venture capital fund, Remagine Ventures.
The office will give Sky a local presence in Berlin’s expanding startup eco-system. In addition, the team’s remit will extend to scouting for the most relevant companies across Germany and also the Nordics.
Remagine Ventures is a newly launched fund based in Tel Aviv. Its managed by Kevin Baxpehler, a former investor at ProSiebenSat1.Media and Eze Vidra, a former Partner at Google Ventures Europe. Israel’s technology base includes a strong pool of talent in computer vision and machine learning.
Emma Lloyd, Group Director of Business Development and Partnerships at Sky comments: “Six years on from our first investment, we’re expanding our startup activity across Europe and Israel. Spending time in both Berlin and Tel Aviv has left us hugely impressed with the energy, dynamism and talent of both tech scenes. This is an exciting new chapter for us and we can’t wait to get started and uncover new, innovative startups across the regions and beyond.”
Carsten Schmidt, CEO of Sky Deutschland added: “I’m very pleased to be expanding Sky’s activity with the establishment of a new Berlin base for our venture activity. I continue to be impressed by the strength of tech talent in Berlin, and ever-growing pool of startups bringing new and innovative ideas to the German market and beyond. I look forward to us establishing more partnerships with early stage companies by setting up our Berlin based office this year.”
Sky began its incubator investment with a startup focused team out of London in 2012, Sky subsequently opened a San Francisco office in 2014.
Sky has invested in over 20 companies over the period across the US, UK and France, including investments in Roku, 1Mainstream, Elemental, The Rights Xchange and Drone Racing League. This next leg of growth will expand Sky’s access to the most relevant and exciting startups from across Central Europe, Northern Europe and Israel.
