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Samwer brothers go beyond incubation, launch VC fund

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
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By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
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March 18, 2013, 3:44 PM ET

FORTUNE — European entrepreneurs Fabian Siegel and Oliver Samwer today announced the launch of Global Founders Capital, a €150 million venture capital fund focused on technology companies. I spoke this morning with Siegel, who stepped down earlier this year as co-CEO of restaurant delivery startup Delivery Hero. Some notes from our conversation:

1. The fund will be stage-agnostic, except that companies must have already launched their first product. Given Siegel and Samwer’s backgrounds, initial deals will be for e-commerce and other transaction-based businesses. They also want to get into things like big data and tech-enabling services, but expect those to be later-stage deals. As Siegel says: “I wouldn’t be a good person to look at an app in development and try to judge how many people will want to use it.”

2. This will be a global fund, but with a particular focus on under-served VC markets like Southeast Asia.

3. Much of the capital is coming from Samwer and his brothers, who are known for the controversial Rocket Internet incubator. The rest committed by other Internet entrepreneurs (either directly or via family offices). It’s being viewed more as an evergreen sort of structure than as a 10-year-and-done fund.

4. Do not expect GFC to back companies that compete with companies incubated by Rocket Internet, since Oliver would basically be pitting his own economic interests against themselves. Likewise, Rocket Internet is unlikely to create rivals to GFC companies.

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By Dan Primack
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