Entrepreneurs First Secures $200 Million Series D Funding Round At $1.3 Billion Valuation

Entrepreneurs First, the London-founded talent investor and company builder, has reached unicorn status with a $200 million Series D funding round valuing the firm at $1.3 billion. The round, announced on March 10, was backed by notable tech figures including Stripe cofounders John and Patrick Collison, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer, alongside institutional investor Greylock. Co-founder and CEO Alice Bentinck highlighted that $130 million of the raise will go to Entrepreneurs First's management company to further its mission of identifying exceptional individuals early and helping them build high-potential startups. Since its founding in 2011, EF’s portfolio has grown to a collective valuation of over $16 billion, with standout companies like Cleo, PolyAI, and Aztec, and the firm now requires pre-seed-funded founders to move to the Bay Area, accelerating growth and valuations. FOUNDERS: Alice Bentinck & Matt Clifford INVESTORS: John Collison, Patrick Collison, Eric Schmidt, Danny Rimer, Greylock, Aidan Gomez, Jeff Dean & Matt Cohler ROUND: Series D AMOUNT: $200,000,000 VALUATION: $1,300,000,000 HQ: London, United Kingdom #VentureCapital #EntrepreneursFirst #AliceBentinck #MattClifford #TradedVC

More Deals

View All

Puppy Sphere Secures Seed Round Of $24 Million From Strategic Investors Including The School Of Hard KnocksPuppy Sphere (@ThePuppySphere), a New York-based wellness brand centered on the human-animal bond, has raised a Seed round from a group of strategic investors including The School of Hard Knocks, Tobi Oluwole, Jake Fleshner, Torch Collective, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, and other founders and operators. Founded by Francesca Albo and Lea Burbidge Izquierdo, Puppy Sphere has scaled its puppy yoga concept into a broader experiential wellness platform with 13 studios, corporate wellness programs, brand partnerships, and live activations, serving more than 450,000 customers and partnering with companies including Google, Amazon, Netflix, TikTok, and the NBA. FUN FACT: Puppy Sphere was born from two Canadian founders’ own mental health journeys and has since grown into 13 studios across North America, $14M+ in cumulative revenue, and 450,000+ customers, all without outside capital. Along the way, the brand has welcomed names like Sabrina Carpenter, Simu Liu, Trevor Noah and Alessia Cara, while building a broader wellness platform around the gentle power of puppy therapy. Now Puppy Sphere is opening its cap table for the first time through a strategic angel round, bringing together leaders across media, consumer growth and wellness, including The School of Hard Knocks, former Massage Envy CEO David Humphrey, growth entrepreneur Tobi Oluwole, and Nucleus Network co-founder Jake Fleshner, alongside a broader group of strategic founders and operators. The vision: bring the gentle power of puppy therapy across the globe. FOUNDERS: Francesca Albo (@FrancescaaAlbo), Lea Burbidge Izquierdo (@LeaburbIz) INVESTORS: The School of Hard Knocks (@TheSchoolofHardKnockz), Tobi Oluwole (@TheTobiOluwole), Jake Fleshner (@JakeFleshner) Torch Collective, Heather Stark, Will Bodewes, Craig Zingerline & more ROUND: Seed VALUATION CAP: $24,000,000 HQ: New York, New York #VentureCapital #PuppySphere #TradedPartner #FrancescaAlbo #TradedVC