European venture capital firm Cherry is launching a $500m (£402m) fund with the goal of finding the continent’s first trillion-dollar technology company. 

There are currently 10 companies in the world valued at over $1tn, all of which are based in the US, with the singular exception of the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco. 

Europe, by contrast, is not even halfway to its first, with the continent’s most valuable companies, LVMH and Novo Nordisk worth just under $400bn. 

Looking at technology companies, the numbers are even smaller in stark contrast to the biggest companies in the US, a list dominated by tech.

Despite the difficult odds, Cherry, with offices in Berlin, Stockholm and London, claims that the continent is not “flailing” or in a state of “doom and gloom”, and the next decade of global tech could be defined by Europe. 

Describing the strong foundation of European tech, Cherry pointed to its startup ecosystem of 35,000 firms with a workforce that has grown sevenfold since 2015. 

“We have all the right ingredients: world-class talent, research depth in critical technologies, and thriving tech hubs,” the group said. 

Hinting at the upcoming geopolitical uncertainty of the recently inaugurated US president, Cherry Ventures added that it was “imperative that Europe takes charge of its own destiny in the global tech race”. 

To that end, the group’s new fund, called Cherry V, will be backing early-stage companies in Europe to Series B, and for its most promising portfolio firms beyond, as it looks to build Europe’s first trillion-dollar company. 

The half-a-billion-dollar fund has been backed exclusively by former startup operators, according to the VC firm, with alums from the likes of Spotify, Uber and Zalando. 

The fund also counts Cherry founders from its existing portfolio, including Supercell’s Ilkka Paananen, Wolt’s Miki Kuusi and Flix founder Jochen Engert.  

According to Dealroom, Cherry Ventures has backed 17 British startups, including digital health platform Manual and hospitality industry app REKKI. 

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