Klaus Hommels has been an active early-stage investor and venture capitalist since 2000. His focus is investing in Internet start-ups and he built his reputation through a number of notable early-stage investments, including Facebook, Skype, and Spotify. Following this early success, Hommels set up his own venture capital firm, now known as Lakestar. Since 2012 Lakestar has built a reputation as one the bestventure capital firms in Europe for its high return on investment. The venture capital's first seed fund recorded a 70% internal rate of return from its investments. The firm has capitalized on this success and has continued to raise funds to invest predominantly in European tech start-ups. In 2013, Lakestar announced the launch of its second fund, Lakestar II, with a total commitment of €350 million. Lakestar II went onto make investments in various European-based start-ups. This included participating in a $27 million funding round for GoEuro. Hommels has been a vocal supporter of the European start-up and technology sectors. In a 2017 discussion with CNBC, he argued start-ups in Europe need supportive policy and regulation in order to be competitive on a global scale. He cited the tech industry in China as an example, noting the Made in China 2025 plan which supports local high tech industries in the country. He also spoke about the gap between US and European tech companies and what could be done to bridge it, referring to the problem as a "trade deficit." The success of Lakestar led to its founder being recognized by Forbes for his track record, when the publication listed Hommels in the third position on its Midas Touch List in 2018.
Investments
Lakestar holds stakes in a number of notable technology companies, including Spotify, while the firm has also recently shown a growing interest in blockchain technology. Lakestar has held a major stake in online real estate service, Opendoor, since 2016. The firm was involved in both its Series D round and also its most recent round in 2018. To date, Opendoor has raised $645 million in equity and $1.5 billion in debt. Following the successful IPO of Spotify in April 2018, it was stated that Lakestar had no intention of selling their investment, on the belief that the company could reach a $100 billion valuation in the near future. Their focus on music continued in 2018, when they invested in Swedish-start-up, Amuse. The mobile record label raised $15.5 million via its Series A. Marley Spoon announced a $70 million IPO in 2018, with the company listing on the Australian Stock Exchange. Despite the IPO, Lakestar announced that they would not be diluting their shares during the IPO and would retain all of their current holdings. Most recently, Lakestar was a major contributor to FiveAI's funding rounds that saw them raise a total of $35 million. FiveAI has since secured rights to test their technology on London's roads, becoming the first company to test automated cars on UK roads. Other major investments have included Airbnb and Harry's.
