Former Meta President and UK Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg has joined Hiro Capital as a general partner in the launch of Hiro III, a “UK and Europe-focused multi-stage venture capital venture focused on spatial AI, robotics, longevity, gaming, and space and defence.”
In a press statement, the company described Hiro III as a “large multi-stage fund” capable of deploying between $5.8 million and $58.7 million (€5-50 million) and aimed at “increasing the capital gap in the UK and Europe.”
Hiro Capital co-founder and Games Workshop co-founder Sir Ian Livingstone CBE welcomed Clegg to LinkedIn. letter: “Delighted to share the exciting news that Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister and President of Global Affairs at Meta, has joined us at Hiro Capital as a General Partner to launch our third scale-up venture fund.”
“I joined Hiro because I share the founders’ belief in advancing immersive computing and spatial artificial intelligence,” said Clegg. “We will move from contemplating the Internet to living on the Internet. We are in the early stages of this platform change with the convergence of spatial technologies and AI models of the next generation world. Unlike other funds, Hiro is entirely focused on these themes, entirely in Europe.
“This is an exciting moment of opportunity for the UK and European tech ecosystem. We have some of the most outstanding researchers and universities on the planet, as well as great engineers and entrepreneurs. Our problem is not a lack of innovation, but a lack of large-scale capital. Europe may have its critics, but we have a vibrant startup scene that is now ready to accelerate – I believe Hiro's team has the unique geographic and technological reach to help this happen.”
The team also expanded its advisory board, adding a number of high-profile appointments, including Professor Yann LeCun, former Meta chief scientist and Turing Award winner in deep learning artificial intelligence, Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia and leading tech investor, and Major Tim Peake, scientist, test pilot and ESA's first British astronaut.
