The Irish sovereign development fund has increased its exposure to the domestic technology sector, investing at least €20m in Atlantic Bridge’s latest fund.

The Dublin-based manager said Atlantic Bridge III, with a target size of €140m, had already attracted support from a number of institutions, including the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) for its first close.

The fund – which has also attracted funding from government agency Enterprise Ireland, €13m from the British Business Bank  and commitments from an undisclosed number of pension funds – will invest in the Irish and European technology sector.

In a statement, Atlantic Bridge noted its interest in cloud technology, augmented and virtual reality software and robotics companies, among others.

It said it would limit its exposure to no more than 20 companies.

It has so far invested in seven. 

Eugene O’Callaghan, director at the ISIF, said the fund would allow Irish companies to attract customers in global markets including China.

The investment is the ISIF’s third to be managed by Atlantic Bridge.

The ISIF previously invested €10m in the firm’s second fund, and Atlantic Bridge also co-manages a $100m (€73m) technology growth fund set up by the ISIF and China Investment Corporation.

O’Callaghan added: “The Atlantic Bridge model of connecting Irish technology companies with key global markets makes it a key component of the funding landscape, and we are excited to continue our partnership with Atlantic Bridge for Fund III, following the strong performance achieved by Fund II.”

The ISIF, split between a discretionary portfolio investing to stimulate the Irish economy and a directed portfolio containing Ireland’s stakes in its nationalised banks, recently said its discretionary holdings achieved a 1.5% return over the course of the fund’s first full year in operation.

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