European venture fund EQT is set to hire a Goldman Sachs investor as a partner, Insider understands.The appointment comes against a backdrop of a collapse in venture capital funding in Europe in 2023.
An investor at Goldman Sachs' startup investment arm is set to depart the banking giant to join up with Swedish private equity and venture firm EQT Growth, Insider understands. Kirk Lepke, a London-based managing director at Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, is primed to be poached by the Stockholm investor, two sources familiar with the matter said. Lepke has led deals in the likes of hotel property management tool Mews and French customer relationship management startup Aircall during his seven years at Goldman.
He was also involved in Goldman's investment in Finnish food delivery platform Wolt, which was acquired by DoorDash in June 2022 and was also backed by EQT. Before joining the investment bank, Lepke worked at Torch Capital, a New York-based consumer investment fund, and Summit Partners, a private equity firm based in Boston. EQT Growth meanwhile has recently backed cloud banking startup Mambu, as well as Dutch fintech Mollie and Lithuanian consumer app Vinted.
It comes against a backdrop of an immense dropoff in venture capital funding in the European startup ecosystem, particularly in late-stage rounds. Growth funding for the first quarter of the year was down 77% on the same period last year at $4.3 billion,
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