Nick Clegg Joins Hiro Capital as General Partner, Aiming to Boost European Tech Investments
Nick Clegg has been appointed as a general partner at Hiro Capital, a London-based venture capital firm focusing on investments in video games, esports, and artificial intelligence. The firm is currently seeking to raise a new fund exceeding €500 million to support its expanding portfolio.
Clegg, who previously served as the head of global affairs at Meta, left the company earlier this year. He is a former UK deputy prime minister and ex-leader of the Liberal Democrats. He led the party during the 2010 coalition government and lost his parliamentary seat in 2017. Since then, he has expressed no intention of taking a seat in an unreformed House of Lords.
Founded in 2018 by Ian Livingstone and Luke Alvarez, Hiro Capital plans to invest in UK companies working in sectors such as robotics, longevity, gaming, space, defence, and AI, leveraging Europe’s academic and research strengths. The firm's first investment from the new fund is anticipated in the first half of next year.
In addition to Clegg's appointment, Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief AI scientist, will join Hiro as an adviser to assist with the assessment of AI investments.
At a recent Financial Times conference, Clegg highlighted Europe's heavy reliance on US technology companies and emphasized the importance of exporting European innovations to the US.
The firm has faced criticism for previously abandoning the People’s Vote campaign and for lobbying efforts aimed at preventing Brexit.
