Pentech, the new venture capital firm focusing on early-stage technology investments, has closed its first fund ahead of target at £22m (€35m) after a £5m commitment from the European Investment Fund, the European Union's specialist venture capital institution.

Pentech is one of only a handful of venture capital firms that focus exclusively on software technology. It launched its funds at a time when others were retreating from that sector en masse, and also in an extremely difficult climate for fundraising.