Open Ocean is an early-stage venture capital company that focuses on European startups deploying user community or open source business models. The firm was the first major owner of MySQL AB, which was later sold to Sun Microsystems for $1 billion in 2008. As the team includes Michael “Monty” Widenius, the original developer and co-founder of the MySQL database, as well as others with hands on knowledge, the company is able to leverage its direct experience with companies like Zentyal.
With Open Oceean’s Fund Three, investments are typically €0.5-1M ($0.6-1.2M), with one or several follow-on investments tied to growth targets. The maximum investment is €6M ($7.7M) per portfolio company. Their target markets include software products and services, mobile computing and applications, cloud computing, software-as-a-service, Enterprise 2.0 and open source – trends in which MySQL has played a catalytic role.