Althera42: The New Fund Bringing the Music Royalties Model to Tech Investments

If you can invest in music royalties, why can’t you also invest in “technology royalties?”

That’s what Althera42 wants to make possible, betting on revenue growth and scalability of technology startups without having to buy in at high valuations.

Founded by Caspar Macqueen, a former BlackRock executive, and Christian Czernich, founder of the private credit firm Round2 Capital, the new fund plans to provide working capital to technology companies in Europe without taking an equity stake.

Althera42 will focus on investing in intellectual property that transforms society through agentic AI, data infrastructure, defense and security, robotics and automation, software-enabled services and health and well-being.

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Bespoke Royalty Investment for Technology Businesses

“Althera42’s royalty investments allow companies to access capital without diluting equity or taking on rigid debt obligations,” Business Insider reported from a company factsheet released in September.

According to its website, Althera42 looks to invest in founder-led and late-stage private companies that have software and proprietary technology at their core. Althera42 will build customized deals to receive a fixed percentage of the technology companies‘ future revenue over several years.

Through the royalties model, Althera42 can combine the upside of venture capital with the consistent cash flow of private debt, Czernich told Business Insider. Fund gains will go out to investors quarterly. The fund will charge a 2% management fee and a 20% performance fee.

Althera42 is targeting companies with annual revenue between roughly $17 million and $117 million (€10 million and €100 million) from recurring or licensing models.

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Could a New Asset Class Be Established?

Royalty investing is the new capital paradigm in an intellectual property-based global economy, according to the company’s website.

In its stated mission, Althera42 wants to establish technology royalties as a new asset class. It hopes to copy the successful playbook used for tapping into the predictable revenue streams of music and pharmaceuticals.

Althera42’s website boasts being architects of a new capital model, “transforming recurring revenue into investable royalty streams.”

Czernich told Business Insider, “I do genuinely believe it will be a new asset class.”

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Aligning Business Interests

Althera42 believes royalty investing aligns its success with that of the company it funds. However, the firm does so by empowering companies to “retain control, by accelerating their impact with capital support that does not compromise their vision or leadership.”

According to Pitcher Partners, a national association of independent accounting firms in Australia, royalty investing is found across several industries: music, energy, mining, pharmaceuticals and software.

Major private equity firms Blackstone and KKR entered the music industry in 2021 and 2022, deploying $500 million to $1 billion, and the energy royalties sector in North America is estimated to be worth between $500 billion and $1 trillion, according to Pitcher Partners’ website.

Macqueen, formerly BlackRock’s head of U.K., Middle East and Africa for the alternatives business Aladdin, told Business Insider the firm plans to pull in $300 million with its first fund and complete 15 to 20 deals. Most deals would likely be in Europe and the U.K., potentially with some North American investments.

Althera42 has offices in London and New York.

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