
Beyond AI: Six startup opportunities in Europe
Six sectors where European expertise, needs and regulatory changes are opening up new markets.
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CompareGrowth fund leading or co-leading Series B to D rounds in European technology companies
Venture capital fund investing in early-stage AI and frontier technology companies with a Barcelona connection.
Find talented founders that traditional VC networks overlook, including women and founders with immigrant backgrounds, in companies addressing environmental or social challenges.
Pre-seed fund for Southern European founders and diaspora
Capital-efficient B2B software plus pre-seed deeptech via Nauta Labs
Concentrated growth portfolio in marketplaces, financial services and software
Early-stage Nordic deeptech with industrial investors as LPs and partners
Nordic pre-seed fund investing before product-market fit
Dual-use deep tech startups in frontier technologies, led mainly by the fund, with a focus on international growth potential and the Lazio innovation ecosystem.
Pair venture capital with hands-on support from entrepreneurs and alumni to back Dutch university-based startups in AI, deep tech, healthcare and climate.
Pre-seed to Series A, technology: B2B, deeptech and SaaS
Pre-seed/seed in CEE, SEE and diaspora, cheques EUR 0.3-3m
Third fund of MuleSoft founder Ross Mason, focused on AI infrastructure
Eighth European early-stage fund with an AI focus
Regional fund for innovative start-ups and SMEs based in Lazio, seed to late growth
Deep tech spin-offs and startups from research to industrialization
Medtech company creation fund building startups from inception
Growth fund for European defence and security technology
Early-stage electrification companies at seed and Series A, in energy storage, grid technology and advanced materials.
Pre-seed fund for European teams with deep technical founders
Debut fund for pre-seed and seed founders from Southeastern Europe: vertical AI, fintech, cybersecurity and consumer (gaming, sports, media, creator economy); second fund planned for follow-ons and Series A.
Regional early-stage and growth fund for eastern Ruhr area tech startups
Pre-seed fund for Belgian B2B SaaS founders
Backs innovative biotech companies with differentiated assets through a partnership model linking pharma groups, investors and scientific experts.
Early-stage fund for learning and future-of-work startups
Back highly technical founders at the earliest stage and help them build across markets, on the premise that major tech companies can emerge from anywhere.
Nordic seed to Series A fund for fintech and AI-driven B2B
Vertical AI B2B software, at least 70% in EU/EEA companies with Italian establishment
Growth fund of listed VC Molten, cornerstoned by British Business Bank
Fund backing female-led European startups at pre-seed and seed
Invests in startups modernising legacy maritime industries and addressing water, energy, logistics and environmental challenges.
Industrial AI, sensors, robotics and autonomy
Systematic growth-stage investing with proprietary AI model Aleph
Later-stage European technology companies, spin-out of two ex-Wendel Growth partners
Ninth early-stage fund dedicated to Europe and Israel
Seed fund within Index Ventures' USD 2bn raise (USD 3.5bn across seed, venture and growth funds), backing founders from first cheque.
Growth fund for European technology scale-ups
Founder-backed fund supporting new technology companies, incl. AI and robotics
Defence, security and resilience technology across the European defence stack
Support Spanish middle-market companies through growth, operational improvement, internationalisation, sector consolidation and shareholder reorganisation.
Pre-seed climate, health and resilience, up to EUR 500k per company
Fund backing European defence and security founders early
Early-stage hardware and deep-tech startups that cut emissions in energy, industry, transport and agriculture.
Italian therapeutic startups bridging science to later-stage investability, with BII platform
Solo-GP day-zero fund backing deeptech founders from their first financing round, often pre-incorporation: AI, batteries, robotics, semiconductors, materials science, novel computing.
Seed fund backing repeat founders in Europe and North America
Debut seed fund for cybersecurity startups in the UK and Canada
Makes a few high-conviction bets per year on post-product-market-fit B2B software founders aiming to redefine their categories, and supports them with go-to-market and international expansion to reach a larger growth round.
Follow-on fund for Seedcamp portfolio companies from Series B onward.
Impact fund for market-first European startups
Flagship early-stage fund for European founders in software, AI and science
Back early-identified technologies in longevity, European health manufacturing and supply chain, and clinically relevant AI.
Gen-Z run fund for earliest-stage Nordic founders
AI-enabled company building in food and agriculture (agtech, animal health, crop protection)
Angel, pre-seed and seed investments
AI-native companies, concentrated portfolio of 25-30 startups
All-female GP medtech and women's health fund for UK startups
Pre-seed fund for scientist founders in European deep tech
Back pre-seed and seed founders building vertical, AI-native software and agentic services, with early conviction and support through an AI founder community and broader network.
Pre-idea to seed fund for applied and physical AI across Europe
Founder-first Nordic early-stage fund, community-powered model
Back founders at the intersection of AI and the physical world who modernise legacy industrial and energy systems.
Back early-stage UK deep tech companies with GBP 500k to 2m initial cheques into 14 to 16 companies, reserving capital for follow-ons.
AI-only pre-seed and seed fund backed by AI founders
Backs pre-seed and seed deep-tech founders building advanced hardware and software across infrastructure, computing and bioengineering.
Global fintech fund backed by Santander, seed to Series C
Pre-seed and seed investments across health, fintech/proptech and future-of-work, combining capital with hands-on operational support on talent, commercial introductions and follow-on funding.
Back high-potential UK companies spun out of the research base and startup ecosystem, on the view that their IP is undervalued versus international peers.
Back early-stage, technology-based Nordic startups, with most capital going to Danish companies.
Digital-health fund backing companies with a proven model and clear growth potential, using disruptive technologies for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Pediatric health fund investing in research-based spinouts from academia and hospitals
Early-stage, industry-agnostic fund with a tilt towards B2B solutions in AI enablement, automation, commerce, defence, energy sustainability and fintech.
Early-stage fund for AI applications, software infrastructure and deep tech
Industrial tech fund backing Industry 4.0 founders in Europe
Back early-stage quantum technology startups, starting from Dutch founders and now internationally.
Make first investments in founders building in AI, fintech and enterprise risk, as a founder-first European seed investor.
Venture creation and early-stage biotech fund for therapies for severe diseases
Back European neuroscience-based BrainTech startups and help them reach US markets and FDA approval.
UK impact fund for health, essential services and sustainable consumption
Regional venture fund backing early-stage technology startups, funded mostly by private investors alongside the South Moravian Region.
Back high-potential early-stage startups, acting as a lead or key co-investor alongside international partners.
Invest in clinical-stage biopharma companies with breakthrough therapies for severe diseases, committing capital at each value inflection point (15 to 20 companies).
Back high-growth SMEs in consumer and retail, healthcare, and technology-enabled services with equity or quasi-equity and hands-on growth support.
Pre-seed fund for CEE founders building global products
Solo-GP fund for AI-first companies, mainly early stage
Deeptech fund built with Politecnico di Milano ecosystem
Energy transition and industrial tech fund for Poland
Growth impact fund for B2B companies with more than EUR10m revenue
Life-sciences fund investing mainly in Spain and Portugal across health and wellbeing, sustainable nutrition, and climate and environmental solutions.
Fund backing founders outside traditional venture networks in France
Growth capital for deeptech scale-ups, initial cheques up to EUR 15m
Deeptech seed fund for French and European B2B founders
Early-stage fund for European digital businesses
Water technology across the value chain: treatment, reuse, digital monitoring, emerging contaminants; early to growth stage, global.
Inception and pre-seed fund for AI-first Baltic software founders
Turn Dutch academic discoveries in chronic diseases into investment-ready life science companies, bridging the gap to seed.
Identify, develop and build new biotech companies from excellent science, together with universities, research centres and scientist-entrepreneurs.
Seed and Series A investments in SpaceTech combined with AI, spanning defence, climate, life sciences and next-generation space infrastructure.
Find, fund and support Belgian-founder tech startups at seed stage, wherever they are based, and back ecosystem initiatives.
Early-stage fund for quantum and physics-based startups
Follow-on fund scaling industrial B2B software companies created by the OSS studio
University-research-based startups via network of 50+ universities
Growth fund for proven European B2B climate companies
Growth fund for European deep tech and climate scale-ups
IP-driven European tech from pre-seed to Series B across AI, cybersecurity, techbio and industrial innovation
Turn academic breakthrough science into early-stage healthcare companies by leading financings and building leadership teams (up to 15 companies).
Fund backing European science-driven deeptech founders
Back enterprise AI startups focused on secure, governed and cost-controlled AI adoption, leading or co-leading rounds with EUR 0.5 to 1.5m initial tickets.
Industry-agnostic early-stage, deep tech and AI, about 35 startups
Green transition deeptech fund for the Nordics
Urban and industrial climate tech fund for Europe
Back founders with deep domain expertise who use AI and deep tech to rebuild established industries, as first institutional or lead investor.
Impact fund backing early-stage European founders
Backs technology leaders with real-world application in key European industries, emphasising sustainability, responsibility and a founder mindset.
Pre-seed and seed in semiconductors, photonics and advanced materials; up to EUR 1m initial tickets, about 20 companies.
Science-based deeptech and university spinouts in the Nordics
Energy tech fund for digital, asset-light grid and flexibility solutions
Dedicated Italy energy tech fund, fully financed by CDP
Fund backing Spanish and European founders at seed and Series A
Early growth CEE tech past seed, tickets EUR 1-3m
Pre-seed and seed fund for European digital health startups
Fourth early-stage fund for SaaS and marketplace companies with an AI focus, mostly in France.
Seed and Series A fund for enterprise software, AI and fintech, cheques of EUR 1-5m.
Frontier tech founders (AI, spacetech, cyber), helping European startups reach the US
Growth-stage deeptech scaleups in Europe: semiconductors, medical devices, advanced materials, applied AI, energy management.
Pre-seed and seed investments in European founders, about 80 investments over three years.
Early-growth fund investing in quantum technology companies at Series A and B.
Back exceptional Pre-Seed and Seed technology founders originating from or operating within CEE, helping them scale into global market leaders, with initial investments of €500,000–€2.5 million and active lead or co-lead participation.
Founder-first Europe fintech fund, seed and Series A, cheques EUR 0.5-4m
Impact fund for startups serving vulnerable groups, decarbonisation and ecosystem regeneration
Dedicated European defence and security technology fund
European founders building internationally scalable companies, lead tickets EUR 1-15m
Flagship early-stage biotech and medtech fund
Asset-centric biotech company creation and investments at all stages
Specialist B2B SaaS fund for AI-first start-ups, about 20 companies across Nordics and Baltics.
Pre-seed and seed fund for frontier-tech founders with global ambition
Impact-driven investing in the global food system and food supply chain tech
Early-stage impact tech with at least one underrepresented founder on core team (climate, health, education)
Debut fund for dual-use and frontier tech in space, health and industrial resilience around the Baltic Sea.
European cybersecurity fund backing early-stage cyber founders
Seed fund for Italian tech founders as first institutional investor
Biotech and green chemistry for industrial sustainability in food, agriculture, materials
B2B startups at the intersection of digital technology and hard science
Pre-seed and seed deeptech and emerging technology: hardware, dual-use, medtech; backed by 100+ founders and operators.
8-12 early-stage European B2B software companies, backing founders
Impact fund backing early-stage Dutch founders solving societal problems
Largest single VC fund raised in Finland, first Luxembourg fund of Lifeline
Growth-equity fund for 12 to 15 consumer scale-ups in beauty, wellness, nutrition and longevity.
Early-stage European healthtech founders, first tickets about EUR 0.5m
Growth capital for profitable climate and energy transition companies that outgrew venture capital.
Alumni-funded pre-seed and seed fund for deeptech in AI, climate, health and industry 4.0.
Early-stage climate tech and decarbonisation: utility tech, agro and food tech, proptech, mobility, circular economy, data.
Scale Nordic B2B software businesses with hands-on operational support.
Stage-agnostic quantum technology fund
Early-stage fund for AI- and data-driven technology startups (Smart Data Economy) from Poland and CEE.
Growth buyouts and strategic minority investments in European B2B technology-enabled services across financial and enterprise technology.
Growth fund for Greek deep tech companies
Barcelona-based fund backing early-stage Iberian and European founders
Fund for AI and energy transition founders in France and Europe
Regional early-stage fund backing B2B, AI, industrial automation and climate start-ups in Münsterland and neighbouring regions.
Growth fund backing best portfolio companies and selective external scale-ups in AI-driven business software
Sector-agnostic pre-seed fund for UK and European founders
Scales Nordic B2B software businesses through operational support, networks, and add-on acquisitions.
Vertical AI, recommerce platforms and marketplaces, cheques EUR 0.25-2.5m
Sixth fund backing early-stage European AI startups
Debut pre-seed and seed fund for Baltic and Nordic founders
Electrification fund backing early-stage founders in Europe
Early-stage climate tech across power, transport, buildings, industry, agriculture, circular economy
Network-driven debut fund for early-stage European founders
Impact fund for early-stage founders solving global problems
Early-stage tech in Rhineland/NRW and Euregio Meuse-Rhine, pre-seed and seed
Growth fund scaling European AI champions
Estonian fund backing pre-seed and seed defence-tech founders
Super-angel style debut fund for pre-seed and seed startups
Early-growth European deeptech scale-ups in foundational sectors
Nordic fund for AI and enterprise software startups
Partners with founder-led high-growth businesses in the knowledge economy, providing strategic support to accelerate growth.
Tickets up to EUR 1m in German and European startups, Mittelstand network
Early-stage gaming startups
Pan-CEE generalist pre-seed to Series A, about 25 startups, up to EUR 20m follow-on reserve per company
Pre-seed and seed fund with operational platform for European tech
CEE fund investing from pre-seed to Series A
European tech for construction, real estate and skilled trades (decarbonisation, digitalisation)
Agrifood fund for Nordic startups transforming food systems
Early growth tech companies beyond start-up stage with hands-on support
Early-stage deep tech fund for Baltic founders
Global vertical AI fund across consumer, health, fintech and energy
Follow-on capital for top portfolio plus new investments in gen AI, cyber, climate
Systematic data-driven investing in growth-stage outliers using proprietary AI model
Pre-seed deeptech with technical in-house expertise, about 20% in US outside Bay Area
Invest in digital health, enterprise healthcare and MedTech companies with a compelling case for scaling within the NHS, providing hands-on support, evidence-building and connections to health systems in the UK and US.
Late-seed and Series A fund for energy, defence and dual-use tech
Primary commitments and direct investments in venture-backed European companies, with a substantial share in early-stage technology and healthcare.
Seed investments in early-stage B2B software start-ups across Benelux, about 15 planned.
Pre-seed deep tech fund for industrials, energy and compute
Specialist fund for planetary and societal health startups
First institutional fund for early-stage European B2B and AI startups
Growth fund for sustainable tech scale-ups from Series B to IPO
Early-stage AI fund backing startups founded by Greeks abroad
Biotech accelerator creating and backing European biotechs
Fund for cybersecurity, applied AI and digital infrastructure startups
Early-stage fund for AI and data-driven software founders
Lower mid-cap strategy combining buyouts and growth investments in businesses typically valued between €100m and €300m.
Vienna fund backing female-led European startups at pre-seed and seed
Consumer health fund, mainly Series A, backed by Schwabe
Inception-stage fund for Nordic founders from Antler residencies
Female-led healthtech fund investing in clinical innovation, care infrastructure and health data.
Growth investor in energy transition: grid tech, installers, sustainable buildings, home energy and industrial decarbonisation.
Corporate venture fund of Hitachi for startups in data centers, distributed energy, future of work, industrial AI, bio, quantum, fusion, life science and space.
Debut seed fund, 25 to 30 investments across sectors, focused on France and the Nordics.
Early-stage flagship plus opportunity fund for Series B and later
Nordic tech and life science companies at startup and growth stages
Backing women-led startups and products built for women
Fund for startups decarbonising rail, road, air and maritime transport
Seed deeptech in France and Europe: materials, medtech, semiconductors, quantum, energy transition
Partners with entrepreneurs to help high-growth mid-sized European companies expand, including through strategic acquisitions.
Pre-seed and seed, EUR 100k to 1m+ tickets, technology startups with a Cyprus connection
Venture capital in high-growth climate and deep tech companies, often university spin-outs.
Growth equity fund for European B2B tech after product-market fit
Digital health and medtech fund for European founders
Early and growth stage tech companies in Europe, avg ticket EUR 5m
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Six sectors where European expertise, needs and regulatory changes are opening up new markets.
Read on Substack