Speedinvest bets €500m on European startups

Oliver Holle, CEO and Managing Partner at Speedinvest

Speedinvest, the pan-European early-stage venture capital fund, has raised €500 million of new capital to help European startups scale to international success, with 90% already committed by the fund’s investors.

“€300 million is being invested into innovative new pre-seed and seed tech startups through its fourth flagship fund, Speedinvest 4, while the remaining capital is reserved for selective follow-on co-investments in existing Speedinvest portfolio companies to support their long-term growth,” said Speedinvest.

“With previous funds delivering more than 5x gross returns, all institutional investors from Speedinvest 3 have returned.

“Major commitments include New Enterprise Associates (NEA), the European Investment Fund (EIF), and Bpifrance, alongside globally recognized government funds, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and large family offices.

“Many of Speedinvest’s most successful founders have also committed funds, including founders from Bitpanda, GoStudent, Billie, Planetly, TWAICE, and Yokoy.

“In total, this new capital will bring our AUM to more than €1 billion.”

With 40-plus investors across the continent and offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris and Vienna, Speedinvest has built the largest seed stage investment team in Europe.

It sees more than 60% of all European startups that reach Series A at the pre-seed and seed stages and is ranked among the most active seed investors in EMEA unicorns.

Oliver Holle, CEO and Managing Partner at Speedinvest, said: “In just 10 years, Speedinvest has grown from a small €10 million Austrian fund to one of Europe’s largest seed investors.

“This new capital proves there is still room to innovate in European VC.

“As more and more capital and talent flood the ecosystem, further professionalization of our industry is required.

“We have invested everything we have in building a scalable investment platform and are glad to see that our founders truly appreciate and benefit from its value.

“Whether it is our sector-focused teams, our operational support platform, or our multi-office, pan-European approach, all of this is done with one single-minded focus: helping our startups scale to global success.”