TLDR: Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage venture capital fund, has closed its fourth flagship fund, Speedinvest 4, at €350 million, surpassing its original goal of €300 million by €50 million. The new capital brings Speedinvest’s total assets under management to more than €1 billion and will be used to support its portfolio companies and help early-stage startups scale. The fund has made multiple investments across Europe in sectors such as fintech, SaaS, healthtech, deeptech, and marketplaces and consumer. The final close of the fund saw participation from several new limited partners, including Aviva, PwC Germany, Bitburger, ODDO BHF, and Abeille Assurances Ventures. Long-term investors such as the European Investment Fund (EIF) also participated.
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Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage venture capital fund, announced it has successfully closed its fourth early-stage fund, Speedinvest 4, at €350 million – €50 million above the original €300 million goal. The new capital brings Speedinvest’s total AuM to more than €1 billion and will be used to deepen Speedinvest’s commitment to providing its portfolio with unparalleled support and helping early-stage startups scale to global success.
The flagship fund dedicated to new early-stage investments held its first close in December 2022 at €300 million. An additional €250 million was also raised in 2022 for selective follow-on co-investments in Speedinvest portfolio companies, bringing the 2022 vintage, including the additional €50 million announced today, to €600 million.
Speedinvest’s sector-focused investment teams have made multiple investments across Europe via Speedinvest 4, including Finres (Fintech / France), Surfboard (SaaS & Infra, UK), Fertifa (Health & TechBio, UK), Cylib (Deep Tech, Germany), Neocarbon (Climate & Industrial Tech, Germany) and Fairlyne (Marketplaces & Consumer, France). A majority of these companies have already raised successful follow-on rounds from tier-one VCs.
Several new LPs joined the final close of Speedinvest 4 including, Aviva, PwC Germany, Bitburger, ODDO BHF, and Abeille Assurances Ventures. Long-term investors, the European Investment Fund (EIF), and first-time investors, Generali, joined the first close alongside other globally recognized government funds, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and large family offices. Many of Speedinvest’s founders have also committed funds, including from Bitpanda, GoStudent, Billie, Planetly, TWAICE, and Yokoy.
Oliver Holle, CEO and Managing Partner at Speedinvest, said: “Now more than ever, Speedinvest remains committed to its sole mission: helping companies build their category-defining business in the early days – when it matters the most. This incremental capital gives us even more firepower to support our courageous, innovative entrepreneurs in their journey to global success as we stay consistent with our target portfolio size.”
“In times where access to capital in our industry has been the scarcest in the last ten or more years, reaching this milestone is an amazing testament to how investors share our vision of creating a pioneering, pan-European investment platform, which is both scalable and highly impactful for our portfolio companies, our LPs, and the wider European ecosystem,” added Holle.
With 40+ investment managers across the continent and offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna, Speedinvest has built the largest seed stage investment team in Europe across its six dedicated vertical teams: Deep Tech, Fintech, Health & TechBio, Marketplaces & Consumer, Climate & Industrial Tech, and SaaS & Infrastructure. It sees more than 60% of all European startups that reach Series A at the pre-seed and seed stages, is ranked among the most active Seed investors in EMEA startups valued at 1bn+ valuations, and was named Seed Fund of the Year by GP Bullhound in 2023.
“Aviva is investing more in early-stage businesses. Becoming an LP in Speedinvest and investing in some of the most promising new digital and tech firms will bring us closer to emerging technology and consumer trends, helping us create great outcomes for our customers,” said Ben Luckett, Managing Director, Venture Capital, Aviva.
“While we are driving innovation forward internally at PwC Germany, we also get inspired by new developments in the market every day. By being a corporate investor in Speedinvest we get the opportunity to support founders inventing new technologies and platforms – ultimately contributing to long-term growth prospects and fostering the European innovation ecosystem,” said Florian Nöll, Partner and Head of Corporate Development & Innovation, PwC Germany.
“We are delighted to announce our commitment to Speedinvest 4, a new step in our journey towards fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Speedinvest has been a leading force in pan-European early-stage venture since 2011 and has become one of Europe’s largest and most active pre-Seed and Seed investors. By committing capital to this final close, we are strengthening our positioning as an investor of the European tech environment, fostering an innovation culture in our businesses to provide cutting-edge solutions to our customers and stakeholders,” commented Madani Safsaf, Head of Abeille Assurances Ventures.
