Speedinvest Announces €500 Million in New Funds To Help European Tech Startups Scale to Global Success

Want to know the real reason we’ve raised €500 million of new capital? Our CEO and Managing Partner, Oliver Holle, shares our vision for the future of Speedinvest and European VC here. It’s a must-read!

You can learn more about the new funds and how they will be used in Bloomberg, Sifted, Handelsblatt, Maddyness, and tech.eu or by reading our full press release below.

€500M To Help European Startups Scale To Global Success

Speedinvest’s six sector-focused investment teams staffed with 40+ investors are committed to funding Europe’s most promising pre-Seed and Seed startups.

• Launched as a €10M micro-fund in 2011, Speedinvest is now one of Europe’s most active Seed investors with more than €1bn in AuM 
• Portfolio includes 6 unicorns (Bitpanda, GoStudent, Open, TIER Mobility, Wayflyer, wefox) and more than 20 ‘future unicorns’
• Speedinvest to double down on its sector-focused strategy and operational support platform to further empower its portfolio companies

‍13 December 2022 - Speedinvest, a pan-European early-stage venture capital fund, announces it has raised €500 million of new capital to help European startups scale to global success, with 90 percent 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.

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 percent 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. Speedinvest also h as more than 20 future unicorns in our portfolio (as defined by Dealroom), including Adverity, Billie, CoachHub, Schüttflix, TWAICE, and Primer.

Despite growing its fund size, Speedinvest remains committed to being the first institutional investor in early-stage startups and supplying them with the hands-on support they need to scale. Speedinvest's in-house Platform+ team and global network of experts will continue to offer portfolio companies free, tailored operational support in the areas they need it most. This includes access to Speedinvest's corporate partner network to accelerate market entry and product feedback.

Felix Ohswald, Founder of GoStudent, says, "As our first institutional, pre-seed investor, Speedinvest has been with us since the very beginning. And the team has never taken a backseat. From supporting with follow-on funding to our growth strategy, and expansion across Europe, they have been instrumental in GoStudent becoming a unicorn and one of the world's most valuable EdTech companies."

Speedinvest 4 will also allow the fund to double down on its proven sector-focused strategy, with new investments made across its six dedicated vertical teams: Deep Tech, Fintech, Health, Marketplaces & Consumer, Climate Tech and Industrial Tech, and SaaS. Initial investments from the fund include Autone (SaaS, Italy), Drop (Fintech, France / US), Solvo.ai (Deep Tech, UK), The Lowdown (Digital Health, UK), and NeoCarbon (Climate Tech and Industrial Tech, Germany).

Oliver Holle, CEO and Managing Partner at Speedinvest, says: “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."

Speedinvest LPs have also committed €200 million to further support its most successful portfolio companies as they continue to scale, co-investing alongside the world’s very best growth funds.

Scott Sandell, Managing General Partner, NEA, says, "Speedinvest is a sought-after partner for growing companies across Europe's startup ecosystem, with an approach to company building for the long-term that is very much aligned with NEA's. As we deepen our firm's commitment to the region, our long-term partnership with Speedinvest continues to be among our most valuable in Europe."

* Bpifrance has invested from its own funds and from its Digital Fund of Funds

Read more about our investment strategy and vision for the future as we embark on the next stage of our journey.

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