The European VC ecosystem is no longer just "the alternative to Silicon Valley." With over $50B deployed annually and firms like Sequoia, Accel, and Index establishing permanent European presence, the continent has developed its own investment DNA—one that increasingly favors sustainable unit economics over blitzscaling.
If you're a post-revenue founder preparing to raise in Europe, you're competing in a market where investors have become significantly more selective.
We analyzed 50 of Europe's most active venture firms to understand where the smart money is flowing in 2026. Here's what we found—and who you should be talking to.
Tier 1: The European Powerhouses
Notable Portfolio: Klarna, Unity, UiPath, N26, Graphcore
Stage Focus: Seed to Growth
Avg Ticket: $2M - $15M (Seed/A)
Sector Focus: Enterprise, Consumer, Fintech, Deep Tech
Sequoia Europe isn't just the US firm with a London office anymore—they're making independent investment decisions and have built one of the continent's strongest portfolios. What sets them apart: they're willing to lead at every stage and have the balance sheet to do meaningful follow-on rounds. If you're enterprise SaaS with ARR north of $2M and strong net retention, they're worth the conversation.
What they're looking for in 2026: Companies that can demonstrate clear competitive moats. They've moved away from "land grab" plays toward businesses with defensible advantages—whether that's network effects, proprietary data, or switching costs.
Notable Portfolio: Spotify, Supercell, UiPath, Deliveroo
Stage Focus: Seed to Growth
Avg Ticket: $2M - $15M (Seed/A)
Sector Focus: Enterprise, Consumer, Fintech, Gaming
Accel's European practice has produced some of the region's biggest exits. They're thesis-driven investors who spend significant time mapping markets before deploying capital. Their sweet spot: categories where they believe a European company can build a global product.
The Accel advantage: Unmatched pattern recognition. They've been backing European companies since before it was fashionable and know how to navigate the unique challenges of building across multiple countries with different languages, regulations, and payment systems.
Notable Portfolio: Revolut, GoCardless, Citymapper, The Hut Group
Stage Focus: Series A to Growth
Avg Ticket: $5M - $25M (Series A/B)
Sector Focus: Enterprise, Consumer, Fintech, Health
Balderton is the quintessential "European-first" firm. Based in London but investing across the continent, they've built a reputation for being founder-friendly while maintaining high standards. They're particularly strong in fintech—if you're building financial infrastructure, they should be on your list.
Why post-revenue founders like them: They move quickly. Their decision-making process is streamlined compared to some multi-office firms, and they can go from first meeting to term sheet in 4-6 weeks for the right company.
Notable Portfolio: Spotify, Facebook (early employee stake), Airbnb, Revolut
Stage Focus: Series A to Growth
Avg Ticket: $5M - $25M (Series A/B)
Sector Focus: Consumer, Enterprise, Fintech
Klaus Hommels' firm punches well above its weight. Lakestar combines Silicon Valley-style conviction investing with European market knowledge. They're known for taking concentrated positions in their highest-conviction deals.
The catch: They're highly selective. They typically only make 8-10 investments per year, so getting their attention requires either exceptional metrics or a truly unique market insight.
Additional Read: The Most Active Early-Stage Funders in the UK Right Now (2026)
Regional Powerhouses: Know Your Geography
Germany: The B2B SaaS Engine
Point Nine Capital
Notable Portfolio: Zendesk, Algolia, Contentful, Typeform
The insight: If you're B2B SaaS and seeking seed to Series A, Point Nine wrote the playbook. They literally published the "SaaS Metrics 2.0" framework that every investor now uses. Expect them to dive deep into your unit economics.
HV Capital
Notable Portfolio: Zalando, Delivery Hero, HelloFresh, FlixBus
The insight: Germany's consumer and marketplace specialists. They've backed four unicorns and understand how to scale consumer businesses in Europe's largest economy.
Cherry Ventures
Notable Portfolio: Flixbus, Auto1, Trade Republic, Forto
The insight: Early-stage specialists with a strong track record in marketplaces and fintech. They're founder-operators who've built companies themselves.
Nordics: Climate Tech & Consumer Innovation
EQT Ventures
Notable Portfolio: Wolt, Einride, Voi, Varjo
Stage Focus: Seed to Growth
Avg Ticket: $2M - $20M
Sector Focus: Consumer, Mobility, Enterprise, Health
EQT Ventures brings growth equity firepower to early-stage investing. Their "Motherbrain" AI platform analyzes millions of data points to identify promising companies before they're on everyone's radar.
Inventure (Finland)
Notable Portfolio: Wolt, Swappie, Oura
The insight: The Nordics' most active early-stage investor. If you're building consumer hardware or health tech, they understand the unique challenges of Nordic market dynamics.
Additional Read: 11 US Early-Stage Investors Writing Checks in 2026
France: The AI & Deep Tech Hub
Elaia Partners
Notable Portfolio: Criteo, Orchestra, Teads, Mirakl
Stage Focus: Seed to Growth
Avg Ticket: $1M - $10M
Sector Focus: Enterprise, Deep Tech, AI
France's leading deep tech investor. They're willing to back technical founders working on complex problems with longer development cycles—something that's increasingly rare in venture.
Alven
Notable Portfolio: Stripe (early European backer), Datadog, Alan, Algolia
The insight: Small fund, massive exits. They focus on 8-10 deals per fund and provide hands-on support. If you get their backing, you get real partnership.
Spain: Marketplace Specialists
Samaipata
Notable Portfolio: Glovo, Jobandtalent, Verse, Belvo
Stage Focus: Seed to Series A
Avg Ticket: $500K - $5M
Sector Focus: Marketplaces, Consumer, Fintech
Spain's most active early-stage investor in marketplaces. They understand the nuances of LatAm expansion better than most European firms.
Additional Read: 15 Fintech Investors in Africa Every Founder Should Know (2026)
The Specialists You're Missing
Speedinvest (Austria) - Fintech and deep tech specialists with $500K-$3M tickets. Strong in Central Europe.
Target Global (Germany) - Growth-stage specialists who can write $5M-$25M checks. They're particularly active in fintech and mobility.
Backed VC (Netherlands) - Pre-seed to seed specialists with $300K-$1M tickets. They're founder-operators who know how to build from zero to one.
Atomico - Skype alumni building one of Europe's strongest growth-stage portfolios. Series A to C focus with $5M-$30M tickets.
The Rest of the Top Investors in Europe
This article covers some of the most active European VCs in our comprehensive directory.
The full resource includes:
- Complete contact information for all 50 firms
- Detailed portfolio company lists
- Specific sector preferences and stage focus
- Average ticket sizes and investment criteria
- Direct investor emails
Download the Complete European VC Directory →
The European VC Landscape: What's Changed
Three major shifts are reshaping European venture:
- The Return of Fundamentals - Growth-at-all-costs is out. Investors are prioritizing unit economics and sustainable CAC payback periods. If you're burning $500K/month with no clear path to profitability, you'll struggle.
- Geographic Specialization - Germany dominates B2B SaaS and industrial tech. The Nordics lead in climate and sustainability. France is becoming the AI/deep tech hub. Spain punches above its weight in marketplaces. Location matters more than ever.
- Stage Concentration - The Series A crunch is real. Pre-seed and seed rounds are still getting done, but Series A bar has risen dramatically. You need stronger metrics to cross that threshold.
What This Means for Your Fundraising Strategy
The European VC market in 2026 rewards preparation. The firms featured here collectively deploy over $10B annually, but they're also more disciplined than ever. Your investor targeting strategy should be as thoughtful as your product strategy.
Three tactical takeaways:
- Match stage and ticket size precisely. Don't pitch Lakestar if you need $2M—they start at $5M. Don't pitch Backed VC if you need $5M—they top out at $1M. Mismatched asks waste everyone's time.
- Lead with traction, not vision. Unlike 2020-2021, European VCs want to see revenue, retention, and unit economics before they'll engage seriously. Have your metrics deck ready.
- Use geography strategically. If you're based in Berlin building B2B SaaS, start with German investors who understand your market. Don't start with a London-based consumer investors.
The firms in this directory represent the most active, highest-quality capital in Europe. Use this intelligence to build a targeted outreach list, not a spray-and-pray approach.
Finally,
Finding the right European investors is only half the equation. The other half is how you manage the outreach, the follow-ups, and the diligence that comes after interest is shown.
That’s where Pitchwise comes in.
Pitchwise helps founders manage that transition. You can share your deck through secure, trackable links, see who is engaging and where attention is concentrated, and move serious conversations into structured data rooms where you have full control and visibility without scrambling for documents. Get started: app.pitchwise.se
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