Bucharest, Romania · Startup Bitdefender is a Bucharest-founded global cybersecurity company providing advanced threat prevention, detection, and response solutions for consumers, enterprises, and managed service providers. Founded in 2001 by Florin Talpes, the company has grown into one of the world's leading cybersecurity vendors, protecting over 500 million systems across 170+ countries with technologies spanning endpoint protection, network security, cloud workload security, and extended detection and response (XDR). Bitdefender's threat research labs are among the most respected in the industry, and the company licenses its detection technology to numerous other security vendors. With over 1,800 employees, Bitdefender is Romania's largest and most globally recognized technology company.
Copenhagen, Denmark · Person Partner and co-founder of Heartcore Capital. Based in Copenhagen, he invests in consumer technology and software founders across Europe and has been part of the firm since its 2007 origins as Sunstone Technology Ventures.
Stockholm, Sweden · Angel Investor Daniel Ek is the co-founder and CEO of Spotify, the world's largest music streaming platform, which he launched in 2006 and took public on the NYSE in 2018. Outside Spotify, Ek is an active angel investor and a key figure in Stockholm's thriving tech ecosystem. Through his personal investments and Prima Materia, his private investment firm, Ek backs early-stage European startups across healthcare, AI, defense tech, and consumer technology. He invested EUR 100M into Prima Materia to support moonshot companies working on some of Europe's hardest problems. Ek has also backed several Nordic startups directly as an angel, and his presence in the ecosystem has helped attract global attention and talent to Sweden's startup scene. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful European tech founders of his generation.
London, United Kingdom · Person Partner at Index Ventures, based in London, and one of Europe's most influential technology investors. He has led or backed Discord, Dropbox, Figma, DeepL, Etsy and Supercell, and topped the Forbes Midas List Europe in 2025. He has been central to Index's transatlantic consumer and design-led software franchise.
Paris, France · Venture Capital Daphni is a Paris-based venture capital firm founded in 2015 by Pierre-Eric Leibovici, managing over €500 million in assets under management across three funds. The firm targets seed and Series A investments in European technology startups, writing cheques from €500K to €10M, and distinguishes itself through a community-driven model that engages its network of founders, operators, and investors as active contributors to portfolio companies. Daphni's third fund, Daphni Blue, began its first close at €200 million in March 2025, backed by LPs including Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, Bpifrance, and the European Investment Fund. Notable portfolio companies include Back Market, Swile, and Epic, with three unicorns, one IPO, and 22 acquisitions across the portfolio.
Istanbul, Turkey · Venture Capital Esas Ventures is the venture capital arm of Esas Holding, Turkey's largest family-owned investment group backed by the Şevket Sabancı family, founders of the Sabancı Holding conglomerate. Founded in 2018 and operating from Istanbul with a London presence, the fund has built a portfolio of 38+ companies including four unicorns, with Getir, Deel, and Misfits Market among its most notable exits and holdings. The firm invests primarily at Seed and Series A stages in B2B SaaS, marketplaces, and consumer tech, with a global mandate spanning Turkey, the US, and Europe. Esas Ventures backed Insider through its $500M Series E led by General Atlantic, underscoring its capacity for large follow-on rounds.
Zagreb, Croatia · Venture Capital Fil Rouge Capital was founded in 2014 in Zagreb and is the most active early-stage VC fund exclusively dedicated to Croatian startups, having deployed capital into over 170 companies. Its second fund, Fil Rouge Capital II (€45 million), was co-funded by the European Investment Fund with €32.55 million under the Croatian Venture Capital Initiative. Founding Partners Julien Coustaury and Roger Blott, joined by Partner Stevica Kuharski, focus on pre-seed, seed, and Series A across all sectors, with notable portfolio outcomes including participation in the ecosystems around Infobip and Rimac. The fund has recorded 2 unicorns and 12 acquisitions across its portfolio.
Kyiv, Ukraine · Venture Capital Flyer One Ventures is a Ukrainian early-stage VC originally founded in 2018 as Genesis Investments by Vital Laptenok (co-founder of Genesis and BetterMe), rebranding under its current name in 2021. The firm has invested nearly €39M across 95 startups in Ukraine and Central & Eastern Europe across four funds. In July 2025 it closed Fund V at a target of €50M, backed by EBRD (€6.5M) and IFC (€5M), focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage founders from Ukraine and CEE building global products. The fund maintains a Kyiv identity and active pipeline of 1,300+ Ukrainian and regional founders despite operating with a distributed team.
Stockholm, Sweden · Person Partner at Northzone in Stockholm, investing in consumer and marketplace companies across the Nordics and Europe. She backs early-stage founders and supports them through scaling and follow-on rounds.
Copenhagen, Denmark · Person Partner and CEO of Heartcore Capital, the Copenhagen consumer-tech VC he co-founded in 2007 (as Sunstone Technology Ventures). He has backed European category leaders including Tink, Trustpilot and GetYourGuide and is one of the Nordics' most active early-stage investors.
Helsinki, Finland · Venture Capital Lifeline Ventures was founded in 2009 in Helsinki by Petteri Koponen and Timo Ahopelto and has grown into Finland's largest VC focused on unlisted growth companies, raising its €400 million Fund VI in 2025. The firm invests at the angel and seed stage with tickets of €100,000–€2 million, backing sector-agnostic founders from day one across Europe. Lifeline has seeded most of Finland's best-known unicorns, including Supercell (acquired by Tencent for $8.6B), Wolt (acquired by DoorDash for $8.1B), Oura, ICEYE, and Aiven. With over 115 portfolio companies and more than a dozen exits, it is the benchmark early-stage firm in the Finnish ecosystem.
London, United Kingdom · Person Partner at Accel focused on fintech, marketplaces and consumer companies. He has led or backed Trade Republic, Vinted, Tines, Swan and Synthesia, working with European founders from seed through growth.
Luxembourg, Luxembourg · Venture Capital Mangrove Capital Partners is one of Europe's most storied early-stage venture capital firms, founded in Luxembourg in 2000 by Mark Tluszcz, Gerard Lopez, and Hans-Jürgen Schmitz. The firm manages over $1 billion in assets and has backed 8 unicorns, including Skype (a $2 million investment that returned $200 million) and Wix (an $8 million bet that returned $700 million). Mangrove invests at pre-seed and seed stage across Europe and Israel, with a team spanning Luxembourg, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, and London. Portfolio companies include Flo Health, WalkMe, K Health, Talkwalker, and Doctena.
London, United Kingdom · Person Partner at Index Ventures focused on consumer, marketplace and mobility companies. He has led the firm's investments in Revolut, Deliveroo, Personio and Algolia, working closely with European founders scaling into global markets.
Berlin, Germany · Person Partner at Heartcore Capital, based in Berlin, who joined from Accel in 2013. He invests in consumer and software companies across Europe and is a well-known writer and commentator on early-stage venture capital.
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg · Startup Luxembourg-based privacy-first social network designed as a European alternative to algorithm-driven platforms. Offers chronological feeds, no behavioural tracking, no AI-generated content, and a distance feature letting users control how far their posts travel. Subscription model (€2.95–5.95/month). Raised €655K pre-seed from European investors. 36,000 early-access users.
Stockholm, Sweden · Person General Partner at Northzone, the pan-European venture firm, splitting time between Stockholm and New York. A long-standing fixture of Nordic venture, he led Northzone's landmark investments in Spotify and iZettle and has shaped the firm's growth into a multi-billion-euro platform.
Yerevan, Armenia · Startup PicsArt is a Yerevan-founded creative platform and photo/video editing suite that has grown into one of the most downloaded creative apps globally, with over 150 million monthly active users. The platform combines AI-powered editing tools, templates, stickers, and a creator community into a mobile-first experience used by casual creators and small businesses alike. Founded in 2011 by Hovhannes Avoyan, PicsArt raised over $130 million and represents Armenia's most prominent consumer technology export, demonstrating that world-class creative tools can be built and scaled from the region.
Berlin, Germany · Venture Capital Project A Ventures is a Berlin-based early-stage operator VC founded in 2012 by Florian Heinemann, Uwe Horstmann, Christian Weiss, Ben Fischer, Anton Waitz, and Thies Sander. The firm closed its fifth and largest fund at €325 million in 2025, bringing total assets under management to approximately €1.2 billion. What sets Project A apart is its in-house platform of over 140 functional experts in engineering, business intelligence, marketing, sales, and recruiting who work directly inside portfolio companies alongside capital. Investments span seed through Series B across SaaS, fintech, logistics, and consumer technology, with a notable portfolio including Trade Republic, sennder, Catawiki, WorldRemit, KRY, and Voi.
Istanbul, Turkey · Venture Capital Re-Pie is Turkey's first and largest alternative portfolio management company, established in 2015 under a Capital Markets Board licence and managing assets worth over 73.5 billion TL across 41 venture capital, 36 real estate, and 13 securities investment funds. Its venture capital arm backs Seed to Series A technology companies with cheques of $1M–$10M, with a notable portfolio including Getir, Hepsiburada, ikas, Modanisa, Colendi, and Ace Games. Re-Pie combines financial structuring expertise from its broader asset management platform with active strategic and operational support for portfolio companies. The firm is headquartered in Istanbul and is regulated by Turkey's CMB.
Kyiv, Ukraine · Venture Capital Roosh Ventures is an entrepreneur-led Ukrainian VC fund founded in 2020 by Den Dmytrenko (co-founder of Reface and the AI HOUSE community) and Serhiy Tokarev, an AI entrepreneur and investor with 20+ years of experience. Operating with $40M AUM and 40+ portfolio companies, the fund takes a co-investment approach and focuses on pre-seed through Series A deals in enterprise SaaS, fintech, gaming, and AI across EU and US markets. Notable portfolio companies include Deel ($12B valuation), Oura, and Pipe; the fund's most recent disclosed investment was in Tower in March 2026. Despite the ongoing war, Roosh maintains its Kyiv headquarters and Ukrainian identity.
Paris, France · Angel Investor Roxanne Varza is an Iranian-American tech executive and angel investor who serves as Director of Station F, the world's largest startup campus in Paris. Before leading Station F, Varza was a prominent tech journalist and community builder, working at Microsoft Ventures and TechCrunch. In her role at Station F she oversees a campus hosting over 1,000 startups and 30+ partner programs. Alongside her operational role, Varza is an active angel investor backing early-stage founders in France and across Europe, with a particular focus on diverse founders, consumer tech, and community-driven platforms. She is consistently ranked among France's most influential tech figures and frequently advises on ecosystem development.
Kyiv, Ukraine · Venture Capital SMRK VC is a Kyiv-based seed-stage fund founded in 2013 by Oleksandr Kosovan and Andriy Dovzhenko, with a $10M initial fund focused on IT products at seed and Series A. The fund has backed 23+ companies, with a portfolio spanning Ukraine, the US, and Europe across enterprise software, B2B SaaS, and consumer tech. Notable investments include Allset, Preply, Competera, and Ajax Systems; the fund made its most recent disclosed investment in OpenBabylon, a Ukrainian AI translation startup, in February 2026. SMRK has continued dealmaking through the wartime period and remains one of the longer-standing native Ukrainian VC funds still actively investing.
London, United Kingdom · Person Partner at Accel and one of Europe's most influential venture investors, leading the firm's London office. She has backed Spotify, Monzo, BeReal and KRY, and focuses on AI, consumer and fintech companies across Europe and Israel.
Oslo, Norway · Person Norwegian entrepreneur, CEO and co-founder of Xplora Technologies, a company that makes smartwatches and connected devices for children. He founded the company after temporarily losing sight of his son, and is a confirmed speaker at the Y Oslo 2026 conference.
Tallinn, Estonia · Venture Capital Founded in 2018 by Joel Aasmäe, Kimmo Irpola, Taavi Lepmets, and Ivar Siimar — veterans behind LHV Bank and New Economy Ventures, the Baltics' first VC fund — Trind Ventures focuses exclusively on consumer and consumerised B2B software startups across Europe. Its €55M Fund II, closed in 2022, targets 30–40 companies with initial tickets up to €1M and follow-ons to €5M, covering pre-seed and seed stages. The firm has offices in Tallinn, Helsinki, Munich, and Riga and has backed 75+ companies including Ready Player Me, Neural DSP, Tise, Rangeforce, and Fractory, distinguishing itself in the Baltic ecosystem through its pure-play consumer and creator-economy angle.
Berlin, Germany · Angel Investor Verena Pausder is a prominent German entrepreneur, angel investor, and advocate for digital education. She founded Fox & Sheep and the HABA Digitalwerkstatt, which teach coding and digital skills to children. Pausder has invested in numerous early-stage startups across edtech, consumer tech, and impact-driven ventures. She serves as President of the German Startups Association (Startup-Verband) and authored the bestselling book 'Das Neue Land,' which calls for a more innovative and digitally literate Germany. Her angel investments typically focus on founders building products that combine technology with social impact, and she is one of the most influential voices shaping Germany's startup policy landscape.
Sofia, Bulgaria · Venture Capital Founded in 2020 and based in Sofia, Vitosha Venture Partners is a €26M micro-VC co-financed by the European Structural and Investment Funds via the Bulgarian Fund of Funds. Led by a six-partner team including Erik Anderson, Max Gurvits, and Marin Iliev, the fund targets Bulgarian and Bulgaria-related early-stage tech startups with tickets ranging from €25K to €1M across seed and pre-seed rounds. The fund has invested in over 100 companies across enterprise applications, fintech, consumer tech, and vertical SaaS, with recent deals including Krik.bg (media-tech) and AIoTcloud. A second fund expanding to the wider SEE region was publicly signalled in 2024.
Paris, France · Person Partner at Heartcore Capital, based in Paris, who joined from Goldman Sachs in 2013. He leads investments in consumer technology and marketplaces across France and Southern Europe.