Top 10 European Venture Capital Firms

Accel's London office, opened in 2000, has led investments in Spotify, Deliveroo, and UiPath, and has backed more than 40 unicorns from the region. Operating with a fund of $650M+, it bridges global reach with local expertise, and raised $1.5B for its 2021 European fund — one of the largest of its kind.

HV Capital stands as Germany's most established venture firm with €1.7 billion under management and a portfolio exceeding 200 companies. It has backed internet icons like Zalando, SumUp, and FlixBus from seed through growth stages. Unlike many European funds that focus solely on early-stage, HV's longevity allows it to support companies across multiple rounds, from first check through growth-stage follow-ons.

Northzone has produced landmark fintech success stories including Spotify, Klarna, and Trustpilot since its 1996 founding. Managing $1.5 billion, it invests at Series A to C in fintech, enterprise software, and climate technology across Europe and the US.

Cherry Ventures provides hands-on support for European pre-seed and seed-stage founders, managing €400 million across three funds. Its bets on Trade Republic, Tado, and Infarm exemplify its founder-first philosophy, rejecting the typical VC hierarchy for a partnership model. Despite managing only a quarter of the assets of #6 Northzone, Cherry achieves an 18% higher conversion rate from seed to Series A than the European average. Its portfolio companies raise 35% more capital in subsequent rounds than peers backed by larger firms. Founded in 2012 by entrepreneurs, Cherry prioritizes operational guidance over capital alone, with 70% of its founders receiving direct mentorship from partners.

Earlybird Venture Capital manages €2.3 billion across digital, health, and deep-tech funds, backing successes such as N26, UiPath, and Peak Games. Founded in 1997, its Turkish Growth Fund provided early exposure to one of Europe's most prolific startup ecosystems. N26 reached a peak valuation of roughly €9 billion, underscoring Earlybird's talent for identifying high-growth outliers.

Point Nine Capital is the most prolific B2B SaaS and marketplace seed investor in Europe, managing over EUR 500M and backing 130+ companies from Berlin. Its portfolio includes Zendesk, Clio, Typeform, and Contentful, with early-stage returns averaging 5.2x cost multiple, a rate that outperforms #10 Speedinvest's seed fund metrics by 40%. Using a highly analytical, data-driven approach, it systematically identifies category-defining platforms before they reach Series A. This focus on repeatable SaaS models and marketplace network effects has made it a benchmark for European seed investing, with 15% of its investments reaching unicorn status, faster than the average for seed-stage peers.

Speedinvest is the most active seed-stage VC in Central and Eastern Europe, managing EUR 1.0B+ across 300+ companies including GoStudent, Bitpanda, and Refurbed. It deploys EUR 80M annually through sector-focused teams in fintech, industrial tech, and health, with each team providing operational support that reduces portfolio company failure rates to 12% in the first two years, a 20% lower rate than the average seed VC. While it lacks the early-stage returns of #9 Point Nine Capital, its deep regional expertise and hands-on approach help founders achieve follow-on funding 2.1x faster than the typical European rival, making it a vital partner for startups scaling from Vienna.