Backed VC Closes €86M Fund III And Reaches 100 European DeepTech Investments

The fund will focus on frontier technologies, including AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure and manufacturing automation.

Nearly 50% of Backed 3 came from 10 institutional Fund of Funds, with new participants such as Isomer Capital and Wunderland Capital. The fund also includes over 50 family offices and entrepreneurs, including founders from Backed’s existing portfolio.

Andre de Haes, co-founder at Backed said: “Backed partners with founders striving to build the first trillion dollar European businesses, in spaces where most do not dare to build. Over the last decade, we have built a community of humans who have the audacity to take on companies like Nvidia, Google and Goldman Sachs. Their boldness has led to their success. It has created a fly wheel, where our founders are now investing as LPs back into our new fund.”

In 2025, European frontier-tech and early-stage venture capital has seen a surge in fund activity, reflecting strong investor confidence in AI, automation, and DeepTech.

French firms have been especially active: Ventech closed its sixth fund at €175 million for ~35 early-stage companies, while Serena completed the first closing of its fourth fund at €200 million, targeting applied AI and the energy transition. In the UK, Evantic Capital launched a €341 million fund for B2B AI startups across Europe, the US, and Israel.

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Germany’s May Ventures debuted with €30 million for early-stage AI in the DACH region, and Barcelona-based Masia plans to deploy €20 million across frontier-tech ventures.

Together, these 2025 fund launches total roughly €766 million. Within this context, Backed VC’s €86 million Fund III represents a focused UK contribution to Europe’s DeepTech ecosystem, specialising in AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure and manufacturing automation. While smaller than some continental funds, it targets a highly specialised segment of frontier-tech investment.

Alex Brunicki, Co-Founder at Backed said: “I am inspired by the exceptional talent emerging in Europe at a time of unprecedented technical opportunity, and energised by the search to find those with authentic global ambitions. We want to back generational European founders building companies that will stand the test of time and who are choosing to build their businesses where they are most primed for success, not for convenience.”

Since its founding in 2016, Backed VC has distinguished itself by blending venture capital with community-building, creating a global network of entrepreneurs and investors. The firm runs around 40 events annually, bringing together over 4,000 founders and investors worldwide.

At Slush next week, Backed will host six separate events for 2,000 attendees.

Early partnerships with founders of companies such as Invisible Technologies, Thought Machine, General Intuition, and Flow Engineering have proven successful, with these startups raising $20–150 million in recent follow-on rounds from top-tier US investors including Sequoia, General Catalyst, Greycroft, and Khosla.

Chris Wade, Co-Founder at Isomer Capital, said:“We are excited to join Backed Ventures Fund III and their impressive journey of investing in world-class founders who are developing the next generation of global companies. Team Isomer gained conviction as a result of prior funds’ performance and an actual demonstration of an LP partnership in firm development and co-investments.”

Following two high-performing funds Backed’s first fund ranked in the top decile and returned an additional 35% to investors in October 2025 the firm is scaling with Backed 3, featuring a larger fund, expanded US presence, and a broader global events strategy.

Backed 3 will target three frontier-tech areas where the firm has previously seeded unicorns: AI-native therapeutics, blockchain and banking infrastructure, and manufacturing automation. The fund has already re-invested in six top founders from prior portfolios and focuses on pre-seed and seed rounds, with ticket sizes ranging from €431k ($500k) to €4.3 million ($5 million).

Lukas Bennemann, Founding Partner at Wunderland Capital, added: “We’re delighted to join the Backed VC story in Fund III and support the team as part of the LPAC. Backed has built an exceptional reputation among founders and has matured impressively, showing a repeatable edge at the intersection of technical and scientific breakthroughs. The team genuinely radiates something special they connect with founders on a deeper level, which truly matters in the highly competitive seed landscape.

“You can tell who a ‘Backed Founder’ is, showing clearly the culture and focus of the team. Their relentless drive to achieve the best outcomes continues to make them stand out in the European VC landscape.”

Backed has reached a milestone of 100 pre-seed or seed investments, with five portfolio companies achieving unicorn status ($1B+ valuations) and 18 exceeding $100M in enterprise value.

The firm also maintains a 90% follow-on rate, measured by portfolio companies raising subsequent rounds, reaching profitability, or being acquired.

Pim de Witte, CEO at General Intuition: “Alex was truly the first to believe and Backed supported us from the very start of our journey through some very difficult moments. They are relentless in support of founders and fight when it matters most. It is fair to say, General Intuition might not exist without them. They are world-class, early-stage investors.”

About Backed VC

Backed VC invests in Europe’s next-generation founders, supporting bold entrepreneurs with global ambitions. Focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage startups, the firm backs frontier technologies including AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure, and manufacturing automation while providing capital, guidance, and community connections to help founders scale internationally and achieve lasting impact.