Seed startup ecosystem
We track 17 organisations in this sector across 6+ countries.
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Almi Invest
Almi Invest is the venture capital arm of the Swedish state-owned group Almi, investing risk capital in early-stage startups alongside private co-investors. One of the most active early-stage investors in Sweden, it backs companies across technology, life sciences and cleantech and recycles returns into new companies.
aws Gruenderfonds
The aws Gruenderfonds is an Austrian venture capital fund managed within Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), the promotional bank of the Austrian federal government. It provides equity and equity-like financing to young, high-growth Austrian startups, typically at seed and early stages, to help them scale and attract follow-on private investment.
BackingMinds
BackingMinds is a Stockholm-based venture capital firm founded in 2016 that deliberately invests in founders and markets overlooked by mainstream investors, backing early-stage technology companies in the Nordics and beyond. Co-founded by Sara Wimmercranz and Susanne Najafi, it focuses on 'blind spots' where it sees underestimated potential.
COBIN Angels
COBIN Angels is Poland's largest business-angel network, founded in 2015 and based at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Warsaw, with a community of 160+ active private investors. It syndicates pre-seed and seed rounds (typical tickets of PLN 100,000–450,000 per angel), runs founder education and pitch sessions, and connects startups with experienced operators. The network is led by founder and managing partner Robert Ługowski, CEO Dominik Krawczyk and managing partner Paweł Michalski, with an investment board including Kasia Pieniądz and communications led by Tomasz Laskowicz. COBIN organises the annual Business Angel of the Year (BAY) awards — now in its eighth edition — and co-publishes Poland's business-angel market report with the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, PKO Bank Polski and PFR Ventures. It is a member of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) and participates in cross-border EU syndication programmes. Notable syndicate investments include Growbots, Salesbook, SkySnap, Prosoma and the pet-care startup Petsy (a €1.1M angel round in 2024).
Elkstone Ventures
Elkstone is a Dublin-based investment firm and one of Ireland's most active private venture investors, backing early-stage Irish technology and life-science startups alongside its broader private-markets and wealth activities. Its venture arm provides seed and early-stage capital and hands-on support to founders building high-growth companies.
Fast Track Malmo
Fast Track Malmö is a startup accelerator based in Malmö, Sweden, that has gained recognition for its founder-friendly approach and strong results. Launched in 2015 and backed by Malmö’s public and private stakeholders (including Malmö City, Minc incubator, and VC firm Hax), Fast Track Malmö (FTM) selects around 10 startups per year from around the world for its program. The accelerator provides an up-front investment of €50,000 for 5% equity – a relatively generous seed deal – along with a 3-month intensive program and free housing for international teams. Each cohort gets access to mentors from successful Swedish startups (like King, Truecaller, etc.) and a series of workshops on product, growth, and fundraising. FTM has been particularly successful in drawing startups from across Europe to Malmö, turning the city into a surprising startup hotspot. Alumni have gone on to raise over $100M collectively. For instance, Worldfavor (sustainability data platform) and Bibliotech (UK edtech) both participated in FTM and later raised significant rounds. The program culminates in Demo Day during Malmö Startup Live, where founders pitch to a curated audience of Nordic and international investors. Fast Track Malmö prides itself on its supportive community – it often ranks highly in founder NPS surveys. Notably, 70%+ of its startups secure funding within 6 months post-program. Malmö’s strengths in game development and IoT sometimes reflect in FTM cohorts (some gaming startups and hardware/IoT teams have come through). Another distinctive trait: FTM works closely with Minc, the Malmö incubator, to offer follow-on incubation and soft landings for teams that relocate to Sweden. This extended support helped Fast Track Malmö produce success stories despite operating in a smaller ecosystem. By 2023, the accelerator reported its alumni have created 100+ jobs and 30% of them have at least one female founder – stats that underscore its impact and inclusive ethos. Fast Track Malmö demonstrates that with smart funding and community backing, even a mid-sized city can accelerate startups to global success.
Firstminute Capital
Firstminute Capital is a London-based seed-stage venture firm founded by Brent Hoberman (Lastminute.com, Founders Forum) and Spencer Crawley. The fund backs first-cheque seed rounds across consumer, B2B SaaS, deep tech, and AI, with a strong LP base that includes more than 100 European founders. Firstminute is known for its global founder network and for taking convicted bets very early in a startup's life.
KAYA Ventures
KAYA is a Prague-based venture capital firm that invests early in ambitious founders building category-defining technology companies, staying involved from inception through to market leadership. Operating as an equal partnership, it backs Central European and international startups across software and deep tech.
LocalGlobe (Phoenix Court)
LocalGlobe is a London-based venture capital firm, part of the Phoenix Court group founded by Robin and Saul Klein, that focuses on seed-stage investments in the UK and Europe. It has been an early backer of companies such as Wise, Citymapper, Improbable and Zoopla, and runs a family of funds spanning seed through growth stages.
Luminar Ventures
Luminar Ventures is a Stockholm-based seed-stage venture capital firm and one of the most active early investors in the Nordics, providing seed financing together with hands-on operational support. It focuses on digital technology startups, backing founders from the earliest stages and helping them build toward Series A and beyond.
Market One Capital
Market One Capital (MOC) is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Warsaw and Barcelona that specialises in marketplaces and platforms with network effects. It backs pre-seed and seed founders across Europe building two-sided marketplaces and B2B platforms, and its portfolio includes companies such as Docplanner and Packhelp.
Passion Capital
Passion Capital is an early-stage London VC founded in 2011 by Eileen Burbidge, Stefan Glaenzer, and Robert Dighero. The fund backs European early-stage technology companies, with a portfolio that has included Monzo, GoCardless, and DueDil. Passion is recognised for hands-on founder support and has been an influential voice in UK tech-policy discussions for over a decade.
Plural
Plural is a London-based venture fund founded in 2022 by operator-investors Taavet Hinrikus (Wise), Sten Tamkivi (Skype, Teleport), Ian Hogarth (Songkick), and Carina Namih. The first fund closed at around EUR 250M to back European pre-seed and seed companies, with a thesis centred on founder-led investing — every partner has built and scaled a venture-backed company. Plural is positioned as a counter to traditional partner-led firms, with deep operator support.
Seedcamp
Seedcamp is a London-based pre-seed and seed fund founded in 2007, often described as Europe's seed fund, that backs founders building globally ambitious technology companies. Its portfolio includes some of Europe's best-known startups, such as Wise, Revolut and UiPath, and it provides founders with capital and access to an extensive expert network.
Shilling
Shilling (Shilling VC) is a Lisbon-based early-stage venture capital firm, running a fund of around 52 million euros that backs entrepreneurs from pre-seed and seed stages. Known for a founder-friendly model that shares fund profits with its portfolio founders, it invests primarily in Portuguese and Southern European technology startups and supports them as they scale internationally.
Underline Ventures
Underline Ventures is a Romanian venture capital firm launched in 2020 by Bogdan Iordache, focused on pre-seed and seed investments in technology startups across Central and Eastern Europe. The firm invests EUR 100K-500K in software, SaaS, and digital platforms, targeting founders building from Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, and the broader CEE region. Underline differentiates through deep local ecosystem knowledge and strong ties to the Romanian tech community, including How to Web, the region's leading tech conference. The firm aims to be the first institutional check for ambitious CEE founders with global ambitions.
Walerud Ventures
Walerud Ventures is a Stockholm-based venture firm that backs Nordic deep-tech companies at the pre-seed and seed stage, working hands-on as investors, advisers and part-time operators rather than passive backers. Founded by members of the Walerud family, it focuses on 'planet-positive' science and technology and has helped build early Nordic deep-tech companies.
