Backed VC hits €86 million Fund III cap and celebrates 100 investments across Europe’s DeepTech scene

British venture firm Backed VC has closed its third fund, Backed 3, at its €86 million ($100 million) cap, alongside making its 100th investment, in order to expand its focus on frontier technologies – including AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure and manufacturing automation.

Close to 50% of Backed 3 was committed from 10 institutional Fund of Funds, with new investors such as Isomer Capital and Wunderland Capital. Backed 3 also now counts over 50 family offices and entrepreneurs as investors, 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, the European FrontierTech and early-stage venture capital landscape has seen a marked increase in new fund activity, reflecting sustained investor confidence in AI, automation and DeepTech sectors.

French firms have been especially active — Ventech closed its sixth fund at €175 million, aiming to support around 35 early-stage companies across Europe, while Serena completed the first closing of its fourth fund at €200 million, with a focus on applied AI and the energy transition. In the UK, Evantic Capital debuted a €341 million fund to back B2B AI startups across Europe, the US and Israel. Germany’s May Ventures launched with more than €30 million to invest in early-stage AI startups in the DACH region, and Barcelona-based Masia set out to deploy €20 million across frontier-tech ventures.

Together, these 2025 announcements account for roughly €766 million in new European fund commitments.

Against this backdrop, Backed VC’s €86 million Fund III represents a focused continuation of the UK’s contribution to Europe’s DeepTech ecosystem. While smaller than some of the continental vehicles, Backed’s emphasis on AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure and manufacturing automation positions it within a specialised segment of the broader surge in frontier-technology 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 inception in 2016, Backed says they have differentiated themselves by operating at the intersection of venture capital and events to gather the entrepreneurial community. Backed runs an extensive VC event programme globally, with 40 events per year, hosting over 4000 founders and investors.

During Slush next week, Backed will host six separate events for 2000 guests.

The firm partnered early on with the founders of companies such as Invisible Technologies, Thought Machine, General Intuition and Flow Engineering – all of which have raised $20-150 million follow-on funding rounds in the last quarter from Tier 1 US firms 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 first funds – Backed’s first fund is a top decile fund and returned a further 35% of capital to investors in October 2025 – Backed is scaling its ambition with Backed 3 with a larger fund, increased presence in the US and an expanded global events strategy.

Backed 3 will focus on three areas of frontier tech, in which Backed has previously seeded unicorns: AI-native therapeutics, blockchain and banking infrastructure and manufacturing automation. This fund has already re-invested in 6 of its strongest founders from previous funds Backed leads pre-seed or seed stage rounds with investments between €431k ($500k) and €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 are now at a landmark 100 pre-Seed or Seed investments, of which five companies have already achieved unicorn status with valuations above $1 billion and eighteen have reached an enterprise value of over $100 million.

Backed also has a 90% investment follow-on rate from Seed, measured by the companies closing a subsequent funding round, becoming profitable 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.”

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