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Top European Venture Capital Firms 2026

Top European Venture Capital Firms 2026 - Hummingbird, Balderton, 20VC, Atomico and HV Capital investing in the best founders.

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Overview

Europe’s venture capital landscape features experienced generalists and founder-led funds investing across technology sectors from seed to growth. This guide profiles six leading European VCs – Hummingbird Ventures, Balderton Capital, 20VC, Atomico, HV Capital (plus additional context on Index Ventures and Accel) – summarizing each firm’s focus, fund size, and headquarters. Aswell as notable portfolio companies, recent investments (2024–2026), and flagship successes/exits.

Hummingbird Ventures

Hummingbird Ventures is a London-headquartered early-stage VC founded in 2010. It identifies “nonlinear founders with deep-rooted ambition” and invests globally from $0.5M seed checks up to $50M follow-ons. Its focus is on transformative technology startups at seed/Series A. The firm has raised multiple funds (second fund in 2012 was 10x return) and currently backs founders in fintech, biotech, consumer tech, etc.

Notable Portfolio: Hummingbird has backed several category leaders. Portfolio highlights include Revolut (Fintech, UK, early investor), Deliveroo (food delivery, UK, seed), Kraken (crypto exchange, USA, seed), Peak Games (gaming, Turkey, early), BillionToOne (biotech, USA), Lovable (AI dev platform, Sweden, pre-Series A).

Recent Investments (2024–2026):

  • Instant (Sydney) – Series A $18M round led by Hummingbird (Mar 3, 2025). Instant provides AI-powered marketing automation; this was Hummingbird’s first Australian investment.
  • Lovable (Stockholm) – Pre-Series A $15M in Feb 2025 (part of $200M Series A later). Hummingbird was a first investor, joined 20VC, Creandum and Accel.
  • Olix (London) – Series A $220M raised in late 2025 (reported by FT). Led by Hummingbird, valuing Olix (AI chip startup) at ~$1B. (Reported Dec 2025)
  • Legora – (Reported unicorn in 2025, cited by Tracxn as latest unicorn.) (No public round info.)

Flagship Successes/Exits: Early Hummingbird-backed companies have become global leaders. Its alumni include Revolut and Deliveroo (both multibillion-valued), Kraken (leading crypto exchange), and Peak Games (acquired for $1.8B in 2020). These “transformative” companies highlight Hummingbird’s track record.


Balderton Capital

Balderton is a London-based VC (founded 2000) focused exclusively on European-founded tech startups. It manages ~$3B+ across eight funds, investing mainly at Series A and B, with occasional seed deals. Balderton’s 2021 communications indicated it makes initial checks of roughly $1M–$20M per round. Balderton raised its largest fund (Fund VIII) in 2022 at $1.7B (per TechCrunch) and has raised ~8 funds totaling $3B.

Notable Portfolio: Balderton’s portfolio spans fintech, AI, enterprise, and more. Key companies include Wayve (autonomous driving, UK), Contentful (headless CMS, Germany), Darktrace (AI cybersecurity, UK; IPO 2021), PhotoRoom (consumer photo editing, France), The Exploration Company (space logistics, Germany), GoCardless(payments fintech, UK; Series B 2014), and MySQL (open-source DB, Sweden; acquired by Sun/Oracle). In addition, Balderton early-backed Revolut and Dream Games(gaming) have become prominent unicorns.

Recent Investments (2024–2026):

  • Fuse Energy (London) – Additional $70M funding Dec 18, 2025 (Series B), led by Balderton (with Lowercarbon Capital). Fuse Energy (founded by ex-Revolut execs) builds vertically integrated renewable power, and this round valued it at $5B.
  • Wayve (Cambridge) – Series D $1.2B on Feb 25, 2026, led by Eclipse, Balderton, SoftBank; valuation $8.6B. Wayve is a UK autonomous-driving AI startup; Balderton first invested at Series A in 2019.
  • Stream (Paris) – Series D $90M announced Jan 20, 2026, to expand its workplace financial services platform (backers include Balderton).
  • Kaia Health (Munich) – Acquired Jan 28, 2026 by Sword Health (via UX Health), after an undisclosed funding round. Balderton was an investor in Kaia (fundraising history shown in news feed).
  • Dream Games (Istanbul) – Balderton-backed mobile games maker that grew rapidly and raised large rounds (lookback in Oct 2025).

Exits/Successes: Balderton’s early-stage picks include GoCardless (exited via sale to Mollie in 2025), Wayve (ongoing growth), Darktrace (IPO), and big exits like Zynga/Peak Games (via acquisition). It was also an early investor in Revolut and Citymapper, and has been part of story for 10+ unicorns.

20VC (The Twenty Minute VC)

20VC is a London-based fund launched by podcaster Harry Stebbings. It combines venture investing with media, backing European tech companies at early stages. In Oct 2024 20VC closed its third fund of $400M, earmarked roughly $125M for seed deals and $275M for Series A. 20VC’s strategy explicitly targets European startups (despite U.S. LP base), leveraging Stebbings’ media profile to source deals. Typical checks mirror other seed/A funds (multi-million range).

Notable Portfolio: As a newer fund, 20VC’s portfolio is still growing. Known participations include Lovable (AI/low-code dev platform, Sweden, pre-A stage), Joyn (B2B marketplace), and Voize (AI voice doc, Germany; HV Capital led seed with 20VC as participant).

Recent Investments (2024–2026):

  • Peec AI (Berlin) – Seed €5.2M (July 3, 2025) led by 20VC. Peec builds AI search analytics for marketing; 20VC partner Kieran Hill noted its rapid growth.
  • Fyxer AI (London) – Series A $10M (~£7.7M) in Mar 2025, led by 20VC. Fyxer provides an AI executive assistant; this funding was confirmed on Mar 17, 2025.
  • Lovable (Stockholm) – 20VC joined Hummingbird and others in a $15M pre-A round (Feb 2025).
  • (voize) – 20VC participated in HV Capital’s €43M lead round (Nov 2025) of Voize; 20VC as media investor likely involved given Harry’s YC ties.

Atomico

Atomico is a major European VC founded by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström (2006). Headquartered in London with offices across Europe, it manages several funds (total ~$4–5B). Atomico invests globally, primarily in Series A–C (and growth) rounds, but also participates at late stage. It raised two new funds in 2024 (total $1.24B split into a $754M growth fund and $485M early-stage fund).

Notable Portfolio: Atomico backs high-growth technology firms worldwide. Flagship investments include DeepL (AI translation, Germany), Klarna (fintech, Sweden; IPO as European fintech leader), Supercell (gaming, Finland; acquired by Tencent in 2016), Pipedrive (CRM, Estonia; acquired by Vista Equity), Hinge Health (digital health, USA), and Mews (hospitality SaaS, Czech), among others. It also invested early in Graphcore, Bird (formerly MessageBird), Stripe (Europe strategy), and many unicorns. Atomico’s “State of European Tech” reports highlight its EU focus.

Recent Investments (2024–2026):

  • Electric Twin (London) – Series A $10M on Feb 18, 2026, led by Atomico. Electric Twin uses AI to generate synthetic consumer data for market research.
  • Mews (Prague/London) – Series D $300M on Jan 22, 2026, with Atomico joining the round. Mews builds a cloud platform for hotel management; post-money valuation not disclosed but round co-led by EQT.
  • Neko Health (Stockholm) – Series B €252M Jan 2025, with Atomico participating. Neko provides health screening tech; the round valued the startup at ~$1B.
  • TravelPerk (Barcelona) – Series E €195M Jan 2025, Atomico co-investor. TravelPerk offers a business travel platform.

HV Capital

HV Capital (formerly HV Holtzbrinck Ventures) is a German VC (Munich/Berlin) founded in 2000. It invests in early- and growth-stage tech across Europe, with a focus on Internet, fintech, and climate tech. HV recently closed its Fund IX (€710M) in May 2023, the largest to date. It typically writes checks from €0.5M up to €60M.

Notable Portfolio: HV Capital’s long history includes backing many German tech giants. Flagship names are Zalando (e-commerce, IPOed), HelloFresh (meal kits, IPO), Delivery Hero (food delivery, IPO), FlixBus (mobility), SumUp (fintech), HelloFresh, Depop, and others. Other known investments: GetYourGuide (travel), Agreena (agri-fintech), Parship (dating, IPO), PlanRadar (construction SaaS). Its site highlights “we have backed ~200 teams” including Enpal, Storyblok, Sennder.


Recent Investments (2024–2026):

  • Voize (Berlin) – Seed €43M in Nov 2025, led by HV Capital. Voize provides AI-powered voice documentation; this round was the largest seed in Europe that month and included Balderton.
  • Agreena (Copenhagen) – Series B €46M in Feb 2023 (lead investor). Agreena is an agri-fintech / carbon farming platform; HV remains a key backer (though outside the 2-year window).
  • SPREAD (Berlin) – reported as an early 2024 HV Capital investment (seed in algorithmic trading fintech).
  • Polyteia (Berlin) – cloud carbon accounting startup; participated in HV’s new fund (2024).
  • Other deals: In late 2025 HV also invested in French AI companies and sustainability startups (e.g. eazeWear for adaptive clothes in 2025).

Exits/Successes: HV’s portfolio includes some of Europe’s best-known tech success stories. The firm was an early investor in Zalando, HelloFresh, Delivery Hero(all IPOs), as well as FlixBus and SumUp (now unicorns). HV-backed companies have collectively delivered many exits (128+ exits to date), including German SaaS and ecommerce leaders.