DFF Ventures Opens >€50 Million Fund III to Back Vertical AI, Recommerce & Marketplaces

DFF Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund from Amsterdam, investing all over EMEA, led by Laurens Groenendijk, Patrick Kerssemakers, Hidde Hoogcarspel, and others, launched its third fund, DFF Ventures III, with €50m already committed out of a targeted €60m. 

Over the years, DFF Ventures has built a portfolio of 40 startups across 14 countries. In the Netherlands, companies like Shypple, Nostics, and Alleo (formerly YourCampus) are well known, while internationally, startups such as Metycle, Cofrai, Getmobil, Northladder, and Fleequid highlight the focus on digitizing the physical backbone of the economy. From early-stage ventures to scaling companies, all share a commitment to transforming underdigitized industries through digital solutions.

The fund marks the next step in DFF’s journey as one of Europe’s most active pre-seed investors. With this new fund, the team expands beyond Europe to support founders in Vertical AI, recommerce, and marketplace models.

DFF, founded by the entrepreneurs behind WeTransfer, fonQ, Just Eat, and Treatwell, maintains a founder-first approach. The fund invests at the earliest stages, often before a product exists, with tickets ranging from €250k to €2.5m. While the first two funds focused on marketplaces, Fund III broadens its scope, emphasizing vertical AI: startups that go deep into a single industry, starting with workflow tools and expanding into services like financing, logistics, and transactions, ultimately becoming foundational to entire sectors.

DFF Ventures III remains deliberately small, backed exclusively by entrepreneurs and family offices to ensure a fast, hands-on approach. The first close reached €50m, with a hard close of €60m expected in Q1 next year. Pre-seed investing has evolved: AI lowers the barrier to prototypes but raises the bar for customer reach and scaling. DFF focuses on speed and distribution, backing founders who can quickly find their market wedge and build enduring software solutions for critical industries.