‍Ventech Closes €175 Million Sixth Fund to Back Europe's NextWave of Tech Startups

Ventech, a pan-European multi-sector early-stage venture capital firm, led by Alain Caffi, Jean Bourcereau, Stephan Wirries, Audrey Soussan, Tero Mennander, Claire Houry, Christian Claussen, and others, has closed €175 million sixth fund to back Europe's next wave of tech startups. The fund surpasses its previous vintage by 15% and marks the largest in its 26-year history. Ventech Capital VI has already backed 15 companies, featuring the German space traffic management company Okapi Orbits, the Finnish M&A SaaS firm Inven, the Swedish AI-driven IT service management startup Starhive, the enterprise platform to build AI agents Vertesia, and the French Omaha Insights for next-gen equity research.

With the new fund, the firm strengthens its role in Europe’s technological renaissance, aiming to back around 35 startups from Seed and Series A through to successful exits.

The fund’s launch arrives at a defining moment for European tech, as AI is reshaping industries at an unprecedented speed. Ventech is dedicating half its capital and focus to AI-native verticals, while also doubling down on four major themes driving global innovation: Digital Health, Industrial Software, Cybersecurity, and Sovereignty.

In 2023, Ventech strengthened its European footprint by opening a Stockholm office, following its early move into Helsinki in 2016 and pioneering local presences in Germany and China years earlier. Now doubling down on the DACH region with a growing Munich team, the firm continues to embed itself in Europe’s innovation hubs. In a shifting geopolitical landscape where technology is central to economic strength, Ventech stays true to its founding conviction: Europe must retain a seat at the global table. With a deep well of talent and ambition built over two decades, Europe stands as a rising entrepreneurial powerhouse.

Founded on the eve of the dot-com bubble, Ventech emerged stronger from the crisis with two guiding convictions: downturns breed industry giants, and technology will always reshape the world.

Today, its 18-strong team spans 6 nationalities, including 10 investors—6 of them General Partners with an average of 17 years’ VC experience—working in a flat, distributed partnership to actively back startups.

As Founding Partner Alain Caffi retires, leaving behind a landmark 36x exit from Believe, Jean Bourcereau steps up as Chairman, while the firm embraces a new generation of leadership with Stephan Wirries and Audrey Soussan, both under 40, as GPs.

Over the past three years, Ventech has strengthened its team with senior hires in marketing, investor relations, and ESG, while also launching AFI Ventures, its impact arm. Since 2020, AFI has backed 40+ impact-driven startups and deployed 60% of its fund, becoming a force in early-stage impact investing across Europe.