b2venture has reached a new fundraising milestone, announcing the final closing of its Fund V at a €150 million hard cap. The firm characterized the vehicle as the largest early-stage fund in its 25-year history, positioning the close as a signal of durability and investor conviction in a market that has remained cautious on venture allocations.
The firm framed the outcome as an endorsement from both existing and new limited partners, emphasizing that raising a fund of this size in the current environment reflects sustained confidence in b2venture’s strategy, team, and track record. In particular, b2venture pointed to what it described as the continued “institutionalization” of its LP base, while also underscoring the importance of ongoing support from family offices, high-net-worth individuals, and its broader angel community. The message suggested a deliberate balancing act between expanding institutional participation and preserving the firm’s historically community-driven model.
b2venture also used the announcement to reinforce its identity as a specialist early-stage investor. The firm described early-stage investing as a craft that demands precision, patience, and a deep commitment to founders, positioning its work as long-cycle and relationship-intensive rather than purely transactional. That framing aligns with a strategy built around sustained engagement with teams over time, and a belief that company momentum is cultivated across multiple stages through consistent hands-on contribution.
Fund V, the firm said, continues this approach and is backed by an intergenerational investing team alongside a network of more than 350 experienced angel investors. b2venture emphasized that this angel community plays an active role in supporting portfolio companies, contributing expertise, networks, and hands-on guidance. In practice, the firm is presenting the angel base as a differentiated extension of its platform, potentially enhancing founder support with domain knowledge, commercial access, and operational help beyond the core venture team.
With Fund V, b2venture said it intends to selectively invest in roughly 35 early-stage companies across Europe. The firm’s focus is on “scalable, defensible technologies from day one,” suggesting an emphasis on companies that can establish durable advantages early, whether through technology differentiation, product depth, data moats, regulatory barriers, or structural positioning in hard-to-replicate markets. The fund’s remit spans areas including AI, robotics, and industrial technology, indicating continued appetite for foundational and applied innovation in categories where Europe has deep research talent, strong industrial incumbents, and increasingly supportive commercialization pathways.
Notably, b2venture said the first investments are already in place. While it did not provide company names or check sizes in the post, the comment implies that Fund V is already transitioning from fundraising into active deployment, which can matter in a competitive early-stage environment where speed of execution and certainty of capital can influence deal access. The firm’s “selective” posture also signals an intention to remain disciplined on entry and portfolio construction, rather than broadly scaling volume.
The announcement also served as a broader thank-you to the constituencies that underpin b2venture’s platform. The firm credited founders, angels, LPs, and partners for enabling the fundraise and expressed excitement about supporting founders building the next generation of European technology leaders. It also referenced media coverage from Handelsblatt and Sifted appearing in the comments, suggesting broader industry attention around the close and the firm’s positioning in the European early-stage market.
