Highland Europe has raised €1.1 billion for its sixth fund, extending the firm’s strategy of investing in European technology companies at the growth stage. The new vehicle brings Highland’s total capital raised since 2012 to approximately €3.75 billion across six funds and follows a year in which the firm generated more than €1 billion in liquidity for its investors.
Fund VI will continue backing founders building technology companies with the potential to become global category leaders. Highland typically invests after a company has established product-market fit and is seeking capital to expand internationally, strengthen its management team, accelerate product development or build a larger commercial organization.
Growth-stage investing sits between early venture capital and mature private equity. Companies at this point generally have functioning products, an established customer base and measurable revenue, but may still require substantial funding to enter new markets and compete at a larger scale.
Highland operates from London and Geneva with a team of 36 employees, including 20 investment professionals. The firm is structured as an equal partnership and invests across enterprise software, consumer technology, financial technology, healthcare, artificial intelligence and other technology-enabled markets.
Since its founding, Highland has invested in more than 80 companies and supported 30 exits. Its portfolio has included businesses such as 9fin, AMCS, Bending Spoons, Camunda, EGYM, Featurespace, GetYourGuide, Huel, hyperexponential, ME+EM, Nexthink, n8n, Wolt and Zwift.
The €1.1 billion fund arrives during a period of significant change in European technology markets. Artificial intelligence is altering how companies develop software, automate operations, deliver professional services and engage with customers, creating opportunities for established growth-stage businesses as well as new AI-native companies.
Highland plans to invest in companies using AI as a core product capability and in businesses applying the technology to transform existing industries. The firm has already supported several companies operating across AI infrastructure, legal technology, healthcare and enterprise automation.
Its fifth fund includes n8n, an AI orchestration and workflow automation platform, and Nabla, which develops AI assistants for healthcare professionals. Other Fund V companies include smartphone maker Nothing, credit intelligence provider 9fin and consumer brands such as Huel.
Highland recently led a $70 million Series B round for Wordsmith, an in-house legal AI platform designed to help corporate legal teams automate and manage legal work. It also led a $50 million Series B for Unframe, which helps enterprises deploy AI applications and workflows.
The firm participated in a $105 million Series D for Ecorobotix, a precision agriculture company developing technology that can help farmers apply crop treatments more accurately. These investments demonstrate Highland’s interest in both software businesses and technology companies addressing industrial or physical-world applications.
Fund VI follows several important liquidity events involving Highland-backed companies. Nexthink, a digital employee experience software company, was sold to a private equity sponsor for approximately $3 billion, while consumer nutrition company Huel entered into an agreement to be acquired by Danone.
Other recent outcomes include the $7.5 billion merger of fitness technology company EGYM and Playlist. Bending Spoons also completed a Nasdaq listing and reached a market capitalization of more than $18 billion.
Liquidity events are important for venture and growth equity firms because they return capital to limited partners and demonstrate whether portfolio company valuations can be converted into actual proceeds. Highland’s reported generation of more than €1 billion in liquidity during 2026 provides the firm with additional momentum as it begins investing Fund VI.
The fundraising also coincides with the promotion of Helena Richardson and Jacob Bernstein to Partner. Richardson joined Highland in 2016 and has worked with companies including Ffern, ME+EM, Modulr and Huel, giving her experience across consumer brands and financial technology.
Bernstein joined the firm in 2017 and focuses primarily on enterprise technology companies. His investments include Unframe, cybersecurity company Zero Networks, product verification and traceability business Oritain, and insurance technology company Descartes Underwriting.
The promotions expand Highland’s senior investment leadership while maintaining the firm’s equal partnership structure. Richardson and Bernstein have each spent close to a decade at Highland and will take on broader responsibilities for investments, portfolio development and the firm’s long-term strategy.
Highland’s approach centers on working with companies that have already demonstrated significant commercial progress but still have substantial expansion opportunities. The firm can support businesses as they enter the United States and other international markets, recruit senior executives, pursue acquisitions and build the operational infrastructure required for global scale.
The size of Fund VI gives Highland the capacity to continue making meaningful investments in companies whose financing requirements have increased. Growth-stage rounds have become larger as technology businesses need additional capital for AI computing infrastructure, product development, global sales organizations and acquisitions.
European technology companies have historically faced a smaller pool of domestic growth capital than businesses in the United States. Funds such as Highland seek to address that gap by providing later-stage financing while allowing founders to continue developing independent global companies.
Highland will continue investing across consumer and enterprise technology rather than limiting Fund VI to a single sector. Its portfolio reflects a strategy of backing businesses with differentiated products, strong customer demand and the potential to establish leadership within large international markets.
The firm did not disclose the identities of Fund VI’s limited partners, the planned number of investments or the expected size of individual commitments. Highland’s existing investor relationships and recent portfolio realizations supported the completion of the €1.1 billion fund.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are deeply grateful to our Limited Partners for their long-standing trust and commitment to Fund VI. Their support enables us to continue backing Europe’s most ambitious founders at a uniquely transformational moment, as AI reshapes every industry.”
“We founded Highland Europe in 2012 as an enduring, equal partnership. Helena and Jacob have each spent the past decade helping build the firm, and their promotions reflect the exceptional investors, leaders and partners they have become.”
Sam Brooks, Partner at Highland Europe
