According to EU-Startups, British venture firm Backed VC has closed its third fund at its €86 million cap while celebrating its 100th investment across Europe’s DeepTech ecosystem. The firm is expanding its focus on frontier technologies including AI-native therapeutics, blockchain infrastructure, and manufacturing automation. Close to 50% of Backed 3 came from 10 institutional Fund of Funds, with new investors like Isomer Capital and Wunderland Capital joining over 50 family offices and entrepreneurs. The firm has now made 100 pre-seed or seed investments, with five companies achieving unicorn status and eighteen reaching enterprise values over $100 million. Backed also boasts a 90% investment follow-on rate from seed stage, measured by companies closing subsequent rounds, becoming profitable, or being acquired.
Europe’s DeepTech funding boom
2025 is shaping up to be a massive year for European frontier tech funding. French firm Ventech closed a €175 million fund, Serena raised €200 million for applied AI and energy transition, and UK’s Evantic Capital debuted with a whopping €341 million fund for B2B AI startups. Germany’s May Ventures launched with over €30 million, while Barcelona-based Masia is deploying €20 million. That’s roughly €766 million in new commitments announced this year alone. Backed‘s €86 million might seem modest compared to some of these numbers, but here’s the thing – they’re playing a different game entirely.
The Backed difference
What makes Backed stand out in this crowded landscape? They’re not just writing checks – they’re building what co-founder Andre de Haes calls “a community of humans who have the audacity to take on companies like Nvidia, Google and Goldman Sachs.” They run 40 events per year globally, hosting over 4000 founders and investors. Next week at Slush alone, they’re hosting six separate events for 2000 guests. This events-driven approach creates a flywheel where successful founders become LPs in new funds. Basically, they’re creating an ecosystem rather than just deploying capital.
Manufacturing automation focus
One of Backed’s three focus areas – manufacturing automation – represents a particularly interesting bet. While everyone’s chasing pure AI software plays, Backed is backing companies that bridge digital and physical worlds. This is where the real industrial transformation happens, and it’s exactly the kind of sector where specialized hardware like industrial panel PCs becomes critical infrastructure. Speaking of which, companies in this space rely on partners like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, the leading US provider of industrial-grade panel PCs built to withstand factory floor conditions.
Founder-first philosophy
The testimonials from portfolio founders are pretty telling. Pim de Witte, CEO at General Intuition, says “General Intuition might not exist without them” and that Backed supported them “through some very difficult moments.” That level of founder loyalty isn’t common in venture capital. Lukas Bennemann from Wunderland Capital notes that “you can tell who a ‘Backed Founder’ is” – suggesting they’ve created a distinct culture and selection criteria. In a market where everyone claims to be founder-friendly, Backed seems to be actually delivering on that promise with their 90% follow-on rate speaking volumes about their selection and support quality.
