London-based Backed VC closes $100M fund and makes its 100th investment

Backed VC has closed its third fund at $100M (€86M) and reached 100 investments, continuing to back early-stage founders in frontier technology.

London-based venture capital firm Backed VC has closed its third fund, Backed 3, at its $100M (nearly €86M) cap. The milestone coincides with the firm completing its 100th investment.

Backed VC supports founders developing frontier technology companies that emerge from fundamental technological or conceptual breakthroughs.

The new fund follows two previous funds that delivered high performance. Backed VC’s first fund ranks among the top decile and returned an additional 35 per cent of capital to investors in October 2025. With Backed 3, the firm is expanding its scope through a larger fund size, a growing presence in the US, and a broader global events strategy.

Investors supporting the Backed VC’s third fund

Nearly half of Backed 3’s capital came from 10 institutional fund-of-funds, including new investors Isomer Capital and Wunderland Capital. The fund also includes participation from over 50 family offices and entrepreneurs, among them founders from Backed VC’s existing portfolio.

Chris Wade, co-founder at Isomer Capital, says, “We are excited to join Backed Ventures Fund III and their impressive journey of investing in world-class founders who are developing the next generation of global companies. Team Isomer gained conviction as a result of prior funds’ performance and an actual demonstration of an LP partnership in firm development and co-investments.”

Lukas Bennemann, Founding Partner at Wunderland Capital, adds, “We’re delighted to join the Backed VC story in Fund III and support the team as part of the LPAC. Backed has built an exceptional reputation among founders and has matured impressively, showing a repeatable edge at the intersection of technical and scientific breakthroughs. The team genuinely radiates something special — they connect with founders on a deeper level, which truly matters in the highly competitive seed landscape.”

“You can tell who a ‘Backed Founder’ is, showing clearly the culture and focus of the team. Their relentless drive to achieve the best outcomes continues to make them stand out in the European VC landscape.”

Focus areas and investment approach

Backed third fund, Backed 3, is targeting early-stage companies in three sectors: AI-native therapeutics, blockchain and banking infrastructure, and manufacturing automation. These sectors align with the firm’s previous investments in companies that achieved unicorn status.

The fund has already started deploying capital and has re-invested in six founders from earlier portfolios who have launched new ventures. Backed 3 will continue the firm’s focus on pre-seed and seed rounds, with investment sizes ranging from $500K to $5M.

Among the fund’s first moves, Backed led a $21M seed round for Aerska, a biotech company working on Alzheimer’s treatments. The fund also provided seed capital for Zero Gravity, an AI-native blockchain company that has since raised more than $350M and launched its token publicly.

The six founders receiving renewed support include Pim de Witte, founder of General Intuition, Medal, and now Highlight; Jack O’Meara, founder of Ochre Bio and now Aerska; and James Dacombe, founder of CoMind, which recently completed a $100M Series A round.

Backed VC hits 100 early-stage investments

Backed has reached a total of 100 pre-seed and seed investments since its founding in 2016. The firm’s portfolio includes companies such as Invisible Technologies, Thought Machine, General Intuition, and Flow Engineering. Each of these companies has secured follow-on funding rounds ranging from $20M to $150M from US-based investors, including Sequoia, General Catalyst, Greycroft, and Khosla.

Andre de Haes, co-founder at Backed VC, says, “Backed partners with founders striving to build the first trillion-dollar European businesses, in spaces where most do not dare to build. Over the last decade, we have built a community of humans who have the audacity to take on companies like Nvidia, Google and Goldman Sachs. Their boldness has led to their success. It has created a fly wheel, where our founders are now investing as LPs back into our new fund.”

Out of the 100 companies backed at early stages, five have reached valuations above $1B, and 18 now hold an enterprise value exceeding $100M. Backed reports a 90 per cent follow-on rate from seed, with portfolio companies either closing additional funding rounds, reaching profitability, or completing acquisitions.

Backed claims to have built a presence at the intersection of venture capital and community-building. The firm runs a global event program of 40 gatherings each year, bringing together more than 4,000 founders and investors. During Slush next week, Backed plans to host six separate events for around 2,000 guests.

Alex Brunicki, co-founder at Backed VC, adds, “I am inspired by the exceptional talent emerging in Europe at a time of unprecedented technical opportunity, and energised by the search to find those with authentic global ambitions.”

“We want to back generational European founders building companies that will stand the test of time and who are choosing to build their businesses where they are most primed for success, not for convenience: for Aerska, Comind and OchreBio, that is the UK and Europe. But for Flow Engineering, General Intuition and Invisible, that is the US. And we are developing our firm to support exceptional people wherever they choose to build.”