A new Europe-focused venture fund, United Founders, has been launched with a target size of €80 million, aimed at backing pre-seed and seed-stage startups in deep technology and emerging tech sectors across the continent.
The fund has already secured €30 million in its first close, with plans to raise the remaining €50 million within the next 12 months.
Founded by serial entrepreneurs Vít Horký (of Brand Embassy) and Jakub Havrlant (of Rockaway Capital), United Founders has assembled a network of more than 100 experienced founders and operators from 26 countries who will act as both mentors and investors for its portfolio companies.
The investment mandate targets early-stage companies working on hardware, dual-use technologies, med-tech, quantum computing, cybersecurity, AI and other frontier sectors. United Founders intends to write initial cheques of up to €1 million per startup.
United Founders emphasises a “community of builders” model, stating that the fund is rooted in practical entrepreneurial expertise as much as capital. About a third of the mentor community have invested financially in the fund.
The initiative is framed as part of a broader drive to strengthen Europe’s tech ecosystem and reduce reliance on external markets. “Our ambition is for Europe to create its own trillion-dollar giants like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Nvidia and Meta,” Horký said.
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