Portugal has rapidly emerged as a hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, with a growing number of startups and SMEs in need of capital to finance their growth. In recent years, venture capital (VC) funds have become an increasingly popular source of funding for these companies, providing access to the financial resources and strategic guidance necessary to succeed in the competitive global marketplace.
So, let’s explore the top VC funds in Portugal, the powerhouses driving Portuguese innovation to new heights.
BYND - VENTURE CAPITAL
Geography: Spain and Portugal
Preferred industries: IT/Digital and Sustainability sectors (including Clean Tech, and Lifesciences)
Investment ticket: undisclosed
Company stage: seed/early stage
The very first VC on our list, Bynd Venture Capital is a renowned Iberian-based Venture Capital firm, which has been in operation since 2010 and boasts an impressive portfolio of over 45 investments across various sectors. Rebranded from Busy Angels, Bynd Venture Capital now seeks to invest in sectors such as the internet, healthcare, information technology, energy, and tourism. The firm specializes in investing in seed and early-stage technology companies that are related to Iberia, with a particular focus on those companies that have a proven MVP and have validated their product-market fit. The firm’s notable portfolio exits include Doppio, Zaask, and Woffu.
ARMILAR VENTURE PARTNERS
Geography: Portugal
Preferred Industries: industry-agnostic, with a technology “horizontal” perspective
Investment ticket: €200K - €10M
Stages: Seed (and pre-Seed), Series A and B, Follow-on rounds
The next VC on our list, Armilar Venture Partners is an early-stage venture capital firm with more than 23 years of experience in investing in digital startups with strong technological differentiation. As a “tech at the core” investor, the company follows a horizontal perspective and is focused on industry-agnostic opportunities with data, digitization, and connectivity as a central role. The firm has a strong track record of backing founders of digital startups from inception to exit, with 70+ companies backed since 2000. Armilar Venture Partners has a portfolio of remarkable investments including Brighter AI, Reckon.ai, and StudentFinance.
PORTUGAL VENTURES
Geography: Portugal
Preferred Industries: Digital, Engineering & Manufacturing, Life Sciences, and Tourism.
Investment ticket: 50k€ to 1.5M€
Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
As a seasoned venture capital fund, Portugal Ventures boasts an impressive portfolio of over 75 companies across a range of sectors. The fund offers tranche payments based on the achievement of each milestone and secures a minority stake in the company’s share capital, while also having a seat on the board of directors.
Portugal Ventures goes above and beyond merely providing financing, as it offers its portfolio companies access to a vast network of investors and strategic partners. This support enables startups to connect with industry experts, potential customers, and investors, thus accelerating their sales pipeline and paving the way for future rounds of investment. Notably, Portugal Ventures has made some remarkable investments, including Leadzai, Relive, and Spotlite, further solidifying its reputation as a highly successful and influential venture capital fund.
ANTLER
Geography: Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, France, Sweden, Australia, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, USA, Canada, Kenya
Preferred industries: AI & ML, Consumer, Crypto & Blockchain, Food & Beverage, Supply Chain & Logistics, Healthcare, Media, Cybersecurity, E-Commerce, Internet & Mobile, Fintech, SaaS, Gaming, Proptech & Real Estate
Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Early Stage
Investment ticket: €120k
Being a global venture capital firm, Antler partners with exceptional founders across six continents to launch and scale startups that address meaningful opportunities and challenges. Since 2018, Antler has helped create and invested in more than 610 startups across a wide range of industries and technologies, with an aim of backing more than 6,000 by 2030. Antler’s startup program consists of two phases. In Phase 1, which runs for approximately 2.5 months, teams are focused on venture development and testing a startup hypothesis. At the end of this phase, teams that have validated an idea will pitch to Antler’s Investment Committee for the opportunity to move to Phase 2. In Phase 2, which runs for approximately 3.5 months, Antler startups receive personalized coaching and a global network of advisors to help them scale their businesses and fundraise from top investors. It culminates with Demo Day, where startups get the opportunity to pitch to the local and international startup ecosystem.
Antler has invested in several remarkable startups, including ChatFood, Baselime, and Genuine Taste.
KIBO VENTURES
Geography: Spain and Portugal
Preferred industries: Sector agnostic
Investment ticket: €2m - €5m
Company stage: pre-Series A or Series A rounds
A Madrid-based Venture Capital firm, Kibo Ventures was established in 2012, dedicated to empowering diverse European tech startups to solve big problems and help them scale. With a team comprising operational and investment experts, Kibo Ventures has built one of the most extensive VC teams in Southern Europe, boasting deep international networks in Europe and the US that include some of the best founders, investors, and corporates. Kibo Ventures has 4 funds, €300M AUM Assets Under Management, and has invested in 63+ companies. The investment thesis of Kibo Ventures is to look for teams building global companies that leverage local development and operations while scaling in bigger markets. The firm favors proven product-market fit and readiness to scale massively, and is always open to co-invest with the right partners.
Kibo Ventures boasts an impressive track record of successful investments, with three standouts that have left an indelible mark on the industry. These notable investments include the innovative travel platform Trip4real, the cutting-edge marketing tech company Jetlore, and the game-changing expense management software Captio.
FABER VENTURES
Geography: Portugal
Preferred industries: Crypto & Blockchain, AI & ML, Big Data & Analytics, Climate & Ocean tech, Deep Tech & Hard Science.
Investment ticket: €100K to €1.5M
Company stage: Early Stage, Seed, and Pre-Seed
As a founder-first venture capital firm, Faber is seeking to invest in tech teams with a global vision, specifically in Europe. The firm invests in companies at the pre-series A stage and specializes in helping companies become series A-ready. Faber has an extensive track record of partnering with VCs and angels in Europe and the US and is actively seeking companies in Iberia as a scale-up launchpad. The firm provides special-purpose workshops, dedicated sprints, thematic portfolio meetups, and industry connections to actively help founders build global companies. Faber has an impressive track record, with notable investments in companies such as Unbabel, SWORD Health, and Codacy.
ALPAC CAPITAL
Geography: United Arab Emirates, Hungary, and Portugal
Preferred industries: Telecom, mass media, Industrial and Agrobusiness, and Health care.
Investment ticket: undisclosed
Company stage: Late Stage Venture, Seed
As a European Venture Capital Fund founded in 2013 and regulated by the Portuguese SEC (CMVM), Alpac Capital is focused on investing in companies that fit within its scope, with a particular emphasis on Hungary, Portugal, and neighboring countries. The firm seeks out experienced teams with products and services that have already been successfully tested in the market. Alpac Capital has a proven track record of success, having invested successfully in industrials and renewables before raising institutional funds.
Alpac Capital has achieved some impressive exits over the years, including 4iG and PETAPILOT, S.A
BRIGHT PIXEL CAPITAL
Geography: Portugal
Preferred industries: cyber security, digital infrastructure, and retail tech.
Investment ticket: undisclosed
Company stage: Seed & Early Stage, Growth and Buy-outs
As a tech investment arm of the renowned Sonae Group, Bright Pixel Capital has positioned itself as a seed investor in a range of sectors with a special focus on B2B. With the vision of driving transformational change, this venture capital fund has already invested over 250M€ in the first five years, making more than 50 direct investments, and remains committed to identifying exceptional opportunities with the potential to disrupt industries. Driven by a financial and growth-oriented mindset, Bright Pixel Capital provides unparalleled access to a dedicated and experienced team of professionals with unparalleled knowledge of each investment vertical. Noteworthy investments made by this venture capital fund include dataplace.ai, Deep fence, and Leadzai.
BIONOVA CAPITAL
Geography: Portugal
Preferred industries: Therapeutics, MedTech and Digital Health.
Investment ticket: undisclosed
Company stage: Seed & Early-Stage
Formerly known as Hovione Capital, Bionova Capital is a healthcare-specialized venture capital focusing on investing in early-stage life science companies. As an independent firm, Bionova Capital closely collaborates with entrepreneurs to build leading companies with technologies and products that transform people’s health. When considering potential investments, Bionova Capital evaluates several critical points, including the company’s stage, technology, team, market, and exit potential.
Bionova Capital’s investment portfolio includes Adapttech, which is a new prosthetics fitting solution for lower limbs, Anybrain, a new AI-based solution for video game studios allowing seamless player identification, fraud prevention, fatigue tracking, and age control and CellmAbs, which is evolved in developing adoptive T cell therapies and monoclonal antibodies, as well as essential diagnostic devices for early detection of cancer in patients.
CRITICAL VENTURES
Geography: Portugal
Preferred industries: IoT, Automatisation and Digitalisation, UxD / Interfaces, Mobility, Medical Software, Cyber Security, and AI/ML / Decentralized Tech,
Investment ticket: undisclosed
Company stage: Seed & Early-Stage
As a game-changing venture capital fund founded in 2011, Critical Ventures invests in companies that have the potential to revolutionize the way the world uses technology. The firm seeks to seed and early-stage investments in technology and software companies that offer disruptive or transformative technologies, have a cultural fit with their ecosystem and are led by passionate and dedicated management.
Some notable investments of Critical Ventures include Watchful Software, which provides advanced security solutions to safeguard sensitive information from breaches or disclosure, Critical Manufacturing, a provider of cutting-edge software solutions for industry 4.0 markets, and OnCaring, a company that helps elderly care institutions look after senior citizens using mobile and accident detection technology.
LC VENTURES
Geography: Europe, North, and Latin America.
Preferred industries: tech companies engaged in sectors like communication and information Technology and Online Retail.
Investment ticket: 200K€ - 1M€.
Company stage: Pre-seed and seed stages
LC Ventures, a venture capital firm founded in 2015, specializes in investing in technology startups with a specific focus on software-only solutions. Their investment philosophy is to not just provide financial backing but to also offer strategic and operational support to their portfolio companies. With a carefully curated network of industry-leading players, the firm aims to empower founders to build their businesses and achieve their goals. The firm’s investment portfolio spans geographies such as the parts of Europe North and Latin America, and currently consists of 40+ companies with over €30M under management. As one of the most active and hands-on VC firms in Portugal, they have partnered with innovative and fast-growing companies such as Sizebay, Agentifai, and Idatase, each of which represents the cutting edge of their respective industries. Sizebay is revolutionizing the fashion industry by developing a virtual fitting room that allows customers to try on clothes remotely, while Agentifai has developed intelligent chatbots focused on delivering excellent customer support without human intervention. Idatase, on the other hand, has operating systems for artificial intelligence that add value to the experts who manage data flows and systems.
SHILLING CAPITAL PARTNERS
Geography: Portugal
Preferred industries: tech companies engaged in sectors like Online Retail and RealEstate Tech.
Investment ticket: €100K and €1M.
Company stage: Seed-stage
As a highly esteemed early-stage VC in Portugal, Shilling is an innovative business angel group that was established in 2011 by a group of six esteemed partners, including the visionary Hugo Gonçalves Pereira and the highly regarded João Coelho Borges. With a vast portfolio of €52M, Shilling invests in a diverse range of verticals, aiming to identify the most promising opportunities across both B2B and consumer categories. Through its cutting-edge Founder LPs concept, Shilling offers its portfolio companies more than just financial capital; it also grants them access to highly successful founders and executives of leading companies via its Shilling Platform. This dynamic platform provides invaluable support to entrepreneurs, enabling them to validate and develop their ventures and accelerate their growth into global markets.
With a total of 42 investments to date, Shilling has an impressive track record of notable investments, including Fraudio, a pioneering cloud-native SaaS platform powered by AI, which offers payment fraud and AML solutions. Additionally, Shilling has invested in Smartex.ai, an AI-powered solution that streamlines textile production and reduces defective output, further cementing its reputation as a leading force in the world of Venture Capital.
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