Lisbon-based venture capital firm Índico Capital Partners has launched Indico VC Fund III, a new early-stage vehicle targeting €125 million to back high-growth technology companies linked to Southern Europe. The fund, the firm’s sixth, opens with a €30 million anchor commitment from the European Investment Fund, the equity-focused arm of the European Investment Bank Group. With this new capital pool, Índico aims to deepen its role as a bridge between Iberian and Italian innovation hubs and global capital markets.
Fund Strategy and Investment Focus
Indico VC Fund III will invest primarily in startups originating from Portugal, Spain and Italy, while also pursuing founders from these countries who have relocated to ecosystems such as the United States or the United Kingdom. The fund will concentrate on Seed to Series B rounds, typically writing tickets between €500,000 and €10 million to support companies as they scale from validation to international expansion. Core themes include enterprise SaaS, artificial intelligence and broader deep-tech plays, alongside specialized bets in spacetech, fintech, cybersecurity and oceantech, reflecting the manager’s conviction that science- and software-led innovation will drive the region’s next wave of growth.
EIF Anchor Commitment and EU Policy Alignment
The EIF’s €30 million anchor position continues its role as a key limited partner in previous Índico funds, signaling ongoing institutional confidence in the team’s ability to pick and support category-defining companies. The investment sits within the EIB Group’s 2024–2027 Strategic Roadmap, which prioritizes technological innovation, digitalization and the transition to a more sustainable economy across the European Union. Backing Indico VC Fund III is also supported by InvestEU, the European program designed to mobilize more than €372 billion of public and private investment by 2027, and by Portugal Blue, which channels equity into companies building the country’s blue economy.
Positioning in Europe’s Deep Tech and SaaS Upswing
Indico’s new vehicle emerges as European venture capital flows increasingly toward deep tech, AI and software-driven business models, even as broader funding volumes remain selective. Recent closes, such as Armilar Venture Partners’ first €120 million tranche for its Iberia-focused Fund IV and Future Energy Ventures’ €205 million Fund II targeting digital energy-transition solutions, underline the appetite for specialized funds backing complex, high-impact technologies. Within this context, Indico VC Fund III positions itself as a Southern Europe-centered platform that can capture the region’s strongest technical founders and connect them with global co-investors and later-stage capital.
Track Record and Market Reach
Since 2019, Índico Capital Partners has deployed more than €123 million across 53 portfolio companies, which collectively have raised in excess of €2.5 billion from international investors. The firm, founded in 2017 as an independent manager, now oversees more than €240 million in assets under management across five existing funds and has built a portfolio spanning deep-tech infrastructure, SaaS, AI, marketplaces, spacetech, fintech, cybersecurity and ocean-related ventures. This history of backing globally ambitious teams from relatively undercapitalized ecosystems is central to the firm’s thesis that Southern Europe and its diaspora can consistently produce world-scale technology businesses.
Indico VC Fund III reinforces the growing status of Portugal, Spain and Italy as credible launchpads for venture-scale deep tech and software companies, supported by European institutions that are keen to accelerate innovation and sustainability. With EIF capital and EU policy programs behind it, the fund is structured to channel long-term, patient capital into founders who combine technical depth with global ambition. If the manager can replicate and expand on its existing track record, Indico’s latest vehicle is likely to become a key reference point for early-stage technology investing across Southern Europe and its global diaspora.