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Are VCs terrible predictors of the future?

Are VCs terrible predictors of the future?

"VCs are terrible predictors of the future. It's really about founders and their ability to build the next big thing."

Wise words, indeed. And, in fact, words from Speedinvest's very own partner Jeroen Arts during a recent chat on the Two-Sided podcast focused on how we evaluate and support marketplace founders.

As Jeroen said, founders are at the heart of what we do, and our portfolio founders have been busy this February closing follow-on rounds, forging new partnerships, and launching in new markets.

We've also welcomed several new startups to the family, including a Fintech in Turkey, a French-founded AI agent company, and a UK-based firm pioneering multistate fusion.

What else is happening...

→ Have You Heard? Revenue-based financing startup Flow48 has raised $69 million in debt and equity.

→ Our Perspective: Are AI data centers VC-backable? Our principal Namratha Kothapalli shares her opinion with Sifted.

→ Speedinvest News: 6 of the top 10 startups in Austria are Speedinvest portfolio companies, with Bitpanda taking the #1 spot!

Additional portfolio updates, deep-dive content, job openings, and more below ⬇️

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Have You Heard?

Our portfolio's latest funding announcements

Flow48, a UAE-based revenue-based financing startup, has raised $69 million in debt and equity. Using AI and data analytics, Flow48 provides financing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets.

Read more in Tech.eu.

  • Khazna, an Egyptian fintech, raised $16 million in pre-Series B funding. The company is now working towards becoming a digital bank by securing a deposit-taking license in Egypt. Finextra has more.
  • Rho Labs, the developer of Rho Protocol, has raised $4 million in a round led by CoinFund. Rho Protocol is the world’s first crypto native interest rates market, helping to turn perpetual funding into a tradable asset. Read more here.
  • Oze, a Ghana-based fintech, has brought in new funding from Visa. Oze enables financial institutions to offer loans and helps small businesses to better manage their finances through AI-powered digital lending solutions.

Welcome to the Family

Based in Istanbul, Mundi makes capital market products and investment opportunities, such as mutual funds and repo products, accessible to Turkish SMEs.

Tech.eu has more.

  • Astral Systems, a Bristol-based DeepTech firm pioneering multistate fusion (MSF) technology, is delivering a "fresh approach to nuclear fusion" according to Speedinvest's Deep Tech partner Rick Hao. The BBC and EU Startups share more.
  • AI agent startup GetVocal AI's agents work to improve customer service options at businesses and recently announced a partnership with outsourcing company Capita – one of Europe's leading outsourcing service providers. More on Tech.eu.

Our Perspective

Sector-focused expertise and insights on the VC ecosystem at large

Amid much discussion about AI and how to power this energy-hungry technology. Our Climate & Industrial Tech principal, Namratha Kothapalli, spoke to Sifted about whether AI data centers are a VC-backable endeavour.

  • Our GP Andreas Schwarzenbrunner had a busy February, sharing his thoughts on Paris's AI Action Summit with Kurier and discussing the major AI announcements from the past month with Trending Topics.
  • Daniel Keiper-Knorr, a founding partner at Speedinvest, is one of the best-placed people to tell the story of how Speedinvest went from a €10 million angel fund to having over €1 billion in AuM, investing across Europe in the best early-stage companies. He joined the Venture Europe podcast to discuss that and more.
  • And finally, Jeroen Arts, our Marketplaces and Consumer Teach partner, was a guest on the Two-Sided podcast, discussing how to evaluate and support marketplace founders.

Portfolio Headlines & Highlights

News and updates from across our portfolio

Who's Hiring?

There are more than 1,000 vacancies across our portfolio. Browse open jobs below and on our website.

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See you next month!