Impact Loop VC

The UK's first fund of funds mandated to back female-led and mixed-gender VC managers has marked its first close at £130m. The fund is now actively engaging with GPs. "We want to generate alpha for investors," Bootstrap 4F managing partner Stephanie Heller (Galantine) tells Impact Loop.  Find out more in our full interview 👉 https://lnkd.in/dsCNDiT4 Matthias Ummenhofer Fatou Diagne

After a tumultuous year, with a fraud in its portfolio that wiped out nearly half its assets, Dutch investor Aqua-Spark is looking ahead to the future. “Even if we had adopted all the lessons learned, we still don't think there is much we could have done,” chief portfolio officer Maria Velkova tells Impact Loop. Co-founder Amy Novogratz adds: “There is no version… that makes that acceptable.” Read the exclusive interview: https://lnkd.in/dfwk2BWu

Jonas Bergqvist, investment manager at the Swedish state-backed fund Almi Invest Greentech, is actively encouraging his portfolio companies to adopt Anthropic's AI coding tool Claude Code. "It can actually be an advantage to be a small organisation," he tells Impact Loop in an interview 👉 https://lnkd.in/ddGDYdr5

A new VC fund launched by the British Business Bank has marked its first close at £200m – with LP investments from three heavyweight pension funds. Impact Loop breaks down where the fund is looking to invest and why it matters for impact investors 👉 https://lnkd.in/dJdqTQ6w Lorna Blyth Aegon UK Alex Seddon Alex Kendall Craig Douglas

Europe's tech ecosystem is locked in a heated debate over DEI policies and how founders should hire talent. Prominent tech founders are dismissing DEI, instead positioning meritocracy as a "fairer" approach to sourcing staff. But this argument is based on some fundamental misconceptions that are restricting the talent pool – with profoundly negative impacts on the European tech ecosystem, argues our managing editor Siôn Lawrence-Geschwindt. If European founders continue to believe the "myth of meritocracy," he argues, they will miss countless opportunities to build better products and services for more people – and cede further ground to the US and China in the process. Find out what these misconceptions are and why they might be hurting Europe (no paywall) 👉 https://lnkd.in/diNhtsVF

For years, Portugal has watched its top talent leave for bigger markets in northern Europe – but something is starting to shift. Diaspora founders are returning, international startups are setting up, and climate tech funding is nearing record levels – raising the question of whether this moment can turn into something more lasting. Read our analysis here: https://lnkd.in/d5x_fPWx Korys, HCapital Partners, Junction Growth Investors, Aqua-Spark, Índico Capital Partners, BlueCrow Capital, Banco Português de Fomento Faber

Exclusive interview: The clothing industry is one of the planet's biggest climate offenders. But according to H&M's former chief executive Helena Helmersson, fashion itself isn't the villain – the system is. "You have to change the system so that doing the right thing is the easier thing," she said at a meetup with Impact Loop VC and Cirio Law Firm last week – and shared her lessons from both impact companies and fashion giants. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/dJJrKjAa

🌌 Europe's deep tech push is accelerating – but what does it take to back and build deep tech companies that scale? On April 29, Impact Loop is bringing together investors and founders at Electrumhuset in Kista (Stockholm), for a focused lunch on Europe's evolving deep tech landscape. With Voima Ventures' partner Jenny Engerfelt and UVC Partners' managing partner Johannes von Borries, the conversation will dig into what it really takes to scale deep tech in Europe today – from opportunities and bottlenecks to what VCs are looking for next. You'll also meet some of Sweden's most innovative deep tech startups – building and scaling from the heart of Kista's research and innovation cluster. The event is free to attend for investors, founders and leaders in deep tech, but seats are very limited. Read more and sign up here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dSfuzzdM Kista Limitless Akademiska Hus A Working Lab

🤖 "Single until Series B" is the latest Silicon Valley mantra crossing into Europe – but Nordic AI founders are pushing back. Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/dtwc5Ut9 Jasper Mills ethira Andreas Lundmark Berget AI Aida Lutaj Legitify Mikael Knutsson Martin Weigert Rebin Naderi

Impact funds with a fresh thesis centered around cost competitiveness, resilience, and sustainability are emerging across Europe. In this deep dive, based on our reporting, we've curated: → The first-time impact funds that recently closed → The founders, theses, and early investments behind each one → Where they're looking to deploy capital next Available to read for subscribers here: https://lnkd.in/d4-MPEBG