Eqtventures
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EQT Ventures is a European multi-stage venture capital firm that leads early-stage rounds of EUR 2-50m in technology companies.
Also known as EQT Ventures
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026EQT Ventures is a European venture capital investor that backs technology founders as an early-stage lead investor, describing its targets as "Generation-Defining Companies." The firm states that EUR 1.1 billion has been invested behind the EQT Ventures strategy and that it has backed more than 140 founding teams, with a stated investment range of EUR 2-50 million per company. It is domiciled in Luxembourg and works through investment advisors in Stockholm, Paris, London, New York, Berlin and Amsterdam, with a focus on European companies. A third-party directory lists the firm as based in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in 2015, with 11-50 employees and activity across seed through Series D.
The firm operates multiple funds (including EQT Ventures II and Ventures III as referenced on portfolio company pages) and assigns a "responsible advisor" to each investment. It positions itself as a generalist, investing across sectors; categories associated with the firm include fintech, artificial intelligence, SaaS and software, data, automation, design, health tech and platforms. Alongside capital, EQT Ventures markets operational advisory support from a team of former founders and operators and access to the wider EQT platform. It also built an internal data-driven investment platform called Motherbrain, used for proactively sourcing investment opportunities, and at launch offered "Together," a matchmaking tool for angels and early-stage startups, plus a Mentor's fund in which European entrepreneurs invested.
Disclosed portfolio companies include Sana Labs (Sweden, EQT Ventures II, entry 2021, exit 2025), 1X (Norway, Ventures III, entry 2024), Payrails (Germany, Ventures III, entry 2023), Parloa (Germany, Ventures III, entry 2021) and The Exploration Company. Other named companies across the firm's materials and directory listings include Heart Aerospace, Lovable, Dwelly, Candela, Vinted, Einride, Wolt, Dott, Nothing, Verkor, Juni, Varjo, HackerOne, Small Giant Games, Peakon and 3D Hubs.
Founding story
The founding team described EQT Ventures as "the VC we would have wanted" during their own startup journeys, drawing on experience launching, funding, advising or scaling companies including Booking.com, Uber, Wrapp, King, Sendit, Spotify, SK Gaming, Rebtel, Great Works, Sportradar and Lendify. The team of former founders and operators set out to build a software-enabled, full-service European venture fund, publicly announcing the firm in May 2016 with 19 team members at launch.
Business model
EQT Ventures operates as a venture capital fund manager, raising commitments from limited partners and deploying capital into privately held technology companies, with returns generated through exits such as trade sales and secondary transactions. It is part of the wider EQT platform (EQT AB), which also includes EQT Growth, and it supplements capital with hands-on operational advice to portfolio companies.
As a venture fund manager, the firm's economics derive from managing limited partner commitments (EUR 566m in Fund I, EUR 660m in Fund II, EUR 1.1bn invested behind the strategy) and from investment returns on portfolio exits.
Traction
As of the company's current site, EUR 1.1 billion has been invested behind the EQT Ventures strategy across 140 investments and more than 140 founding teams backed. At its five-year mark in 2021 the firm had teamed up with 80 companies, leading 78 investments; of 50 Fund I companies, 28 (56%) had raised up-rounds from new investors and 6 (12%) had been acquired, including Small Giant Games ($700m exit to Zynga), Peakon ($700m exit to Workday) and 3D Hubs ($280m exit to Protolabs). Four Fund I companies (8%) were sourced with Motherbrain playing a pivotal role, of which one was acquired and one became a unicorn. A third-party directory lists 132 portfolio companies and 25 tracked team members.
Latest developments
The firm's news feed reports Heart Aerospace completing the first flight of what it describes as the world's largest electric aircraft (August 2026), the Scaleup Europe Fund backing Lovable's next chapter (August 2026), an investment in property management platform Dwelly (July 2026), commentary on Vinted's EUR 8 billion secondary transaction (April 2026), coverage of Candela and Harvey, and EQT Growth leading Mews' $300 million Series D (January 2026). Portfolio additions logged by a third-party directory include Starcloud (March 2026), Stacks (February 2026), Strawberry (October 2025), Doctor.One (October 2025), Einride (October 2025) and Clarifeye (October 2025).
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
EQT Ventures presents itself as an early-stage lead investor for European technology companies with the backing of the global EQT platform. Directory listings place it alongside other European venture firms such as Creandum, Global Founders Capital, Freigeist, 10x Founders, Wind and Inspired Capital.
Technology
EQT Ventures built Motherbrain, an in-house data-driven investment platform used to source and screen investment opportunities and support internal decision-making; the firm says it uses data "to train our gut." At launch it also introduced Together, a matchmaking tool connecting angels with early-stage startups.
Go-to-market
The firm sources deals proactively, including through its Motherbrain data platform, and positions itself as a high-conviction lead investor that concentrates on Series A while also investing at seed and Series B. It publishes founder stories, news and perspectives on its stories site and lists a general contact address for inbound approaches.
Founders and founding teams of early-stage, predominantly European technology companies raising rounds of EUR 2-50 million, across stages from seed to Series D and across sectors including fintech, AI, software, robotics, space, health and consumer.
Geography
Domiciled in Luxembourg, with investment advisors in Stockholm, Paris, London, New York, Berlin and Amsterdam; earlier materials cite offices in Stockholm, London, Berlin, Paris and San Francisco. Investment focus is on European companies, though the portfolio also includes companies located in the United States and elsewhere.
History
EQT Ventures publicly launched on 25 May 2016 after more than a year of preparation, with a first fund of EUR 566 million (stated as $630 million) in commitments and the byline "Half VC, Half startup." A second fund with total commitments of EUR 660 million was raised in 2019. By its fifth anniversary in May 2021 the firm reported teaming up with 80 companies, having led 78 of those investments, with 30 companies backed from Fund II. A later fund generation, Ventures III, appears in portfolio entries from 2021 onward, and cumulative capital invested behind the strategy is stated as EUR 1.1 billion with over 140 founding teams backed.
Risks & controversies
The firm has publicly disclosed portfolio losses: of the 50 companies backed in Fund I, four (8%) had shut down as of May 2021, which it attributed to the risk inherent in early-stage investing.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 15
launches, deals, and filingsThe firm reported that portfolio company Heart Aerospace completed the first flight of what it described as the world's largest electric aircraft.
The firm published its rationale for the Scaleup Europe Fund backing Lovable's next chapter.
The firm announced backing Dwelly, described as an AI-native end-to-end platform for property management.
The firm published commentary on portfolio-related news that Vinted completed a EUR 8 billion secondary transaction.
EQT Ventures' stories site reported that EQT Growth led a $300 million Series D in hospitality software company Mews.
$300M source ↗
The firm's company page records an exit in 2025 from Sana Labs, a Swedish AI knowledge-tools company entered in 2021 via EQT Ventures II.
EQT Ventures records a 2024 entry into 1X, a Norwegian AI and humanoid robotics company, through its Ventures III fund.
EQT Ventures records a 2023 entry into Payrails, a Berlin-based enterprise payments operating system founded in 2021 by Orkhan Abdullayev and Emre Talay.
EQT Ventures marked five years since launch, reporting 80 companies backed, 78 investments led, and Fund I outcomes including six acquisitions and four shutdowns.
EQT Ventures reported a $280 million exit of portfolio company 3D Hubs to ProtoLabs.
$280M source ↗
EQT Ventures reported a $700 million exit of portfolio company Peakon to Workday; Peakon was sourced with the help of Motherbrain.
$700M source ↗
EQT Ventures reported a $700 million exit of portfolio company Small Giant Games to Zynga.
$700M source ↗
EQT Ventures records a 2021 entry into Parloa, a German conversational AI platform for contact centers.
EQT Ventures publicly launched as a technology-driven, multi-stage European venture fund with EUR 566 million ($630 million) in commitments, alongside its Motherbrain sourcing software, the Together angel matchmaking tool and a Mentor's fund.
$630M source ↗
The firm introduced Motherbrain, a software-driven system for proactively sourcing investment opportunities, which it continued to develop as its internal data platform.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 7
primary sources listed
- Eqtventureseqtventures.com · web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Eqtventures do?
- EQT Ventures is a European multi-stage venture capital firm that leads early-stage rounds of EUR 2-50m in technology companies.
- Who are Eqtventures's investors?
- Eqtventures's investors include Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd).