London · Pre-Seed–Series A · 15 people tracked
Also known as Backed Encore · Haes Ventures Llp
Investment thesis
Backed positions itself as a human-centric European seed fund aiming to do venture differently. It backs bold, brave founders building generation-defining companies in frontier technology. The firm leads and invests early, writing average tickets of $500K to $5M, and operates a current fund of $100M. It emphasizes community and events, hosting thousands of attendees, and supports companies across a broad range of frontier and deep technology areas.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 15 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
The Backed mafia →8 people who came through Backed went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 47 of 92 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×24SaaS ×13Biotech ×10Deep Tech ×9Crypto & Web3 ×7Developer Tools ×7Enterprise Software ×7Fintech ×6
HQs:United Kingdom×16United States×8Spain×1
Who they back
founder profiles across 27 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×142 founders×113 founders×14+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 25 founders with education data
Imperial College London ×5EPFL ×2Princeton University ×2University of Amsterdam ×2University of Oxford ×2
Where their founders worked beforefrom 26 founders with career history
Invisible Technologies ×2The Thiel Foundation ×2YPO ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
6 founders hold a PhD · 3 hold an MBA (of 25 with degree data)
Investments · 92 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 32025 · 12023 · 12022 · 12021 · 22019 · 12017 · 110 dated
Cytosolix uses its Tumor Activated Permeability (TAP) platform to redesign small molecule oncology drugs into weakly-acidic derivatives that exploit tumor acidity to selectively target and accumulate in solid tumors while sparing healthy tissue.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechTolland, US
John Deacon(Executive Officer, Director)Colin J. Foster(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJason Whitmire(Director)in
Board seatAlex Brunicki· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsBlueYard CapitalBY Capital GmbH Co. KG
Invisible builds AI systems embedded into enterprise operations and workflows, focusing on integrating AI infrastructure into existing business processes rather than deploying standalone software solutions.
AI & Machine LearningDeveloper ToolsEnterprise SoftwareFuture of WorkSaaSSan Francisco, US
Francis Pedraza(Executive Officer, Director)inJay Kumar(Founder)inRicardo Pedraza(Executive Officer)Kamron J Palizban(Executive Officer)Marshall Sutherland(Executive Officer)Nicholas Paul Brysiewicz(Director)
Board seatAndre de Haes· per SEC Form D
Co-investorsAcrew CapitalBY Venture PartnersDay One VenturesGolden Gate VenturesGreycroftHOF Capital+4 more
Developing RNA medicines to treat, delay, and prevent brain diseases.
Afrocenchix makes vegan haircare products—shampoos, conditioners, oils, and moisturisers—formulated for Afro, tightly coiled, and curly hair.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerceLondon, GB
Co-investorsBackstage Capital
Amenitiz is a cloud-based property management system (PMS) and all-in-one hotel operations platform for independent hotels, bed & breakfasts, guesthouses, and vacation rentals across Europe.
PropTechSaaSTravel & HospitalityBarcelona, ES
Frédéric Cadet(Founder)in
Co-investorsEight Roads VenturesKfundChalfen VenturesColumbia Lake PartnersOtium CapitalThayer Ventures
Andium builds InSite, an AI-powered smart camera and remote monitoring platform for wellsite management in the oil and gas industry.
AI & Machine LearningClimate TechEnergyNew York, US
Jory Schwach(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardGhaith Alghamdi(Director)Thomas G. Miglis(Director)Odd Harald Hauge(Director)Marc van den Berg(Director)Geet Bhatt(Director)
Co-investorsAramco VenturesCarbon VenturesClimate InvestmentFuture matters Venture CapitalLoftyInc CapitalTalis Capital
Automated investment solutions for blockchain, gaming, and the metaverse.
Banked provides a set of account-to-account payment products that let businesses accept and send payments, including instant settlement, refunds, payouts, and reconciliation through a single API.
CybersecurityFintechSaaSLondon, GB
Brad Goodall(Co-Founder & CEO)inNeil Ambler(Co-Founder & COO)inEllie Fernandes(Co-Founder)Patrick Cox(Co-Founder)Joe Pettersson(CTO)John Fernandez(CLCO)
Co-investorsEdenred VenturesFirestartrInsight PartnersLove VenturesAcrew Capital
BCB Group provides payment infrastructure and instant settlement for financial institutions operating across fiat and crypto markets, offering a unified platform to manage, pay, store, and trade fiat, stablecoins, and cryptocurrencies via UI and API.
Crypto & Web3Enterprise SoftwareFintech
Oliver Tonkin(Co-founder and President)in
Co-investorsDigital Currency GroupNIVPantera CapitalRockawayXWintermuteFoundation Capital
Bird Buddy makes a smart bird feeder with a built-in camera (Nature Cam Pro) that captures 2K video and photos and uses AI to recognize bird species, paired with a mobile app that lets users view and share bird activity in their garden.
ConsumerHardwareIoTKalamazoo, US
Franci Zidar(Chief Executive Officer)Kyle Buzzard(Director)Tom Vodopivec(Chief Operating Officer)Michael Dietz(Chief Technology Officer)Benjamin Kumalic(Vice President of Growth)Henrik Fuglsang(Vice President of Supply Chain)
Co-investorsBoscarol d.o.o.Fundamental VenturesGeneral CatalystProtagonistSilicon GardensAdjacent V4+1 more
Live-streamed and archived underground music performances.
Technology-driven immigration and sponsorship solutions.
Cloud Capital provides an AI-driven forecasting and optimization platform that helps finance and engineering teams predict and reduce cloud spend, making AWS commitments on customers' behalf and passing on the savings.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingFintech
Co-investorsConnect VenturesConnect VenturesRedbus Ventures
CloudNC develops CAM Assist, software for machine shops that automates programming, quoting, and tool selection to reduce manual work and increase productivity.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLondon, GB
Theo Saville(Founder)inChris Emery(CTO)in
Co-investorsAdelineBootstrap EuropeEntrepreneur FirstEpisode1GRIDS CapitalIn-Q-Tel+7 more
Comind is developing non-invasive neurotechnology that measures a range of neurophysiological brain signals in a single bedside measurement.
Deep TechHealthtechMedical Devices
James Dacombe(Founder)in
Co-investorsAngelini VenturesCrane Venture PartnersOctopus Ventures
Cosyne develops precision medicine for underserved brain diseases, combining scientific and technical work to help patients with neurological conditions.
BiotechDeep TechHealthtech
Co-investorsBY Venture Partners
Datapane is an open-source Python library for building interactive data reports by wrapping components such as Pandas DataFrames, plots from libraries like Plotly and Altair, Markdown, and files.
Data & InfrastructureDeveloper ToolsBedford
Leo Anthias(Executive Officer, Director)Mandeep Gill(Executive Officer, Director)
Co-investorsCrane Venture Partners
Dataseat provides a demand-side platform for mobile app developers and agencies to run programmatic advertising campaigns in a privacy-first environment, offering control and transparency over campaign performance and spend.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS
Paul Hayton(Founder)in
Co-investorsPlay VenturesSAATCHiNVEST
AI-powered personalized dermatology and skincare.
Streamlines procurement and sales with logistics and software expertise.
DXOS is an open source framework for building real-time, collaborative local-first web applications that run on the client and communicate peer-to-peer without centralized servers.
Crypto & Web3Data & InfrastructureDeveloper Tools
Co-investorsBlueYard Capital
EnterpriseAlumni provides a corporate alumni engagement platform that helps companies build and manage networks of former employees for sales, recruitment, and brand advocacy.
Enterprise SoftwareHR TechSaaS
Co-investorsAngel AcademeBY Venture PartnersD4 Ventures
Strategic investments in sustainable industrial transformation.
Enzyme-mimetic therapies for neuroprotection and longevity.
FabricNano develops cell-free biocatalysis technology that immobilizes engineered enzymes onto scalable, environmentally friendly support materials for use in bio-processes.
BiotechCleantechNew MaterialsClaymont, US
Grant Aarons(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)inFerdinando Randisi(Director)
BoardSiraj Khaliq(Director)inRobert Kniaz(Director)in
Co-investorsEntrepreneur FirstHoxton VenturesPace VenturesAtomicoBoxOne Ventures
Flexciton develops AI-driven production planning and scheduling software for semiconductor fabs, using mathematical optimization to improve throughput, tool utilization, and on-time delivery.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningSemiconductorsLondon, GB
Jamie Potter(CEO)inDionysios Xenos(CTO)in
Co-investorsEntrepreneur First
Flow is a hardware development platform that uses AI to help engineering teams keep requirements, architecture, and verification aligned across complex vehicle programs.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeveloper Tools
Pari Singh(Founder)in
Co-investorsAir Street CapitalDeep Science VenturesSequoia Capital
Footium is an online football (soccer) management game where players own and manage virtual clubs, scouting players, setting tactics, and competing in month-long seasons of daily matches against other users.
Crypto & Web3GamingSports Tech
Co-investorsEntrée Capital
Foundries.io provides FoundriesFactory, a cloud-based DevOps platform and the Linux microPlatform (LmP) operating system for building, securing, and updating embedded and IoT devices.
Cloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsIoT
Co-investorsCrane Venture PartnersTransition VC
Garten provides healthy food, meditation, mindfulness and community wellness services for workplace environments.
AI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareFoodTechFuture of WorkWellness & FitnessSan Francisco, US
Michael Heinrich(Founder/CEO)in
Co-investorsBY Venture PartnersFifty YearsFundersClubMontage CapitalY CombinatorACE & Company+1 more
General Intuition is an AI research organization focused on developing general artificial intelligence through learning and play-based approaches, utilizing game environments and reinforcement learning to teach machines perception, anticipation, and real-world reasoning capabilities.
AI & Machine LearningDeep Tech
Vincent Micheli(Co-founder)inPim de Witte(Co-founder)in
Co-investorsActivant CapitalAlliance VCAlliance VentureBascom VenturesCastor Ventures (an Alumni Ventures Fund)Chapter One+10 more
Seamless, smart, and social e-commerce checkout experience.
GingerControl provides an automated post-entry review tool for customs compliance, re-evaluating the classification and valuation of every import entry rather than relying on sampling.
AI & Machine LearningLogistics & Supply ChainSaaS
Mobile games for global audiences.
Data marketplace platform provider.
Hoxton Farms grows cultivated fat, a biomanufactured ingredient for food companies to use in plant-based and alternative meat products.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechFoodTechLondon, GB
Vítor Espírito Santo(Chief Scientific Officer)in
Co-investorsCollaborative FundEarth Venture CapitalFine Structures VenturesForm VenturesGlobal BrainJuniper+4 more
Hutch is a game development studio that builds mobile games, including car-themed titles such as Matchcreek Motors.
GamingLondon, GB
Co-investorsIndex VenturesModern Times Group
Immutable provides a full-stack product suite for building and scaling games, offering infrastructure and player-engagement tools along with digital ownership features.
AI & Machine LearningCrypto & Web3Developer ToolsGamingMarketing Tech
James Ferguson(Founder)Robbie Ferguson(Founder)in
Co-investorsAirTree VenturesAndromeda CapitalArca FundsArrington CapitalB CapitalBitkraft Esports Ventures+15 more
Next-generation crypto wallet bringing DeFi to the world.
Jelly is a mobile app that automates invoice processing, recipe costing, margin tracking, stock counting, and supplier ordering for restaurants and kitchens.
AI & Machine LearningFoodTechSaaS
JJ Tan(Founder)in
Co-investorsGreylock PartnersSpark CapitalSV Angel
Co-investorsAir Street Capital
LabGenius develops EVA, an automated discovery engine for identifying and co-optimizing complex therapeutic antibodies such as multispecifics across multiple properties.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechLondon
Harrison Rickerby(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJames Field(Executive Officer, Director)in
Co-investorsAcequia Capital (AceCap)Air Street CapitalBeast VenturesChampion Hill VenturesGigafundKindred Capital+8 more
Player-driven web3 gaming experiences.
San Francisco, US
Aron Beierschmitt(Director)
Invests in decentralised finance and blockchain innovation.
Intelligent, automated financial reporting insights.
Dutch cultivated meat company that grew pork from pluripotent stem cells; wound down operations in December 2025.
Co-investorsHAWKTAILFuture Positive CapitalHumboldt
Decentralising drug development through blockchain-powered collaboration.
Novogaia develops novel medicines derived from fungi by using machine learning to identify drug-like molecular structures from natural samples and match them to targets addressing unmet medical needs.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechLondon, GB
Tess Bevers(CEO)inDavid Kubanek(CTO)in
Co-investorsEntrepreneur FirstTranspose Platform Management
Nuntius develops programmable nanocarriers for drug delivery that can target tissues beyond the liver and utilize machine learning to optimize carrier performance.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechHealthtechLondon, GB
Benita Nagel(Founder)inAlbert Kwok(Founder)in
Co-investorsY Combinator
Ochre Bio develops RNA therapeutics and drug discovery platforms targeting liver disease, combining proprietary human liver datasets with AI-driven causal prediction and human tissue validation models.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechHealthtechMedical DevicesLondon, GB
Quin Wills(Founder/CSO)inJack O'Meara(Founding CEO)in
BoardChinwe UkomaduElaine SullivanEliot ForsterJack Castle
Co-investorsBeast VenturesCoastCapEntrepreneur FirstExpaHoxton VenturesLifeforce Capital+6 more
Advanced mathematical programming and optimisation software.
Olix develops a novel compute architecture integrating SRAM with photonics to enable more efficient AI model deployment, addressing throughput, cost, and latency limitations of current GPU memory systems.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechSemiconductors
James Dacombe(Founder)in
Co-investorsCrane Venture PartnersFounder CollectiveHummingbird VenturesSovereignAITransitionTransition Global+5 more
Onramper is a fiat-to-crypto onramp aggregator that connects apps, wallets, and exchanges to 30+ onramps and 175+ payment methods through a single API, with a routing engine that selects the best provider per transaction to improve conversion and lower fees.
Crypto & Web3FintechSaaS
Co-investorsTRGC
Optimal provides AI-based greenhouse climate control that connects to growers' climate computers (such as Priva and Ridder) via cloud APIs and automatically adjusts settings 24/7 to hit target climate conditions as weather forecasts change.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningSaaSLondon, GB
Dave Hunter(CEO)inJoão Abrantes(Founding CTO)in
Co-investors2050Air Street CapitalCrane Venture PartnersEntrepreneur FirstCarmel VenturesKoch Disruptive Technologies+1 more
Personalised, trackable, and organised file sharing.
Phytoform Labs develops GM-free genome editing tools and trait engineering technologies for crop improvement, with a focus on potato and tomato varieties.
AgTechAI & Machine LearningBiotechHarpenden, GB
William Pelton(Executive Officer, Director)Nicholas Kral(Director)Dhiraj Singh(Director)
Co-investorsEniac VenturesFine Structures VenturesFTW VenturesManta Ray VenturesWireframe VenturesRefactor Capital+1 more
Data-driven travel and entertainment experiences.
Tenant screening and rent collection for property management.
Reya is a decentralized perpetuals exchange (DEX) built as an L2 on Arbitrum Orbit, offering high-speed trading with zero gas, MEV protection, and self-custody, along with yield-bearing collateral options such as srUSD and wstETH.
Crypto & Web3Fintech
Co-investorsEntrepreneur FirstFabric VenturesRR2 CapitalVarys Capital
Ruka Hair sells hair extensions and hair care products such as perfume, with a focus on matching different hair textures and lengths for its customers.
ConsumerDirect to ConsumerE-commerce
Co-investorsSamos Investments
Next-generation mRNA manufacturing and bioproduction technologies.
Serna builds a platform to unlock the transcriptome as a drug target for drug discovery.
AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechHealthtechOntario, US
Rabia Khan(Founder)in
Co-investorsHummingbird VenturesLifeforce CapitalY Combinator
Sky Mavis builds blockchain games and related infrastructure, with Axie Infinity as its flagship product.
Crypto & Web3Gaming
Trung Nguyen(Founder & CEO)inAleksander Larsen(Founder)Jeffrey Zirlin(Founder)in
Co-investorsa16z cryptoAccelAndreessen HorowitzAVVCollab+CurrencyConsenSys Mesh+10 more
Secure and scalable blockchain solutions for digital commerce.
Stardust is an advertising platform for mobile app and game marketers, running automated user-acquisition campaigns on iOS and Android with support for MMPs such as AppsFlyer, Adjust, Tenjin, and Singular.
AdTechGamingMarketing Tech
Marcus F.(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlockchain CapitalDelta BlockchainLattice CapitalMantis CapitalMaven 11Polymorphic Capital+1 more
Hands-on STEAM education for the next generation.
Tools and support for entrepreneurs building high-growth businesses.
Those Beyond builds immersive, social games and experiences for entertainment fandoms, deployed directly inside platforms like Reddit, Discord, Twitch, and Snapchat.
GamingMedia & EntertainmentSocial
Co-investorsAcurio VenturesIQ CapitalPlayfair Capital
Thought Machine builds the Vault platform, core banking software that lets banks build and run financial products and payment schemes.
Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSLondon, GB
Paul Taylor(Founder & CEO)
Co-investorsLloyds Banking GroupAir Street CapitalCambridge Angels groupKarma VenturesMolten VenturesNyca+6 more
Unmade provides digital infrastructure and automation software for apparel and sportswear brands to manage customization, small-batch production, and demand-driven manufacturing.
Advanced ManufacturingDeveloper ToolsE-commerceEnterprise SoftwareSaaSLondon, GB
Co-investorsBallpark VenturesFELIX CAPITALTechstarsC4 VenturesConnect VenturesLocalGlobe+2 more
UK-based AI-native travel platform that personalizes trip recommendations with embedded flexible payment options.
Co-investorsPress On Ventures
Next-generation ETH yield through restaking strategies.
Co-investorsMolten Ventures
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesOlix · olix.com · Aug 17, 2026
Thought Machine · thesaasnews.com · Jul 8, 2026
General Intuition · fundraiseinsider.com · Jun 29, 2026
Invisible Technologies · finsmes.com · Jun 18, 2026
Foundries · yourstory.com · Jun 2, 2026
Sky Mavis · thenextweb.com · Apr 15, 2026
Footium · blockchaingamer.biz · Apr 9, 2026
Amenitiz · skift.com · Nov 11, 2025
Principals & officers · per Companies House
what is this? ⓘLLP designated member · since 2015
Andre Charles De Haes — significant influence or control limited liability partnership
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Backed made?
- Backed has 92 tracked investments, 1 of which have exited via acquisition or IPO, including 4 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Backed invest at?
- Backed invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What is Backed's typical check size?
- Backed typically writes checks of $500K – $5M.
- What sectors does Backed focus on?
- Backed focuses on Advanced Manufacturing, AI & Machine Learning, Biotech, Consumer, Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, EdTech, Energy, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Healthtech, Media & Entertainment, Retail Tech, SaaS, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Backed located?
- Backed is headquartered in London, GB.
- Does Backed lead rounds?
- Yes, Backed leads investment rounds.
- Who does Backed co-invest with?
- Backed most often shares deals with Entrepreneur First, Air Street Capital, Crane Venture Partners, among 155 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamFounder Pim de Witte talking about getting first investment from Alex Brunicki at BACKED
BACKED · Alex Brunicki
Andre de Haes: Co-Founder and Partner at Backed VC announcing their new $100m fund!
Scaling-Europe · Andre de Haes
Andre de Haes, Backed VC: Redefining VC Edge & Embracing Authenticity
EUVC · Andre de Haes
009 The future of Gaming is Human | Future of Gaming 2023
BACKED
011 The state of web3 infrastructure for gaming | Future of Gaming 2023
BACKED
010 What is Web3 Good For in Gaming | Future of Gaming 2023
BACKED
Co-investors · 46
Entrepreneur First (EF) is a talent investor that helps individuals build and launch startups, providing support such as US visa guidance, office space, fundraising preparation, and investor introductions culminating in a San Francisco Demo Day.
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General Catalyst is a venture capital firm operating as a partnership focused on company building and accelerating the growth of the businesses it backs.
Acequia Capital is an early-stage investment platform supporting technical founders and product teams building global technology businesses.
LocalGlobe is part of a multi-generational Phoenix Court platform that backs companies from pre-seed through public markets, founded by the Klein family who are considered founders of European seed investing with multi-decade relationships across the European tech ecosystem. The fund operates from a physical founder village at Phoenix Court in London and focuses on backing unconventional entrepreneurs in specific geographic neighbourhoods, having been among the earliest institutional backers of European outliers like Wise, Zoopla, and Citymapper.
Hoxton Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that backs pre-seed and seed companies, often investing before revenue or product and offering hands-on support to founders.
Hummingbird Ventures is an Australian investment family office that applies a repeatable investment framework across asset classes, industries, and holding periods.
Molten Ventures is a European venture capital firm that backs technology founders from Series A onward, providing capital along with expertise and networks to help companies scale globally.
Playfair Capital is a pre-seed technology investor operating as a generalist fund. The firm focuses on early-stage technology companies.
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is a venture capital firm founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, known for pioneering the platform model with a large team of operators supporting founders across stages.
Foundation Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that commits to founders at the idea stage and maintains long-term relationships with portfolio companies through their growth journey.
FundersClub is an online venture capital firm and startup investing platform that gives accredited investors access to vetted early-stage startups from Silicon Valley and beyond.
Kindred Capital is a London-based venture capital firm that backs early-stage founders, emphasizing a team-oriented, partnership approach to supporting companies over the long term.
▶34 more co-investors
Eight Roads VenturesChampion Hill VenturesKfundThayer VenturesSamaipataCraft VenturesFirst Round CapitalPlug and Play VenturesPioneerAccel-KKRPoint NineLatitud VenturesNotion CapitalAnthemis VentureCisco InvestmentsShrug CapitalSarona VenturesBasementSeed Club VenturesPioneer Square LabsBoost VCRTP GlobalAdjacent Ventures LlcMassMutual VenturesJigsaw VCLife BiosciencesSyngenta Group VenturesBasecamp FundSilicon BadiaFactionbacktrace capitalWave CapitalGrupo DKVhenQ vc
Firms observed investing alongside Backed, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Backed's recorded portfolio.
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