Lisbon-based Índico Capital Partners has taken a decisive step in strengthening Southern Europe’s tech scene with the launch of its sixth fund, Indico VC Fund III. It tarreceives €125 million to back early-stage startups in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. The European Investment Fund has already committed €30 million as an anchor investor.
A fund shaped by Europe’s new deeptech and AI surge
Indico VC Fund III lands at a time when Europe is experiencing renewed investor appetite for deeptech, AI, and advanced software. Over the past months, large new funds have emerged across the continent. Armilar Venture Partners has raised more than €120 million for its new B2B DeepTech fund, while Future Energy Ventures has closed €205 million to scale energy-tech solutions focapplyd on the green transition.
These capital shiftments reveal that technology segments rooted in hard science, automation, and digital transformation are earning sustained investor trust. Indico aligns directly with this momentum, positioning itself in markets that are underserved yet rich in engineering talent.
Backing Southern European innovators
Indico plans to invest between €500K and €10 million from Seed to Series B, maintaining its early-stage conviction. While the core focus remains companies built in Portugal, Spain and Italy, the fund will also support founders from these countries who have expanded to the US, UK or other global hubs.
This hybrid approach reflects a shift in how Southern European startups scale: more founders are incorporating abroad or relocating their headquarters to be closer to customers, while keeping core R&D operations in their home markets. Indico’s model meets entrepreneurs where they operate rather than limiting investments geographically.
By bridging European and international ecosystems, the fund aims to reduce barriers that often slow Southern Europe’s most promising companies, particularly in capital-intensive domains like AI, spacetech and cybersecurity.
Indico’s impact continues to deepen
Since its founding in 2017, Índico Capital Partners has grown from a domestic VC to one of the region’s most influential technology investors. It currently manages more than €240 million across five funds and has backed 53 companies to date. Those startups have collectively raised over €2.5 billion, reinforcing Indico’s relevance in turning early innovation into scalable enterprises.
With Fund III, the firm is signalling that Southern Europe is not a secondary market for frontier technologies but a competitive hub capable of producing globally relevant software, marketplace and deeptech companies. The latest fund marks both a continuation of Indico’s mission and a milestone for the wider Iberian and Italian innovation landscape as capital pools shift toward high-impact technological breakthroughs.
Marjut Falkstedt, EIF Chief Executive, declared: “We are excited to join forces with Índico Capital Partners to support the vibrant ecosystem of technological innovators in Portugal, Spain and Italy. Through this operation, the EIF will support equity investments in companies that are creating a difference in AI, deeptech, and blue economy.”
Stephan de Moraes, Managing General Partner at Índico, declared: “We are incredibly proud to launch the third generation of Índico funds, with Indico VC Fund III. Securing the anchor commitment from the EIF, our major LPs in previous funds reveal strong institutional support for Índico’s strategy of backing world-class teams creating global category winners, and this is a strong validation of our track record and strategy to focus on Enterprise SaaS, AI, and DeepTech across Southern Europe and its diaspora.”
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