Pitchdrive, a European early-stage venture capital firm, has announced the successful raise of its third Fund, amounting to €40 million, which will be dedicated to investing in promising startups across the continent. The fund’s closing has been met with overwhelming interest from limited partners (LPs), resulting in an oversubscription that exceeded the initial target by 30%, with commitments coming solely from entrepreneurs and family offices.

The remarkable success of Pitchdrive’s Fund I and Fund II, the latter co-managed with the later-stage VC firm Smartfin, has translated into extreme interest in their third fund. Within just two months, the fund became oversubscribed, prompting the firm to increase the initial target from €30 million to €34 million for the first closing. Ultimately, the fund will be hard-capped at €40 million due to the substantial demand.

Pitchdrive was founded in 2020 by a syndicate of well-known Belgian angels, including Jonas Dhaenens (Team.Blue), Boris Bogaert, Wim Derkinderen, Koen Christiaens (Xpenditure/Rydoo), Lorenz Bogaert, Toon Coppens (Netlog/Twoo & StarApps), and Luc Verelst (DROIA invest). The Belgian investor aims to professionalize investing with entrepreneur-driven expertise and startup support.

Recognizing the value of well-experienced entrepreneurs and the challenges of scalability and follow-on funding, the founders built Pitchdrive into a European household name within the pre-seed investing space. The firm believes that startups have much higher success rates when they raise early investments from experienced entrepreneurs and transition to traditional operator-led venture capital firms in later rounds.

The company leverages its entrepreneurial expertise to provide pre-seed investments, highly personalized guidance, support, and network access to its portfolio companies. The fund’s size allows for participation in subsequent funding rounds, giving the startups an immediate advantage. This approach has proven successful, with approximately 70% of Pitchdrive’s 50+ investments having already raised new rounds within two years, and first exits are in progress.

Boris Bogaert, Managing Partner of Pitchdrive, stated: “The €40 million investment fund will support 30 European startups over the next two years. Alongside the fund, Pitchdrive has established a new mentor network of 10 successful European entrepreneurs. This powerhouse network will provide personalized guidance and diverse expertise to propel Pitchdrive’s growing portfolio.”

Pitchdrive’s investment portfolio includes notable startups such as Henchman, NineID, Otiv, Bizzy, Fixform, Introw, Oper Credits, Smooved, Brauzz, and Picky from Belgium, as well as Hotel Manager, Happl, Privasee, and Greenspark from the UK, Luna from the Netherlands, FoodAmigos and Keaz from Germany, and Salus Mental from Turkey, among others.

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