Angel Invest Closes $44M Fund III for Early-Stage Startups

Jan de Vries · 2026-06-11

Angel Invest, a venture capital firm based in Berlin, has just announced the final close of its Fund III, bringing in $44 million (€40 million). The fund exceeded its target and will stick with its core strategy: backing startups at the angel, pre-Seed, and Seed stages across Europe. The firm has already invested in over 110 companies from this fund. Recent bets include Peec AI, Originator, Sapiom, Fonio, INXM, Mav9, Huzzle, Seapoint, Daisytuner, AskVinny, and Feld Energy. ### A Team Built for More Than Just a First Check Jens Lapinski, Founding Partner of Angel Invest, put it this way: "The team we are announcing today reflects where we are taking the firm: venture partners who have founded and exited companies, and advisors including a Forbes Midas List investor who backed some of Europe's biggest breakouts. Our ambitions go beyond the first check. Angel Invest is more than an angel fund." And they're walking the talk. The firm has brought on new venture partners and advisors who bring serious firepower. For example, Nazanin Daneshvar joined from EQT Ventures after scaling one of the Middle East's largest startups to hundreds of employees. Connor Murphy, founder of Brdg and a former Managing Director at Techstars, also came on board as a venture partner. Both have already made early investments with Angel Invest that attracted follow-on funding from top-tier VC funds. And they don't just write checks—they spend hundreds of hours each year coaching founders. ### A Wave of European Fund Announcements Angel Invest's news comes alongside several other big fund raises in Europe this week. Antwerp-based Pitchdrive closed $66 million (€60 million) Fund IV to back AI-native early-stage startups. Berlin's own Merantix Capital raised $114 million (€103 million) for an AI fund targeting early-stage, AI-native companies. And Creator Fund, based in Kensington, UK, closed its first European fund at $54 million (€48.8 million) to back scientific founders at pre-Seed stage. It's a busy time for European VC, and Angel Invest is positioning itself as a key player. ### A Track Record of Exits and Follow-On Investments Across more than 250 portfolio companies, Angel Invest says its early investments have attracted leading global investors and delivered exits. Some standout names include: - **Augustus** (formerly Ivy): Scaled to a Series B led by Valar Ventures alongside Creandum. - **Taktile**: Backed by Index Ventures and Tiger Global. - **Rasa**: Supported by Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and PayPal Ventures. - **Spacelift**: Backed by Insight Partners. - **Peec AI**: Backed by 20VC and Singular. These aren't just small bets—they're companies that have gone on to raise serious capital from some of the biggest names in global VC. ### What This Means for Founders If you're a founder building in Europe, this fund close is good news. Angel Invest is clearly doubling down on early-stage investing, and with a team that includes seasoned operators and top-tier advisors, they offer more than just capital. They bring hands-on support and a network that can help you scale. The $44 million fund gives them plenty of runway to keep writing checks at the angel and Seed stages. And with the broader European ecosystem heating up—especially in AI—there's never been a better time to pitch. For those keeping an eye on European startup funding, Angel Invest is one to watch. They're not just another angel fund; they're building something bigger.