Brighteye Bets $72M on "HumanOS" as European Startup Funding Doubles

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-16

Brighteye Ventures just closed a $72 million first round for its third fund. But the Luxembourg-based VC isn't just writing bigger checks. It's rewriting its entire thesis. The firm is moving beyond traditional EdTech into something it calls "HumanOS" — technology that helps people learn, work, and adapt alongside AI. "The defining opportunity of the AI era is not replacing humans with machines," said Ben Wirz, Founding Partner at Brighteye. "It is expanding what humans can do with machines." That's a big shift in thinking. And the timing? It comes as European startup funding in the learning and work space more than doubled in a single year. ### The Numbers Behind the Raise Brighteye's Fund III first close pulled in some notable new backers. The Lumina Foundation, Italian publishing group Zanichelli, and PI Impact all joined. They're alongside existing supporters like the European Investment Fund, the Jacobs Foundation, and several European family offices. Total assets under management now sit at $245 million. Not bad for a firm founded in 2017 by Wirz and Alex Spiro Latsis. Since then, Brighteye has invested in over 50 companies. Those businesses have collectively raised more than $1 billion in follow-on capital. Several are now generating over $100 million in annual revenue. ### What's Fueling the Surge? According to Brighteye's own European Learning & Work Funding Report 2026, venture funding in the sector jumped from $825 million in 2024 to $1.85 billion last year. That's the strongest annual total since 2021. And the first half of 2026 alone? $1.63 billion. If that pace holds, this year could nearly double last year's total. So what's driving it? AI, mostly. But not in the way you might think. Brighteye argues that AI's economic value won't be unlocked by deploying models alone. As machine intelligence gets cheaper, human capability becomes either the constraint or the multiplier. That's the core of the HumanOS thesis. > "Our conviction is that the next generation of category-defining companies will use technology to redefine human capability." — Ben Wirz, Founding Partner at Brighteye ### Where the Money's Going Brighteye typically writes initial checks between $400,000 and $4 million from pre-Seed to Series A. The firm usually leads or co-leads rounds, reserves capital for follow-ons, and takes hands-on board seats. It's looking for European companies with global ambition and a path to more than $100 million in revenue. Offices in London and Paris give it boots on the ground. With Fund III, Brighteye plans to back: - Early-stage startups where AI is genuinely embedded in teaching and learning workflows - Intelligence and productivity platforms for high-stakes settings like healthcare, education, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and climate - Managed labor platforms and talent software built for a more volatile, agent-assisted labor market The firm has already made eight investments from Fund III. Three are public so far: - **imagi** — a Swedish startup helping schools build AI fluency - **NEX Health Intelligence** — supporting hospital infection-control teams - **Gyver** — a marketplace for electricians, tapping into Europe's growing energy infrastructure demand The rest are still under wraps. But Brighteye expects to make up to 35 investments from this fund. ### A Broader Bet on Human Potential Alongside the close, Brighteye unveiled a new brand and website built with Justified Studio. It also expanded its Sidekick content platform and promoted three team members: David Guérin to Partner, Isabella Vahdati to Principal, and Rhys Spence to Head of Platform and Research. The portfolio includes names like Zen Educate, Ornikar, Hack The Box, Shakers, and installer. These aren't your typical education companies. They're workforce tools, cybersecurity platforms, and labor marketplaces. That's the point. Brighteye isn't just betting on EdTech anymore. It's betting on the idea that as AI gets smarter, humans need better tools to keep up. And that's a market worth watching — especially as European startup funding continues its upward climb. For founders working at the intersection of AI, learning, and work, this is a signal. The money is there. The thesis is evolving. And the firms that figure out how to multiply human capability — not replace it — might just build the next generation of category-defining companies.