Evertrue Capital's $17M Debut Fund: The Solo GP Betting on Frontier Tech

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-03

British VC firm Evertrue Capital has closed its debut fund at €15 million (about $17 million). The fund is the brainchild of Yvonne Bajela, a solo general partner who's been quietly backing founders for years. And she's not chasing hype—she's investing in frontier technologies at pre-Seed, mostly in the UK and Europe. The fund is backed by Phoenix Court through Basecamp, its fund of funds that invests in emerging managers globally. British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, Bootstrap 4F (Invest in Women Taskforce), and Allocator One also chipped in. That's a serious lineup for a first-time fund. ### The Philosophy: Insight Before Evidence Bajela's approach is simple but powerful: she invests before the market has proof. "Over the past decade, I've backed founders who went on to build billion-dollar companies, and almost none of them looked obvious at the start," she says. "The ones I'm drawn to understand a problem deeply, often from lived experience, and have the conviction and discipline to build around it." That belief has shaped Evertrue. Instead of spreading bets across dozens of companies, the fund will make a concentrated number of investments each year. Bajela leads rounds and gives founders the capital, access, and support to build companies of consequence. ### A Wave of Early-Stage Funds in Europe Evertrue's close comes amid a flurry of European early-stage VC announcements in 2026. In the UK, Nauta secured a €60 million first close for software and DeepTech startups, while Project Ventures launched a €5.8 million fund targeting AI and research-led businesses. Germany saw Vanagon Ventures close a €20 million debut fund (also backed by Allocator One), and Berlin-based solo GP Robin Capital just closed a €15 million second fund. Spain's Masia secured €18 million, Belgium's solo-GP NewSchool VC closed €10 million, and Germany's ZOHO.VC reached a €7 million first close. Together, these closes represent roughly €130 million in disclosed capital—rising to €145 million including Evertrue. It's a clear signal that despite fundraising challenges, emerging managers are finding backers. ### The Solo GP Challenge Fundraising for solo GPs has become increasingly difficult. According to Evertrue, 67% of new VC funds launched in 2024 targeted under €8.9 million (about $10 million). That's a tough environment for first-time fund managers, especially those without a large team. But Bajela's track record speaks for itself. She began her career at Goldman Sachs, founded her own company, and then joined Mitsui & Co., where she became one of its youngest investment managers. She invested globally in tech companies including Wise and helped portfolio companies expand into Asia. Later, she became a founding member and Principal at Impact X Capital, leading its Seed investment in Marshmallow. Before launching Evertrue, she was a Partner at Phoenix Court, home of LocalGlobe and Latitude, where she invested in and supported companies like Moove. ### Already Building a Portfolio Evertrue has already invested in seven companies, including: - Revion, agentic AI for the automotive sector - Poindexter Labs, an AI capability and efficiency lab - Zuba, the FinTech building infrastructure for global businesses - Zaro, the shared knowledge layer for enterprises Half of the portfolio has already launched operations in the US. That's a strong start for a fund that's just closed. > "Yvonne saw what we were building before it was easy to explain, back when training data was still an afterthought to most investors. That early belief gave us the confidence to go." — Jocelyn D'Arcy, co-founder of Poindexter Labs Zaki Gabe-Wilkinson, co-founder of YC-backed Revion, adds: "Yvonne was our first cheque and backed us from day zero. Her conviction in us as founders was clear from the start and she immediately got to work, helping us find top talent and opening doors across the UK and US." ### What This Means for Founders For founders building frontier tech in the UK and Europe, Evertrue offers a new source of pre-Seed capital. The fund writes checks between €299k and €599k (roughly $250k–$500k), focusing on companies that might not fit the traditional VC mold. Bajela's bet is that the best founders often look unconventional at the start. If she's right, Evertrue could become a launchpad for Europe's next generation of billion-dollar companies. And with half its portfolio already expanding to the US, the fund's impact is crossing the Atlantic.