Mouro Capital closes $400M third fund for fintech AI bets

Jan de Vries · 2026-05-19

London-based VC firm Mouro Capital just hit a major milestone. It announced the first close of its third fund, locking in $400 million from Banco Santander. That cash is earmarked for founders who are rethinking financial services through technology. This latest raise pushes the firm's total commitments past the $1 billion mark. And they're not stopping there. Mouro plans to open its doors to outside investors for the first time soon. So far, they've already made seven investments from this new fund, including buzzy names like ElevenLabs and Sakana AI. ### What the partners are saying Manuel Silva Martinez, a General Partner at Mouro, shared what's driving their focus. "Over the past decade we're proud to have built a global platform delivering strong, consistent returns," he said. "With this fund, we're excited to back the next generation of global founders rewiring financial services through the lens of AI, data and infrastructure." He pointed out specific areas where they see huge potential. Capital markets and wealth management are ripe for disruption. There's also a growing need in Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) as AI adoption spreads across enterprises. Insurtech is another space he called "massively underserved by venture." ### A decade of strong returns Mouro Capital isn't new to this game. Since 2015, they've been investing across North America, Europe, and Latin America, typically from Seed to Series C rounds. Their track record speaks for itself. Across 26 exits, they've averaged a 4x return on invested capital. That's put them in the top decile of global VC managers. "This third fund puts that specialism to work at a moment when the pace of change rewards deep, hard-earned knowledge," the firm noted. Their top ten portfolio companies have posted an average revenue growth CAGR of 97% over the last five years. Not too shabby. ### Portfolio highlights and strategy The firm has backed over 70 companies to date. Some of the names you might recognize include Ripple, TrueLayer, Upgrade, Creditas, Klar, and Alinia. They're big on doubling down on winners too, with a 66% follow-on rate. That means they reserve plenty of capital to keep backing their best bets. Christopher Gottschalk, another General Partner, explained their broader vision. "Financial services and technology have been converging for years, AI has further accelerated the pace of change," he said. "We're seeing the emergence of AI-native financial infrastructure, from real-time payments to programmable money movement, identity and data platforms." ### Global team and growth plans Mouro is managed by Manuel Silva Martinez and Christopher Gottschalk, with offices in London, Madrid, and San Francisco. They've been scooping up talent from top firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Deloitte, FT Partners, and Illuminate Financial. Right now, they're actively growing their team and plan to hit 15 members by year's end. With over $1 billion in commitments and a history of top-quartile returns, Mouro Capital looks well-positioned to keep riding the fintech and AI wave. Their blend of deep sector knowledge and disciplined investing seems to be paying off, both for their LPs and the founders they back.