TL;DR: Hiro Capital Launches €500M Fund to Help Europe's Deeptech Scaleups Succeed
Hiro Capital's €500M fund, led by Nick Clegg and AI expert Yann LeCun, aims to close Europe's late-stage funding gap for deeptech startups. Targeting sectors like AI, robotics, and spatial computing, this fund provides unprecedented resources, mentorship, and funding from €5M to €50M to help startups thrive locally instead of relocating to the U.S. or Asia.
• Europe's "valley of death" funding gap has stifled growth for deeptech innovators requiring long R&D timelines.
• Hiro Capital is set to empower startups by preventing brain drain while boosting global competitiveness.
• The focus includes AI-focused robotics, immersive spatial computing, and next-gen healthcare.
Discover similar initiatives supporting women founders through Fe/male Switch, a platform promoting startup success in 2025. Apply for Hiro Capital funding if your startup matches their targeted sectors and is ready to scale!
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As a serial entrepreneur with over two decades of experience navigating the European startup ecosystem, I’ve seen firsthand how capital, or the lack of it, shapes the climate for innovation. Over the years, I’ve observed many brilliant ideas fail not because they lacked talent but because they couldn’t cross the dreaded “valley of death.” This gap, where startups struggle to secure scaleup funding, is a uniquely critical issue in Europe. That’s why Hiro Capital’s new €500 million fund is more than just another VC announcement, it represents a potential turning point in how Europe nurtures its own deeptech champions.
What is Hiro Capital’s €500M Fund and Why Does It Matter?
The newly launched €500 million fund by Hiro Capital, spearheaded by Sir Nick Clegg and AI pioneer Yann LeCun, seeks to systematically address Europe’s scaleup gap. Focused on deeptech, Hiro Capital stands out by strategically targeting areas like Artificial Intelligence, robotics, spatial computing, and game-changing sectors that often struggle to secure late-stage funding. For founders, this fund isn’t just an opportunity for capital, it is access to resources aimed at building globally competitive businesses without leaving Europe.
In simple terms, Hiro Capital wants to prevent the brain drain that has stifled Europe’s tech leadership for decades. Deeptech startups, which often require longer timelines and higher R&D budgets, have traditionally been poached by U.S. and Asian investors who can provide the scaleup capital the European ecosystem lacks. The fund aims to remove that bottleneck, creating a more even playing field for high-growth startups to remain rooted in Europe.
What Challenges Does Europe’s Deeptech Ecosystem Face?
Europe generates 30% of the world’s most significant research, yet it consistently underperforms when it comes to creating global tech dominators. The culprits? A lack of late-stage capital and a fragmented ecosystem. This is what industry insiders term the “valley of death,” a funding gap most keenly felt in deeptech sectors that require capital-intensive, longer timelines to reach scalability or commercialization.
- Lack of Scaleup Capital: While early-stage grants and seed funding are abundant, most funds tap out when late-stage growth financing is required.
- Fragmented Networks: European startups lack the cohesive ecosystems seen in Silicon Valley, where funding, mentors, and market access seamlessly converge.
- IP Ownership Issues: Many founders are forced to relinquish equity, or even headquarters, when seeking large checks from U.S. or Asian investment firms.
Having built my ventures like CADChain and Fe/male Switch, I know that scaling a deeptech startup can feel insurmountable without the right infrastructure in place. It’s not just about getting funded, it’s about staying independent and competitive in a global market. Hiro Capital is tackling this precise challenge by boosting late-stage funding and strategically curating capital for startups that already have validated, scalable business models.
Why Are Founders Buzzing Over Nick Clegg and Yann LeCun?
Let’s talk star power. Sir Nick Clegg brings both diplomatic finesse and insider knowledge from his time as a top executive at Meta, while Yann LeCun’s reputation as a pioneer in AI adds instant legitimacy to the fund’s vision. For founders, this isn’t just an investor panel; it’s a brain trust. Clegg and LeCun don’t merely provide capital, they provide an unparalleled network, guidance, and technological vision for scaling world-class deeptech ventures.
Clegg summarized it best: “Hiro Capital isn’t here to watch startups graduate to the U.S. market; we’re here to anchor them in Europe, proving that this continent can foster unicorns just as effectively.” LeCun echoed this sentiment, stating, “We’re entering an era where deeptech, grounded in AI and robotics, is set to redefine industries. Europe should lead this revolution, and Hiro Capital can help tilt the odds.”
What Does the Investment Strategy Look Like?
The fund’s checks will range between €5 million to €50 million, targeting startups at Series A through pre-IPO stages. Unlike conventional VCs that chase pure profit metrics, Hiro Capital emphasizes supporting businesses solving genuine challenges with breakthrough technologies. The focus sectors include:
- Artificial Intelligence: Especially AI applications in “physical environments,” such as robotics or augmented systems.
- Spatial Computing: Integrations of digital and physical worlds, paving the way for immersive experiences.
- Longevity and Tech-Enabled Healthcare: Solutions addressing aging populations through innovation.
- Autonomous Robotics: Next-gen robotics aimed at logistics, defense, and industrial automation.
For founders, this targeted focus is substantial. Beyond funding, Hiro Capital offers an ecosystem, bringing together advisors, infrastructure, and sector-specific expertise to co-design a company’s path to success. For instance, in my own work at Fe/male Switch, I’ve seen how providing targeted mentoring and step-by-step milestones can make or break whether women founders succeed in their verticals. Hiro Capital’s approach mirrors this: de-risking scale-up challenges by embedding hands-on, tailored support throughout the journey.
How Can Founders Prepare for Hiro Capital Funding?
If you’re a European founder, especially in the deeptech world, Hiro Capital represents a high-value opportunity, but you need to come prepared. Here are practical ways to position yourself for their radar:
- Validate Initially: Demonstrate proof-of-concept and validate market interest before applying.
- Get Your Financials Tight: Hiro Capital prioritizes late-stage investments, so your financial trajectory and unit economics must shine.
- Leverage Niche Expertise: Align with their key sectors like AI-powered robotics or healthcare applications to stand out.
- Build Local Momentum: Show European growth potential and why staying here benefits the ecosystem.
This fund represents hope for companies ready to scale but unwilling to sacrifice autonomy or European identity in pursuit of growth. But more than that, Hiro Capital is setting an example for what’s possible when Europe doubles down on its innovation potential. The real question is: will European founders step up to meet the moment?
FAQ on Hiro Capital's €500M Fund for European Startups
Why is Hiro Capital’s €500M fund significant for European startups?
Hiro Capital’s fund targets late-stage deeptech startups and focuses on Artificial Intelligence and robotics, addressing Europe’s critical funding gap. This prevents brain drain and helps startups scale globally while staying rooted in Europe. Explore Europe's female founder ecosystems.
What challenges do deeptech startups face in Europe?
Deeptech startups often encounter a fragmented ecosystem, lack of late-stage funding, and pressure to relocate for capital. These barriers hinder scalability despite Europe leading in high-impact research areas. Understand startup challenges on building a business in Malta.
How does Hiro Capital support global competitiveness without European startups relocating?
By providing €5M, €50M checks at Series A to pre-IPO stages, Hiro Capital nurtures validated business models and ensures access to targeted mentoring and late-stage funding essential to sustain operations within Europe.
What sectors does Hiro Capital’s fund focus on?
Hiro Capital emphasizes Artificial Intelligence, spatial computing, robotics, tech-enabled healthcare, and longevity innovations, aiming to support breakthrough technologies addressing tangible challenges. Discover AI-powered tech trends for startups in Europe.
Who are the key leaders involved in Hiro Capital’s fund?
Industry veterans Sir Nick Clegg and Yann LeCun bring political and AI expertise, making the fund an influential brain trust for deeptech ventures. Their vision is central to boosting Europe’s startup ecosystem.
How can European founders prepare for Hiro Capital funding?
Founders should validate market interest, ensure tight financial oversight, align with key focus sectors, and display potential for strong local growth to position themselves as promising candidates. Develop core startup skills for success.
What is the “valley of death” and how does Hiro Capital aim to fix it?
The “valley of death” refers to the funding gap deeptech startups face in scaling. Hiro Capital aims to eradicate this by offering substantial late-stage capital and retaining European ownership.
Why do founders value the involvement of Nick Clegg and Yann LeCun?
Nick Clegg's global insight and Yann LeCun's AI expertise strengthen the fund’s credibility, providing founders access to unmatched networks and strategic guidance for scalability.
What long-term changes does Hiro Capital aim to stimulate?
Hiro Capital aspires to build a robust European startup ecosystem, enabling deeptech businesses to thrive domestically, compete globally, and remain highly independent.
How does Hiro Capital’s mentoring approach impact founders?
Hiro Capital provides tailored mentoring and structured milestones, similar to the strategic guidance used within tools like Fe/male Switch, ensuring founders can efficiently overcome scale-up barriers. Find female founder resources in Europe.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the “gamepreneurship” methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the point of view of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.