BlackWood Ventures Announces Final Close of Debut Fund at More Than $25 Million to Back Europe's Next Generation of Founders
Since its first close in April 2023, BlackWood has made 19 investments spanning nine countries, with a plan to build a portfolio of around 30 fintech, cleantech, and Web3 companies.
'Europe is not short on talent; it's short on conviction capital. That's the gap we're here to fill,' said Bastian Larsen, founder and CEO of BlackWood Ventures. 'We built BlackWood to be truly European in scope and disciplined in approach, seeing hundreds of opportunities each month and backing founders whose ambition and focus stand out.'
Investments include:
Matthew Ford, founder and CEO of Sidekick: "BlackWood backed us early last year and has been fantastic to work with. They invest with conviction and it's refreshing how fast and efficient they were throughout. Their fintech-experienced team has been hands-on at every turn and supported us throughout. Whether that's in fundraising processes, helping with sales, or general support and guidance. It's been a great partnership!"
BlackWood's sourcing model combines a network of over 1,000 angel investors with systematic screening of hundreds of opportunities each month, increasingly supported by tech-enabled sourcing platforms. Frequent co-investments with leading firms such as LocalGlobe, Y Combinator, Seedcamp, Northzone, Octopus Ventures, Firstminute Capital, RTP Global, Giant Ventures, Norrsken and others demonstrate the fund's ability to identify and back high-quality opportunities.
'I continue to be impressed by the clarity of the strategy and intensity of execution this team has demonstrated,' said Steffen Saltofte, a limited partner and board member at BlackWood, and CEO of Zentiva, a multinational pharmaceutical company with more than 5,000 employees. 'BlackWood has built a strong European footprint, moves quickly, and is backing companies many Nordic VCs overlook due to geographic constraints. This ambition and focused execution is exactly what we aimed for with Fund I, and I'm excited to see it continue.'
About BlackWood Ventures
BlackWood Ventures is a network- and technology-driven early-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Copenhagen with team members across Europe. The firm backs visionary fintech, cleantech, and Web3 founders from pre-seed to seed with a disciplined, pan-European approach. For more information, visit www.blackwood.vc, opens new tab.
Media Contact
Rasmus Holtrh@blackwood.vc
###
SOURCE: BlackWood Ventures
Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire
See release on EZ Newswire
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
BT refunds £18m to customers over contract failures
BT has refunded £18 million to customers after Ofcom ruled it did not give them enough information about their contracts. The regulator fined BT £2.8 million last year after it failed to provide some EE and Plusnet customers with 'clear and simple' contract information before signing up to a new deal. Since June 2022, phone and broadband companies have been required to give consumers and small businesses the details of a contract, as well as a short summary of the key terms, before signing up. This includes the price and length of the contract, the speed of the service and any early exit fees. Ofcom opened an investigation into BT, which owns EE and Plusnet, having received information it may have failed to provide the documents. It found more than 1.3 million sales were made without providing customers with the adequate information. At least 1.1 million customers were affected. Ofcom found the telecoms giant broke consumer protection rules, requiring BT to contact affected customers, explaining it had not provided them with the necessary information. However, some affected customers left BT before the end of their contract and may have been charged an early exit fee, according to Ofcom. In a statement, Ofcom said: 'As well as fining BT, we also required it to amend its sales process and refund any affected customers who may have been charged for leaving before the end of their contract period. We told the company that if it was unable to refund any money, it must donate it to charity. 'As a result of this enforcement action, BT has now refunded or credited £18 million back to customers and donated £440,000 across 17 charities where refunds or credits were not possible.' A BT spokesman said: 'We're sorry that pre-contract information and contract summary documents were not available to some of our customers in a timely manner. 'We have taken steps to proactively contact affected customers and refund them if they had subsequently paid any early termination charges. We take compliance seriously at BT and have worked closely with Ofcom to implement all remedial actions.'
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Vespa maker Piaggio's profit falls 42% in first half of 2025
July 29 (Reuters) - Italy's Piaggio ( opens new tab said on Tuesday its net profit fell 42.2% to 30.1 million euros ($34.84 million) in the first half of 2025 in a contracting market for motor vehicles. Piaggio, known for its iconic Vespa scooters, sold 238,400 vehicles between January and June this year, compared to 270,100 in the first half of 2024. "In historical moments like these, with international trade disputes and increased geopolitical tensions, being able to remain flexible, controlling liquidity and financial management, is essential," CEO Michele Colaninno said in a statement. The manufacturer said its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell 15.3% year-on-year to 147.1 million euros, with an EBITDA margin of 17.3%. The group also pledged to distribute an interim dividend of 4 euro cents per share on its 2025 results. ($1 = 0.8639 euros)
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Bailey thwarts Reeves in row over Revolut
Andrew Bailey blocked an attempt by Rachel Reeves to set up a meeting between Britain's most valuable fintech company and City regulators. The Governor of the Bank of England intervened owing to concerns about Revolut's summit with the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), which was set up to discuss the fintech giant becoming a fully-fledged bank. The Chancellor tried to arrange the meeting as part of her attempts to persuade the $65bn (£56bn) UK-based company to list in London instead of New York. It comes after Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut's chief executive, criticised Britain's 'extremely bureaucratic regulator'. Mr Bailey's intervention, which led to the meeting being cancelled, came amid concerns that the Bank was at risk of political meddling, according to the Financial Times. Revolut is still attempting to become a full-service bank in the UK, a year after it was finally granted a provisional banking licence after a three-year wait. The clash comes after Mr Bailey has issued a series of vocal rebukes of the Chancellor's policies in recent weeks, including her pension reforms and deregulation drive. He openly opposed Ms Reeves's proposed 'backstop' power to mandate pension schemes to invest in British assets just days after the plans were unveiled, saying: 'I do not support mandating. I don't think that's appropriate.' While Mr Bailey was not going to attend the meeting with Revolut, it is understood that officials in the PRA, which is an arm of the Bank, were. Revolut was forced to wait three years for a limited licence after regulators raised questions about its accounts. Auditors had flagged concerns in 2021 after they were unable to verify roughly two thirds of the fintech's revenues. Officials at the Bank of England had initially told Treasury staff they intended to reject the licence application. However, negotiations subsequently resumed, with the Bank insisting on a clean set of accounts and simplified shareholder structure before granting the initial licence last July. Revolut is currently in the Bank's 'mobilisation' stage, which prevents it from holding more than £50,000 in deposits. Full authorisation – which would allow it to make loans and hold protected deposits – can take several months but is meant to take no more than a year. 'Regulators killing the City' Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, who as City minister in the last Tory government clashed publicly with financial regulators, said he sympathised with Ms Reeves. He said: 'Anyone in business knows that culture beats strategy. 'It is the deep-seated culture of risk aversion by regulators which is killing the City. If this Revolut story is true, the Chancellor should use this to double down on regulatory reform.' Mr Bailey was asked by MPs last week if he agreed with the Chancellor's recent claim that regulation is 'the boot on the neck' of business. 'I do not use those terms,' he said. 'There are areas where we clearly should look at [revising regulations]. But we cannot compromise on basic financial stability, that would be my overall message.' Mr Bailey specifically warned Ms Reeves against relaxing so-called ring-fencing rules, which divide retail banking from the risky world of investment banking. The Chancellor last week announced the ring-fencing regime would be 'reformed' as part of her overhaul. She has instructed Emma Reynolds, the current City minister, to review the policies. However, Mr Bailey said: 'The ring-fencing regime is an important part of the structure of the banking system.' One Bank source said: 'If [Bailey] is not reminding people that financial stability is good, then who will?'
