Southern Europe’s founders increasingly build from London, Zurich or San Francisco. A Barcelona fund is betting it can back them before anybody notices.
Enzo Ventures has closed its second fund at 20 million euros, up from the first vehicle it started deploying in 2023. Edgar Vicente and Ivan Fernandez Lucas will write first cheques of 250,000 to 600,000 euros into pre-seed companies, keeping the strategy of backing founders from Barcelona, Madrid, Milan and Lisbon wherever they incorporate.
The vehicle already has its first investment, Cori Clinical in London. Its focus is B2B software, AI and, in practice, founders with a technical background and global ambition from day one.
Fund I’s evidence
The first fund put money into 28 companies across nine regions, with Orbio, Murphy and Complaion among the flagship names, and several have moved past pre-seed. Enzo also holds Karumi and Intelligence Factory in the US, which undercuts the idea that it only finances companies that stay home.
Vicente argues the region’s biggest misconception is that the opportunity stops at its borders. His view is that the strongest founders will build wherever gives them the best chance of becoming global, and that finding them early is the job.
The fund is small by design. Two partners make every call, and special-purpose vehicles top up the winners. It is a deliberate contrast with PSV Tech’s 56 million euro pre-seed fund, Samaipata’s 110 million euro third vehicle and Yellow’s 30 million euro European pre-seed fund.
Enzo is also part of a generational shift in Spanish venture, with firms such as Wave Ventures naming managing partners in their twenties. Smaller cheques, faster decisions and a wider geographic net are the pitch.
