Speedinvest 4

Speedinvest 4 (Si4) is the fourth flagship fund of Speedinvest GmbH, the Vienna-based pan-European early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2011 by Oliver Holle. Closing at €350 million in January 2024 — €50 million above its original €300 million target — Si4 pushed Speedinvest's total assets under management above €1 billion for the first time, marking a decisive institutional step for one of Europe's most active seed investors. The fund held its first close in December 2022 at €300 million and drew its final tranche from a diverse base of institutional investors including Aviva, PwC Germany, ODDO BHF, Abeille Assurances Ventures, Bitburger, Generali, and the European Investment Fund (EIF), alongside government funds, pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, and a cohort of founders from the firm's own portfolio including Bitpanda, GoStudent, Billie, TWAICE, and others who reinvested as LPs on the strength of their own outcomes.

Si4 deploys patient, operationally intensive seed-stage capital across six dedicated vertical teams: Deep Tech, Fintech, Health and TechBio, Marketplaces and Consumer, Climate and Industrial Tech, and SaaS and Infrastructure. Initial investment tickets range from €700,000 to €1.3 million, with capacity up to €3 million at the seed stage and substantial follow-on reserves. The fund targets approximately 100 portfolio companies, investing at pre-seed and seed across the European market from offices in Vienna, Berlin, London, Munich, and Paris. Speedinvest's model is distinguished by its in-house operational team — over 90 people total, including 40 investment professionals organized by sector and approximately 20 in-house operating experts covering HR, growth marketing, business development, and US expansion support. The firm's thesis is that sector-specific, operationally relevant support beyond pure capital drives materially better outcomes at the earliest stages.

Si4 was launched against one of the most challenging European VC fundraising environments in more than a decade, yet it closed oversubscribed within roughly 14 months of its first close, a result Oliver Holle described as a testament to investor confidence. Speedinvest as a firm has backed more than 300 companies since 2011, with a portfolio including six unicorns: Bitpanda, GoStudent, wefox, TIER Mobility, Wayflyer, and Open. Across prior funds, more than 60% of Speedinvest's European seed investments have advanced to a Series A, placing the firm consistently among Europe's top-ranked seed investors by conversion rate. From Si4's initial cohort, early portfolio companies include cylib (German battery-recycling deep tech), NeoCarbon (climate), Fertifa (UK reproductive health biotech), Surfboard (SaaS infrastructure), and Fairlyne (French travel marketplaces). The fourth fund also launched a dedicated M&A team to pursue proactive liquidity and exit strategies, reflecting Speedinvest's recognition that disciplined exit practice is as important as entry at a time when European VC exit channels remain constrained.