6 Degrees Capital closes €154m Fund III to fund AI founders scale

London's 6 Degrees Capital has closed its third vehicle at €154 million, carving out fresh capital to back contrarian founders at Seed and Series A. The fund positions itself to lead early rounds in AI, enterprise software and fintech, deploying initial cheques of €1m–€5m and reserving follow-on capacity up to €15m per company.

The Brussels‑and‑London based firm, which has partnered with more than 70 companies across prior vintages, says the new pool will concentrate on teams pursuing category shifts rather than incremental plays. The strategy is to move quickly from conviction to capital, a model that the firm argues is especially valuable where AI-driven product cycles compress time to scale.

Thibault D’hondt and Lucas Stoops, partners at the firm, framed the approach as high-conviction, founder‑centric support: they emphasise deep operational diligence and sustained partnership rather than passive cheque writing. Managing Partner Wouter Volckaert added that the fund reached its hard cap thanks to a mix of returning and new limited partners.

6 Degrees Capital III has already begun building a portfolio from first close, backing startups including Conveo, FlatPeak, Spruce, Luca and Artificial. Founders cite hands‑on engagement and continuity of capital as drivers for choosing repeatable, early backers—one founder, David King of Artificial, noted the investor’s presence from Seed through later rounds.

The fund’s remit reflects broader market dynamics: European VC continues to concentrate resources on AI and enterprise SaaS, with Seed and Series A rounds showing larger average checks than several years ago. For context, many early-stage European vehicles now target initial cheques in the €1m–€5m band while preserving multi‑million follow‑on pools to sustain rapid growth.

Structurally, the fund is supported by a diversified group of institutional and private investors. While the firm did not disclose individual limited partner names publicly, it highlighted commitments from fund‑of‑funds, family offices, sovereign investors and HNWIs across the continent, enabling the hard cap close.