Highland Europe is a growth-stage investment firm based in London and Geneva that spun out of Highland Capital Partners in 2012 to focus entirely on European-rooted scaleups. In July 2026 the firm closed its sixth fund, Highland Europe Fund VI, at €1.1 billion — bringing total capital raised since 2012 to €3.75 billion across six funds, with more than 80 portfolio companies and 30 exits to its name. The fundraise followed a year in which the firm generated more than €1 billion in liquidity for its limited partners.
The thesis targets exclusively growth-stage European-rooted consumer and enterprise technology companies: businesses growing at 50%+ annually, at scale with €5 million+ in ARR, with proven product-market fit and capital efficiency — typically looking to raise €10–75 million. The firm backs AI-native companies and businesses applying AI to transform existing industries, investing across enterprise software, fintech, healthcare, AI and consumer technology.
The portfolio mixes consumer breakouts and enterprise workhorses: smartphone maker Nothing, AI orchestration platform n8n, healthcare AI assistant Nabla, credit-intelligence firm 9fin, mobile-app powerhouse Bending Spoons, travel platform GetYourGuide, food-delivery company Wolt, fitness-tech company EGYM, fashion label ME+EM and cycling-tech company Zwift. Recent investments include leading the $70 million Series B of legal-AI platform Wordsmith, the $50 million Series B of enterprise-AI platform Unframe and the $105 million Series D of precision-agriculture company Ecorobotix.
The exit record is one of the strongest in European growth capital: the $3 billion sale of Nexthink, the acquisition of Huel by Danone, the $7.5 billion merger of EGYM and Playlist, and the NASDAQ listing of Bending Spoons at a market capitalisation above $18 billion. The team — led by partners including co-founder Fergal Mullen, Sam Brooks, Helena Richardson and Jacob Bernstein — describes itself as an equal partnership with a mentorship-oriented, high-touch approach: founders look to them first as trusted advisers, second as shareholders.
On programmes and support, Highland Europe runs regular leadership forum events where the CXO teams of portfolio companies share best practices with peers, and provides hands-on help with international expansion (particularly into the US), professionalising sales and marketing, management-team hiring, board composition and exit design — IPO, trade sale or private-equity route.
Why it matters for founders
Highland Europe is the firm to approach when you have product-market fit, real revenue (€5m+ ARR) and capital-efficient growth — and need a partner for the scaleup chapter. With a fresh €1.1 billion Fund VI and a recent run of $1 billion-plus in liquidity, it combines deep pockets with a proven European growth-stage playbook: expansion, hiring, and a well-trodden path to exit.