Samaipata III: Launching a €110M fund to back Europe’s builders in the age of AI

We have been backing founders building technology companies across Europe since 2016, not only with capital, but with hands-on operational support through our Founder Success platform, a decade-long effort to build the VC platform we would have valued as entrepreneurs.

Today, we are entering a new chapter with the launch of Samaipata III, as a new generation of companies begins to emerge around artificial intelligence. 

Network effects and defensibility have long been central to how we think about company building. The way they emerge evolves with each wave of technology. Artificial intelligence is opening the door to a new generation of companies where network effects and defensibility can emerge in new ways as intelligence becomes embedded directly into software.

Over the last three years, AI foundation models have advanced rapidly in performance and adoption. With this foundation now firmly in place, the next wave of innovation is unfolding in the application layer, where intelligence is embedded into industries and workflows.

At the same time, AI has compressed development cycles. Small technical teams can build and iterate faster, launching products with greater technical depth and reaching scale with more capital efficiency than in previous cycles.

Europe is particularly well positioned in this environment. Its deep technical talent and sector expertise, combined with the productivity gains enabled by AI, allow startups to compete globally from much earlier stages.

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“AI is dramatically changing the economics of building software. Products can be developed faster, at lower cost and with far greater capabilities than before. The companies that win will be those able to translate these gains into real value for their clients, building products that solve critical problems and integrate seamlessly into everyday workflows. That is where we see a particularly exciting opportunity for founders building in Europe.” Luis Garay, Partner at Samaipata

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That is why we are launching Samaipata III to continue backing the best European tech founders building in this new environment. Our ambition is to invest €110 million across 25 to 30 European tech companies building on the AI wave, leading early-stage rounds across Spain and other key tech hubs such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. 

Many of these companies are being built by small, highly technical teams at early stages; precisely the moment where the trajectory of a company is defined.

Through Samaipata III, we will continue building on our Founder Success platform, designed to help founders go further, faster. Beyond capital, we aim to surround the companies we back with people and partners who have built and scaled some of the most influential technology companies of the last decade.

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“Early-stage is where foundations are built. Our role is to give founders access to our network and the operational support they need at that moment, so they can move faster with confidence.” Alberto Cuevas, Partner at Samaipata, leading Founder Success.

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Building the next generation of technology companies requires more than capital. It requires an ecosystem of investors and builders who believe in the moment we are entering. 

We are fortunate to bring together a diverse group of investors: Institutional partners investing alongside well-established family offices and members of the tech ecosystem, including founders from some of our portfolio companies.

Over the past decade we have worked alongside founders building technology companies across Europe. Across our first two funds we have backed 44 startups including Embat, Imperia and VIVLA in Spain, and Nory, Bigblue, Matera and Legl across other European markets.

Many have gone on to raise subsequent rounds led by international later-stage venture capital firms such as Accel, Index Ventures and Creandum. Our first fund saw 80% of its companies reach Series A or beyond, with Fund II already following a similar trajectory.

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“The last decade of European technology has been extraordinary, but in many ways it was only the beginning. AI and the new tools available to founders are expanding what small teams can build and how quickly they can scale. We believe the next decade will produce a new generation of globally relevant companies emerging from Europe.” José del Barrio, Founding Partner at Samaipata  

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With Samaipata III, we look forward to continuing this work, partnering with founders using AI to build the next generation of globally relevant technology companies.

If you’re building the next generation of European tech companies, we’d love to hear from you here.