Portugal is one of the hottest startup spots in Europe. It currently ranks 26th globally for being startup-friendly, thanks to a friendly environment and global connections. All of this has happened because of the help of prominent VC firms that are backing the country's startups. We have gone through a big list of VC firms and curated the list of the top 10 VC firms in Portugal based on various factors. Here is the list:

1. Armilar Venture Partners 

Armilar is Portugal's one of the top VC funds managers. They have been operating independently for over 20 years with a strong track record. Managing 260 million euros in assets, it focuses on deep-tech investments, helping new technologies become successful businesses in Europe. Armilar is also a major player in Portugal's entrepreneurial scene, standing out as the largest early-stage investor with unmatched experience.

Website: armilar.com

Founding Year: 1999

Investment Range: €200K - €10M

Stage: Pre Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Early Stage

Sector: Deep Tech, Hard Science, Healthcare, Climate & Sustainability

Investment Geography: Europe (Focused on Portugal)

Notable Investments: AmpleMarket, AquaSpy, Bdeo, Knok, Rows

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

2. Portugal Ventures

Portugal Ventures is part of Banco Português de Fomento. The company manages 269.1 million euros in assets. They invest in innovative startups at pre-seed, seed, and series A stages. With 157 portfolio companies, it focuses on digital & tech, industry & tech, health tech, and tourism. Since 2012, 213 new businesses received 201.8 million euros from the firm. Offering tranche payments and securing a minority stake, Portugal Ventures actively engages with its 75+ diverse portfolio. Beyond financing, it provides invaluable connections to investors and strategic partners, accelerating startups' growth by facilitating access to industry experts, customers, and future investment opportunities.

Website: portugalventures.pt

Founding Year: 2012

Investment Range: €50K - €1.5M

Stage: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A

Sector: Agriculture, Internet & Mobile, E-Commerce, Cybersecurity, Education, Human Resources, Gaming, Enterprise, AI & ML, AR & VR, SaaS, Life Sciences

Investment Geography: Portugal

Notable Investments: ABlute, About Food, Bam&Boo, Barkyn, Critical Links

Submit Pitch/ Contact: contact@portugalventures.pt

3. Kibo Ventures

Kibo Ventures was founded in 2012 in Madrid. They help European tech entrepreneurs grow. They launched a €200 million fund to transform underdeveloped industries. They invest in early-stage global companies, support hiring, provide strategy guidance, and have a strong history of successful exits, selling over 10 companies to global players.

Website: kiboventures.com

Founding Year: 2012

Investment Range: €3M - €4M

Stage: Early

Sector: Multi

Investment Geography: Primarily Spain and Europe

Notable Investments: acurable, captio, coverwallet, Devo, EnjoyHQ

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

4. Faber Ventures

Faber is a Lisbon-based venture capital firm. It passionately invests in visionary teams driving global change through technology. Specializing in deep tech early stage startups, Faber supports outstanding entrepreneurs at the forefront of science and technology. Their commitment extends beyond funding, offering dedicated funds, expert advisors, and active involvement to foster the growth of innovative companies. With a focus on AI/data and climate/ocean technologies, Faber stands out in Southern Europe. Established in 2013, the firm has a track record of early investments in transformative companies like Unbabel, SWORD Health, Codacy, iLoF, Smartex, and YData, contributing to the advancement of the tech landscape.

Website: faber-ventures.com

Founding Year: 2013

Investment Range:  €100K -  €1.5M

Stage: Early Stage, Seed, Pre Seed

Sector: Crypto & Blockchain, AI & ML, Big Data & Analytics, Climate & Ocean tech, Deep Tech & Hard Science

Investment Geography:  Portugal

Notable Investments: Titanium Technology, Subdron, Nostos Genomics, KernAI, Apres

Submit Pitch/ Contact: pitch@faber.vc

5. Shilling Capital Partners

Shilling is an esteemed early-stage VC in Portugal. It was founded in 2011 by six visionary partners, including Hugo Gonçalves Pereira and João Coelho Borges. With a robust €52M portfolio, Shilling invests across diverse B2B and consumer verticals. Beyond financial capital, Shilling's innovative Founder LPs concept offers portfolio companies access to successful founders and executives through the Shilling Platform. This dynamic support system empowers entrepreneurs, validating and accelerating their ventures into global markets.

Website: shilling.vc

Founding Year: 2011

Investment Range: €100K to €1M

Stage: Early, Seed

Sector: Technology, AI

Investment Geography: Portugal

Notable Investments: Connecter, tl;dv, Fraudio, Smartex.AI, Avenue, Algori, Bitskout

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

6. LC Ventures

LC Ventures is a prominent venture capital firm. It specializes in funding technology startups, particularly those focused on software solutions. The firm goes beyond financial backing, providing strategic and operational support to its portfolio companies. With a strong network of industry leaders, LC Ventures empowers founders to achieve their business goals. Operating across Europe, North America, and Latin America, the firm manages over €30M, supporting 40+ companies. As a leading VC in Portugal, LC Ventures collaborates with innovative companies like Sizebay, revolutionizing the fashion industry with a virtual fitting room, Agentifai, offering intelligent chatbots for seamless customer support, and Idatase, providing advanced operating systems for artificial intelligence in data management.

Website: lcventures.pt

Founding Year: 2015

Investment Range: €200k - €1M

Stage: Pre Seed, Seed

Sector: Communication, Information Technology, Online Retail

Investment Geography: Europe, North America, Latin America

Notable Investments: Sizebay, Seedrs, HomeIT, Parkio, Startup23, CleanWatts

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

7. Bynd Venture Capital

Bynd Venture Capital is an established Iberian-based firm. It stands out as a premier VC with a rich history since its inception. Formerly known as Busy Angels, it has evolved into a key player with a robust portfolio featuring over 45 investments spanning diverse sectors. Specializing in seed and early-stage technology ventures connected to Iberia, Bynd Venture Capital focuses on companies demonstrating a validated product-market fit and a proven MVP. Their strategic investments extend across sectors like internet, healthcare, information technology, energy, and tourism. Notable exits from their portfolio include successful ventures like Doppio, Zaask, and Woffu.

Website: bynd.vc

Founding Year: 2010

Investment Range: €100K - €70M

Stage: Seed, Early

Sector: Technology

Investment Geography: Portugal, Spain

Notable Investments: Bepro, Defined Crowd, Psious, TTR, Zaask

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

8. HCapital Partners

HCapital, a privately-owned private equity firm, focuses on investments in the Iberian Middle Market. With complete ownership by the Management Team, the company is committed to aiding businesses in their growth, international expansion, and shareholder restructuring initiatives. 

Website: hcapital.pt

Founding Year: 2014

Investment Range: €100K - €2M

Stage: Early, Late

Sector: Multi

Investment Geography: Portugal

Notable Investments: Lival, proGrow, Tugbot, Diflex Group

Submit Pitch/ Contact: info@hcapital.pt

9. Antler

Antler is a global partner for driven founders. They help startups from the beginning to success. They work with entrepreneurs globally. Antler has offices in 25 cities, and they  offer co-founder matching too alongside funding and support. They've backed over 850 startups and aim to support 6,000+ by 2030.

Website: antler.co

Founding Year: 2017

Investment Range: Varies (typically from $100K to $2M)

Stage: Seed to Series C

Sector: Multi

Investment Geography: Global 

Notable Investments: Reebelo, Airalo, Homebase, Xailient, MODOYO

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

10. Basinghall Partners

Basinghall Partners helps early-stage European B2B ventures, driving innovation and growth.

Website: basinghallpartners.com

Founding Year: 2017

Investment Range: €500K - €50M

Stage: Early

Sector: Supply Chain & Logistics, Big Data & Analytics, Marketing, IoT, AI & ML, Robotics, Crypto & Blockchain, Cybersecurity, AR & VR

Investment Geography: United Kingdom, Portugal, Luxembourg, Germany

Notable Investments: Arthur Bus, Conntac, Empion, Retorio, Tended

Submit Pitch/ Contact: Link

Best of luck with your amazing ventures. Explore more about investing in Portugal beyond these top 10 VC firms by checking our detailed list here.

Please note that this list is filtered by various metrics, and all the data are collected through various third-party websites, mostly the VC website. Since data such as ticket size or industry may change, you are requested to visit the official website given in the blog for the latest and updated information.