Barcelona-based VC firm Enzo Ventures has launched a €20m second fund to back Southern European founders at pre-seed, regardless of where they choose to build their companies.
The firm's thesis is that a new generation of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese entrepreneurs is increasingly building globally from day one, often establishing companies in London, Zurich, New York and San Francisco rather than their home markets.
Enzo Ventures II will write initial cheques of €250,000 to €600,000, focusing on B2B technology, AI, software and the intersection of software and the physical world.
The relatively small €20m fund size is a deliberate strategy, according to founding partner Edgar Vicente, who, with cofounder Ivan Fernandez Lucas, argues that early-stage investing has become overly institutionalised.
"Pre-seed investing is fundamentally an artisanal business. It doesn't scale infinitely, and frankly, we don't think it should," he said.
"We're not trying to maximize assets under management. We're trying to maximize returns."
The fund has already made three investments. The first disclosed is London-based Cori Clinical, which applies AI to clinical trials, with two further investments in Madrid and Zurich yet to be announced.
Founded by Vicente and Iván Fernández Lucas, Enzo began investing in 2023. Its first fund backed 28 companies across nine geographies, with eight surpassing €1m in annual recurring revenue, according to the firm.
Portfolio companies include AI-powered HR startup Orbio, which has since raised more than $28m, including a $21m Series A led by Dawn Capital.
Other investments include Murphy, an AI-native debt servicing startup that has raised $15m from investors including Northzone, Lakestar and Seedcamp, and compliance automation startup Complaion, which has raised nearly €17m.
Vicente said the firm's biggest challenge is not identifying promising founders but securing a place in their funding rounds.
"The real challenge in venture capital is winning the allocation," he said.
He said one lesson from Fund I was that Enzo had not fully capitalised on follow-on investments. The firm now plans to build larger special-purpose vehicles to increase its exposure to successful portfolio companies.
Enzo's wider bet is that Southern Europe is producing a new generation of globally ambitious founders, supported by alumni from successful regional startups.
"The biggest transformation is psychological," said Vicente, pointing to companies such as Factorial, Perk and HappyRobot as examples of businesses changing the region's entrepreneurial ambitions.
The firm sees a particular opportunity in founders who leave Southern Europe to establish businesses in larger technology ecosystems.
"We don't consider ourselves simply a Spanish VC. We're building a cross-border investment platform around a specific type of founder, regardless of where that founder decides to build," he said.
Unlike VCs expanding into later-stage investing as they grow, he said Enzo plans to stick to pre-seed, with investment decisions made directly by its two founding partners rather than a conventional investment committee.