Endeavor Catalyst closes $320m fund to channel global capital to UK founders
This article covers Endeavor Catalyst, the venture arm of the entrepreneur network Endeavor, launching an oversubscribed Fund V worth US$320m as it increases activity in Europe. It aims to support Endeavor Entrepreneurs and growth-stage founders across European markets by co-investing with other venture and growth firms to connect startups with global capital.
Endeavor Catalyst, the venture arm of the entrepreneur network Endeavor, has launched an oversubscribed Fund V worth US$320 million as it steps up activity in Europe. The fund comes as the firm names Europe its fastest-growing region, after making more than 90 investments across 10 European markets and backing 20 Europe-based portfolio companies now valued at US$1 billion or more. For founders and investors tracking capital flows into the region, the move signals renewed growth-stage interest and a London-centred push to connect European startups with global capital.
Why it matters
Endeavor Catalyst’s Fund V is notable for its size and timing. The US$320 million vehicle increases Endeavor Catalyst’s assets under management to more than US$850 million and continues a model of co-investing alongside established venture and growth firms in companies led by founders within the Endeavor network.
Europe’s standing within the fund’s activity has risen quickly: the region generated US$3.3 billion in rounds that included Catalyst during 2025 and the first half of 2026, more than any other region in the fund’s portfolio. For a market still digesting the post-2021 correction in venture, that level of deal activity underlines where capital is flowing and which founders are being prioritised.
Inside Fund V and its European bets
Fund V has already deployed capital into Europe-tied companies. Named investments include EnduroSat, a Bulgarian satellite operator, and HappyRobot, a company founded by Spanish entrepreneurs. These sit alongside a European portfolio that lists Bending Spoons (app developer), ElevenLabs (AI voice technology), ICEYE (satellite imaging) and Fever (events and ticketing) — companies that represent software, deep tech and marketplace plays across the continent.
Endeavor Catalyst’s broader track record is sizeable: the fund has backed 437 companies across 44 markets globally, with a portfolio that includes 83 companies valued at US$1 billion or more and 39 exits. The Europe-specific metric — 20 European portfolio companies at US$1 billion valuation or above — shows the region’s contribution to that global cohort.
Pace of investment
The tempo of deals in Europe has picked up. Endeavor Catalyst invested in 12 companies selected through its European offices in the first half of 2026, compared with 14 investments across the whole of 2025 and seven in 2024. That step-up in pace accompanies the US$3.3 billion that European portfolio companies raised in rounds where Catalyst participated across 2025 and H1 2026 — a sum that outstrips the fund’s activity in other regions, including Latin America.
Pete Benedetto, head of Europe for Endeavor Catalyst, framed the decision to increase activity regionally as a response to founder quality across diverse markets.
The talent coming out of countries like Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Spain and Turkey is some of the best anywhere in the world
We are doubling down on Europe with Fund V to help ensure European founders have access to the capital they need to build the next generation of global companies
London as a bridge to global capital
Endeavor has been explicit about London’s role in its European strategy. The organisation opened a Global Hub in London in 2024, which it says now gathers more than 90 Endeavor Entrepreneurs and 100 companies. The hub is positioned as a staging ground for founders who started scaling elsewhere in Europe and need access to later-stage capital, talent and partnerships.
Constanza Castro Feijóo, managing director of Endeavor’s Global Hub in London, described the hub’s practical purpose.
London attracts founders who have already started building somewhere else and need a platform to take it global. They arrive with traction and the resilience of building where there was no playbook, and here they find the later-stage capital, talent and partners to scale
Fund V puts more of that capital within reach, and our role is to keep every founder one introduction away from the people who can help them build category-defining companies
Who’s behind the fund
Endeavor Catalyst operates as Endeavor’s venture fund, investing exclusively in companies led by Endeavor Entrepreneurs and co-investing alongside other venture and growth investors. Fund V is reported as oversubscribed and fuelled in part by a founder-backed limited partner base, bringing the vehicle into the firm’s broader AUM of more than US$850 million.
The fund is active across 10 European markets: Bulgaria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine — a footprint that emphasises Eastern and Southern Europe as well as Western hubs.
What this means for the UK and European ecosystem
The announcement matters because it underscores where seasoned venture capital is willing to back founders across a wider range of European markets. For UK founders, the emphasis on London’s Global Hub highlights the city’s ongoing role as a connector to international capital and networks, even as more startups originate in cities across Central and Eastern Europe.
Endeavor’s increased deployment in Europe — and the fact that Catalyst’s Europe-backed rounds raised more capital than any other region in 2025 and H1 2026 — points to a rebalancing of attention across markets that had previously been overshadowed by activity in the US. For investors and founders, Fund V is another signal that Europe’s next wave of scale-ups is attracting institutional capital willing to back global ambitions.
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