欧洲主要的风险投资公司 Hummingbird Ventures 在市况不稳下仍在一周内完成近乎超额认购，接近8亿美元募资，并把总资产推升到接近20亿美元。这笔新资金包含约6亿美元的首档 growth fund 与约2亿美元的早期投资资金。公司持续推行其全球化搜寻策略，锁定被其称为“misfit”或“almost unemployable”的创办人型态，而非只依赖传统履历或区域、产业筛选。
Hummingbird 的核心理念由创办人 Barend Van den Brande 与共同创办人 Firat Ileri 明确指出：他们偏好「几乎不合群、甚至难以被常规企业雇用」的创业者。核心团队约10人，近期新增 Mario Gabriele。这种做法已投资于多元领域，如加密货币、游戏、半导体与英国神秘晶片公司 Olix（上月主导2.2亿美元轮次），同时为欧洲成熟度较高但缺口仍在的创业公司弥补资金断层，避免只追逐已过度资本挤入的区域。
历史上，Hummingbird 的2010、2012、2014年基金回报已达10倍以上，远高于传统VC通常追求的3倍。较新基金规模更大，尚有部分收益未实现，但仍出现显著估值增长。Lovable 估值去年升至66亿美元，Hummingbird 先后投入约1700万美元后持有约10%股份，估值超过6亿美元；Kraken 上的6百万美元投入已转化为近6亿美元已实现收益，且仍持有约等量股权；Deliveroo 于2015年参与2,500万美元B轮。未来新的 growth vehicle 将继续只挑选可望带来10倍回报的成熟创业公司，在AI驱动新模式中，即使一半收入可能来自尚未存在的产品，也愿意做第一批布局。
Hummingbird Ventures, one of Europe’s leading VC firms, is raising close to $800 million and nearing $2 billion in total assets. The round was reportedly oversubscribed within a week despite weak market conditions. It combines a first growth fund of about $600 million with about $200 million for earlier-stage investing. Management says the fund is designed to scale a global strategy focused on “misfit” or “almost unemployable” founders rather than conventional criteria.
Founder Barend Van den Brande and managing partner Firat Ileri said they prefer founders who appear unconventional and can look “unreasonable.” The team is about 10 people, including new partner Mario Gabriele. Hummingbird has backed unusual deals across crypto, gaming, and semiconductors, including leading a $220 million round in the UK chip venture Olix, while targeting the gap in Europe for later-stage startup financing that often shifts to U.S. investors. The firm says it prefers markets and founders that are still underappreciated.
Returns have been strong: Hummingbird’s 2010, 2012 and 2014 funds returned 10x+ investor capital, versus a typical VC target of around 3x. Notable outcomes include Kraken and Lovable. Hummingbird’s early investment in Lovable began with $3 million, later adding about $14 million; its roughly 10% stake is now worth over $600 million, helped by a $6.6 billion valuation. In Kraken, $6 million became almost $600 million in realized gains, plus roughly an additional equivalent amount in shares. The new growth fund is aimed at mature startups only where Hummingbird sees a potential 10x return, including AI companies expected to derive significant future revenue from products that do not yet exist.