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Samaipata Launches $127M Fund to Back Early-Stage AI Startups Across Europe

Pan-European venture capital firm Samaipata has launched its third investment vehicle, Samaipata III, targeting $127 million to support early-stage companies building artificial intelligence technologies. The fund has already secured $81 million in commitments from institutional investors including Spain’s SETT and Germany’s KfW, reflecting growing investor confidence in Europe’s expanding AI startup ecosystem.

The new fund will focus on AI-native companies developing application-layer technologies, particularly those translating advanced AI capabilities into practical business-to-business products with global scaling potential. José del Barrio, founding partner of Samaipata, indicated that artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimentation and becoming embedded within critical enterprise processes, expanding opportunities for new software platforms.

Founded in 2016 by José del Barrio and Eduardo Díez-Hochleitner, Samaipata plans to invest in 25 to 30 early-stage startups across Europe. The firm can deploy up to $11.6 million per company over the life of each investment while supporting founders through its operational network, which includes experts from companies such as Google, Spotify, and Anthropic, as well as technology partnerships with Nvidia and Microsoft.

Featured image: Credit: Samaipata

James Dargan
About the author
James Dargan

James Dargan is a writer and researcher at The AI Insider. His focus is on the AI startup ecosystem and he writes articles on the space that have a tone accessible to the average reader.

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