What Passion Capital does

Passion Capital is a London-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded in 2011 that invests in European startups across three thematic areas: artificial intelligence, FinTech, and Enterprise Risk. The firm operates four successive seed funds (Passion Fund I–IV) supplemented by special purpose vehicles, with Fund IV closing at $55M (€46M) in April 2026. Since inception, the firm has backed over 100 companies and 251 founders, produced five FinTech unicorns (including GoCardless, Monzo, Tide, and Marshmallow), and recorded 31 cumulative exits, 23% net IRR, and 2.5x DPI. Fund IV had deployed into 13 companies at the time of close, and 43% of backed companies historically go on to raise a Series A.

The firm's business model follows standard venture capital mechanics, generating revenue through management fees on committed capital (typically 1.5–2.5% annually) plus carried interest on realized fund profits above a hurdle rate. With Fund IV representing the largest vehicle to date, total AUM across all funds is estimated in the $180–250M range. Passion Capital differentiates itself through operator-led partnership composition, the standardized "Plain English" term sheet it helped popularize to reduce seed-stage friction, an Article 8 SFDR classification reflecting its ESG framework, and a pattern of repeat co-investments in winners across successive funds, including GoCardless, Monzo, Xelix, Ravelin, and Tillo.

In 2025 the firm delivered $85M in LP distributions, anchored by material exits including GoCardless (acquired by Mollie for €1.1B in December 2025), Ravelin (acquired by Worldpay in February 2025), and Tillo (yielding a 33x return via the Tenzing transaction in May 2025). Active recent investments span AI-native companies such as LangWatch, Emblematic, Sequence, Aloft, Teal, and Tapaya, alongside a €5M seed in Paypercut, which signals geographic expansion into Central and Eastern Europe. The firm announced a new growth-stage vehicle alongside Fund IV, indicating mandate expansion up the cap-table stack.

Name

Passion Capital

Legal name

Passion Capital Investments II LLP

Website

https://passioncapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Passion Capital is a London-based pre-seed and seed venture capital firm founded in 2011 that invests in European AI, FinTech, and Enterprise Risk startups. The firm manages four seed funds, backing over 100 companies including unicorns GoCardless, Monzo, Tide, and Marshmallow.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fund management fees: Recurring management fees charged to investors (LPs) of Passion Capital funds (Passion Fund I, II, III, IV and SPVs) covering salaries, partner drawings and operating costs of the manager PCI II. Salaries are fixed (subject to annual review) and partners receive monthly drawings from the remainder of management fees after costs.
2. Carried interest (performance fees): Performance-based carried interest designed to align partners and employees with maximising financial returns for LPs. Passion Capital reports a net IRR of 23% and 2.5x DPI since 2011 and distributed $85 million to LPs in 2025 from exits and liquidity events (Ravelin, Tillo, Xelix partial sale, GoCardless/Mollie acquisition).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Passion Capital is a London-based operator-led pre-seed and seed venture capital firm that invests in European founders building AI, FinTech, and Enterprise Risk technology companies. The firm provides first institutional cheques (averaging £400k–£500k) before product or revenue, offers hands-on operator mentoring, follow-on capital through dedicated SPVs, and deploys capital across a series of limited partnership funds (Passion Fund I–IV) with 100% private LP backing.

Product overview

Passion Capital operates a single unified venture capital investment platform anchored by a series of seed/pre-seed funds (Passion Fund I, II, III, IV) and special purpose vehicles (Passion SPV) used for follow-on investments, all managed from its London office. The firm is positioning Passion Fund IV (its largest fund to date, $55m) as the centrepiece of an Article 8 SFDR-aligned platform that combines an AI/FinTech/Risk-focused pre-seed investment service with an ESG & Impact programme, Sustainability Disclosures under SFDR, and founder-friendly Investment Documents (Plain English Term Sheet, Subscription Agreement, Shareholders' Agreement and Articles of Association) introduced as an industry first. Together these offerings form an integrated "operator-led VC" stack that backs European founders from idea stage through Series A and beyond, supported by SPV-based follow-on capacity in portfolio companies such as GoCardless and Xelix.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Passion Fund I First seed/pre-seed venture fund from Passion Capital backing founders building in AI, FinTech and Enterprise Risk across the UK and Europe. Known for backing GoCardless (seed in 2011) and Ravelin (pre-seed 2015, exited to Worldpay in February 2025). For limited partner investors.
• Passion Fund II Second seed fund backing early-stage European founders in FinTech and adjacent areas. Known for backing Tillo (pre-seed, exited to Tenzing in May 2025 returning 33x), Xelix (AI-powered Accounts Payable), Marshmallow ($90m Series C), Attio ($52m Series B led by GV) and PolyAI ($86m Series D). For limited partner investors.
• Passion Fund III Third seed fund; portfolio companies in earlier lifecycle showing encouraging momentum, with SAPI leading the pack via an £60m round led by Hudson Cove. For limited partner investors.
• Passion Fund IV Fourth and largest seed fund to date, closed at $55m (approximately €46m) in April 2026 alongside two SPVs. Article 8 SFDR-aligned fund focused on AI, FinTech and Enterprise Risk startups across the UK and Europe. Invested in 13+ companies including LangWatch, GeoSurge, PayperCut, Teal, Emblematic, Aloft and Tapaya. For limited partner investors.
• Passion SPV (Follow-on Special Purpose Vehicles) Special purpose vehicles enabling the firm and its investors to follow-on in portfolio companies after core fund capacity is reached. Examples include follow-ons into GoCardless and Xelix's Series B led by Insight Partners. For limited partner investors.
• Pre-Seed and Seed Investment Service Operator-led pre-seed and seed investment service investing across AI, Enterprise and FinTech, with an average ticket size of £400k–£500k, approximately 10 new investments per year, and the flexibility to lead, co-lead or participate in rounds. For startup founders seeking institutional capital.

Quantifiable outcome

• 23% net IRR since 2011
• +5 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Running TideminorOthersRunning Tide is a carbon offset provider referenced on Passion Capital's ESG & Impact page as one of the organisations from which Passion Capital purchases credits to offset its unavoidable emissions.
• Ripple AfricaminorOthersRipple Africa is a carbon offset provider referenced on Passion Capital's ESG & Impact page as one of the organisations from which Passion Capital purchases credits to offset its unavoidable emissions.
• Woodland TrustminorOthersWoodland Trust is a carbon offset partner referenced on Passion Capital's ESG & Impact page as one of the organisations from which Passion Capital purchases credits to offset its unavoidable emissions.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LocalGlobe: London-based pre-seed and seed venture fund with comparable UK/European focus and comparable average ticket sizes, frequently co-investing alongside Passion (Xelix, GoCardless ecosystem) and sharing the same founder-network-driven approach to deal sourcing.
• Balderton Capital: London-headquartered early- and growth-stage VC investing across European tech and FinTech; repeatedly co-invests with Passion (Lassie, GoCardless ecosystem) and serves a similar founder base with comparable stage focus.
• Hoxton Ventures: London-based pre-seed and seed fund investing in European tech startups; comparable stage focus, geography and operator-led positioning, making it a close direct competitor for early FinTech and AI deals.
• Notion Capital: London-based VC focused on enterprise SaaS and FinTech in Europe; comparable sector focus and stage, often co-investing or competing for the same founders that Passion targets.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based European seed fund with sector-specialist pods (including FinTech and deep tech) that compete directly with Passion for early-stage European AI/FinTech founders, albeit with deeper sector verticals.
• Connect Ventures: London-based seed-stage VC investing in European product-led founders; comparable cheque sizes, geography and stage, with overlapping FinTech and software deal flow.

Broad incumbents

• Index Ventures: One of Europe's largest VC platforms with a long-standing early-stage programme that overlaps with Passion's pre-seed/seed FinTech thesis; comparable in producing European tech unicorns but at materially larger fund sizes and broader sector mandate.
• Atomico: London-based European venture firm founded by Niklas Zennström; invests from early to growth stage across European tech, providing overlap with Passion's seed-stage thesis but with materially larger fund sizes and broader geographic reach.
• Octopus Ventures: UK-based early- to growth-stage VC investing across health, fintech, deep tech and consumer; broader sector mandate than Passion but operates at comparable seed-stage ticket sizes within the UK ecosystem.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based European VC with deep tech and FinTech focus; comparable European geographic mandate and seed-to-Series A orientation, providing overlap with Passion's portfolio themes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/passion-capital

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments199 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Passion Capital