MSM

Name

MSM

Legal name

Mustard Seed MAZE SA

Website

https://msm.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MSM is a Lisbon-based impact venture capital fund that invests pre-seed to Series A in European ventures where social and environmental impact and financial returns are mutually reinforcing, backed by institutional LPs including the European Investment Fund and Gulbenkian Foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital / Impact Investing

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN), Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Healthcare Access & Life Sciences Impact Funds (FSANAJAI), Gender Lens / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Funds (FSANAJAM)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Impact investing
• Early stage investing
• Sustainable development goals
• Pre-seed series A

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Carry/Performance Fee: MSM is only entitled to performance fee if they reach a minimum threshold of impact performance across their portfolio. Carry is tied to 'portfolio impact goal' of 60% threshold. Above that threshold, they are entitled to 50% of performance fee, upwards of which follows a linear scale.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MSM is an early-stage, generalist impact venture capital fund that invests in fast-growing European ventures (pre-seed to Series A) where social/environmental impact and financial returns are mutually reinforcing. The fund provides equity capital plus a value-add platform offering impact expertise (IMP framework, UN SDG alignment), fundraising and commercial introductions, close founder support, talent access, and a community of 100+ founders. Revenue is generated primarily through investment returns and performance fees tied to portfolio impact performance.

Product overview

MSM (Mustard Seed MAZE) is an impact venture capital fund that does not offer a standalone software product. It operates as a fund manager providing capital and a platform of services to portfolio companies, including impact expertise, fundraising and commercial introductions, close founder support, access to talent, and community membership. The fund's primary offering is its investment capital and associated platform support services for early-stage European ventures aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MSM Impact Venture Capital Fund
• MSM Platform Support Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Carry tied to impact performance threshold of 60% portfolio impact goal
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers35 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Impact Management ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMSM uses the Impact Management Project framework for assessing, managing and reporting social and environmental impact aligned with UN SDGs.
• Comissão do Mercado dos Valores Mobiliários (CMVM)coreOthersPortuguese regulator with whom MSM signed an ADR protocol for dispute resolution related to collective investment schemes management.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Future Positive Capital: Pan-European early-stage impact VC investing in startups using technology to solve systemic challenges. Closest comparable on geography, stage (pre-seed/seed) and explicit impact mandate; one of MSM's own Venture Partners (Michael Rosen) co-founded the firm.
• Octopus Ventures: UK-based early-to-growth-stage impact VC investing in startups that 'change the world' (health, climate, sustainable consumer). Comparable European geographic focus and B2C/B2B impact thesis across similar stages to MSM.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage European VC with dedicated Climate & Impact and Health & TechBio funds. Compares closely on European early-stage investing and dedicated impact verticals alongside generalist capital.
• Anthemis: Early-stage fintech-focused impact VC investing in financial services that improve people's lives. Comparable as a thesis-driven, impact-aligned European VC; comparable stage (pre-seed/seed) and active community/platform support.
• Pale Blue Dot: European early-stage VC backing founders addressing climate and societal challenges. Highly comparable as European impact VC at pre-seed/seed, though more climate-specialist than MSM's generalist impact mandate.
• LocalGlobe: UK-based seed-stage investor backing mission-driven founders; comparable in early-stage European focus and platform/community model, though less explicitly impact-mandated.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Pan-European generalist VC investing from Series A onwards; not impact-specialist but operates in the same European early/growth stage market as MSM, competing for marquee founders and LP capital with a much larger fund.
• Index Ventures: Long-established European/global VC investing across stages from seed to growth. Competes with MSM at the early stage for the same founders and is a comparable European LP-backed fund structure, though much larger and non-impact-specific.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: European early-stage VC with health, tech and climate/sustainability focus areas. Comparable in Pan-European early-stage thesis and geographies, with ESG-aligned portfolios that overlap MSM on impact themes.

Regional players

• Notion Capital: European early-to-growth VC with focus on B2B software and impact-oriented founders in climate/health; comparable European mid-market focus and stage overlap with MSM despite heavier B2B SaaS tilt.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/msmfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments50 records

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

Frequently asked questions about MSM