ICOS Capital Management

What ICOS Capital Management does

ICOS Capital Management is a privately-held venture and growth capital investment firm headquartered at Barbara Strozzilaan 101, 1083 HN Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 2005. The firm focuses exclusively on sustainability-oriented enabling technologies, investing primarily in scale-up phase companies across Climate Tech, sustainable food systems, and bio-based materials. Geographically, ICOS concentrates on Europe and Israel with minority investments in North America and the rest of the world. Its investment products are structured as two regulated vehicles: ICF III (an EU SFDR Article 8 fund promoting environmental and social characteristics) and ICF IV (an SFDR Article 9 fund with a strict sustainable investment objective targeting 10Mt CO2e reduction within 10 years, 50Mt within 20 years, and a 1Gt CO2e ultimate outlook by 2050). Twenty-five percent of carried interest on Fund IV is contingent on achieving these impact targets.

The firm's core differentiator is the Collaborative Venturing Platform (CVP), a structured mechanism that pairs portfolio companies with sector-leading corporate partners — including Bühler Group, Royal Cosun, Nouryon, and Bird Control Group — to provide growth financing, engineering and production expertise, infrastructure, and market access. Day-to-day screening and portfolio monitoring is supported by a proprietary sustainability matrix incorporating Principal Adverse Impacts screening and ESG criteria. The firm supplements this with annual Innovation Summits (the 17th edition was held at the Bühler CUBIC Innovation Campus in Switzerland) to convene scale-ups, corporates, VCs, and government institutions.

ICOS is monetized through standard venture capital economics: management fees on committed and deployed fund capital, and carried interest on successful exits via trade sales and IPOs, with the carried interest subject to impact hurdles. The firm maintains an active portfolio of 35 companies and a small core investment team (1–10 employees) with over 75 years of cumulative VC experience, supplemented by a network of named Venture Partners and Industry Partners & Advisors drawn from its corporate partners.

Name

ICOS Capital Management

Legal name

Icos Capital

Website

https://icoscapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICOS Capital Management is a Netherlands-based venture and growth capital firm that invests in scale-up phase sustainability and climate tech companies across Europe, using its Collaborative Venturing Platform to pair portfolio companies with sector-leading corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

Capital Raising Advisory (Debt/Equity/Private Capital) (BPAHADAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate Strategic Real Assets & Infrastructure Venture Investing (FSANAHAN)

Keywords

• Venture capital investments
• Climate tech funding
• Sustainability investing
• Growth capital funds
• Collaborative venturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Venture Capital Returns: Returns generated through successful exits of portfolio companies via trade sales and IPOs. The firm also earns management fees and carried interest from managed funds.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ICOS Capital is a private venture and growth capital firm that invests in European scale-up stage sustainability-oriented technology companies, primarily in Climate Tech sectors such as Food Tech and sustainable materials. The firm manages investment funds (ICF III and ICF IV) and operates a Collaborative Venturing Platform (CVP) that connects portfolio companies with sector-leading corporate partners to provide growth financing, engineering and production expertise, infrastructure, and market access.

Product overview

ICOS Capital Management is a venture capital firm that offers a suite of investment products centered around sustainability and climate technology. The firm manages two primary funds: ICF III (an Article 8 SFDR fund) and ICF IV (an Article 9 SFDR fund), which invest in early growth and scale-up stage companies in Climate Tech sectors including Food Tech and sustainable materials across Europe with minority investments globally. The firm's offering is structured around its Collaborative Venturing Platform (CVP), which connects portfolio companies with corporate partners for technical and commercial collaboration, and annual Innovation Summits that facilitate networking between startups, industry partners, and investors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Collaborative Venturing Platform (CVP): Platform connecting fast growth innovators with sector leading corporations to facilitate growth financing, engineering and production expertise, infrastructure and market access

Products and services

• ICOS Capital Fund III (ICF III)
• ICOS Capital Growth Fund IV (ICF IV)
• Collaborative Venturing Platform (CVP)
• Innovation Summits

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 G T CO2e reduction/avoidance target by 2050
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bühler GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 April 2026Bühler Group is a key partner in organizing the annual Collaborative Summit on Sustainable Food and Biotech Scale-Ups at the Buhler CUBIC Innovation Campus in Switzerland. Ian Roberts (CTO) and Matthias Kaiserswerth (Innovation Board) serve as Industry Partners & Advisors to ICOS Capital.
• Royal CosuncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoyal Cosun participates in ICOS Capital's Collaborative Venturing Platform. Maaike Van den Maagdenberg (Director Corporate Development) and Hans Meeuwis (CEO) serve as Industry Partners & Advisors.
• NouryoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNouryon participates in ICOS Capital's Collaborative Venturing Platform. Rolf Edvinsson (Chief Scientist Performance Formulations, R&D) serves as Industry Partner & Advisor.
• Bird Control GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDimmes Doornhein (Chairman Supervisory Board) serves as Industry Partner & Advisor to ICOS Capital through the Collaborative Venturing Program.
• Venture Partners NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of experienced venture partners including Veronique de Bruijn, Norbert Danneberg, Tadeusz Uhl, Andre Groeneveld, Stefan Dobrev, and Paul Zekveld who provide decades of experience leveraged during scale-up of portfolio companies.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• KfW Capital: German state-backed VC fund-of-funds manager investing in European venture capital with a focus on impact and sustainability. Comparable as a European sustainability-focused VC capital provider, though primarily active in Germany rather than Benelux.

Broad incumbents

• Energy Impact Partners: Global venture capital platform investing in companies shaping the energy transition, with utility and corporate LPs forming its collaborative network model. Comparable broader incumbent in climate-focused VC with similar corporate-partner-driven thesis as ICOS Capital's CVP.

Direct peers

• Capricorn Partners: Belgium-based independent venture and growth capital firm managing multiple technology-focused funds including the Capricorn Industrial Biotech Fund, which co-invested with ICOS Capital in Foamlab's €3M growth round. Directly comparable as a European independent VC investing in sustainable technologies with corporate partner networks.
• Emerald Technology Ventures: Zurich-based global cleantech and industrial VC firm investing in growth-stage sustainability and industrial technology companies. Directly comparable as a European venture/growth investor with a sustainability mandate similar to ICOS Capital's climate tech focus.
• Value Factory Ventures: Netherlands-based venture capital firm participating alongside ICOS Capital in Foamlab's €3M growth round. Comparable as a regional VC co-investor in European sustainability scale-ups.
• Clean Growth Fund: UK-based venture capital fund investing in cleantech scale-ups; co-investor alongside ICOS Capital in portfolio company Holiferm's £18.5M raise. Comparable as a European growth-stage cleantech VC.
• SHIFT Invest: Dutch impact VC firm managing TTT Green Tech and other sustainability-focused funds; co-invested with ICOS Capital in Foamlab's €3M growth round. Highly comparable as a Netherlands-based climate/sustainability VC targeting scale-up stage companies.
• DOEN Ventures: Dutch impact investor backing innovative sustainable entrepreneurs; co-invested alongside ICOS Capital in Foamlab's €3M growth round. Comparable as a Netherlands-based VC deploying capital into early-stage sustainability ventures.
• Demeter Partners: Paris-based European VC and private equity firm focused on the ecological transition, managing multiple funds across cleantech, energy, and sustainable materials. Comparable as a European VC/PE firm with sustainability/climate tech investment focus.

Emerging players

• NatureVest: The impact investment arm of The Nature Conservancy, focusing on nature-based solutions and sustainable land use investments. Comparable as an emerging player in impact-aligned investing with sustainability focus overlapping ICOS Capital's circular economy and biodiversity mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IcosCapital
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@icoscapitalsummit

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments34 records

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

Frequently asked questions about ICOS Capital Management