Evertrue Capital closes €15M debut fund for pre-seed frontier tech

Evertrue Capital has closed its debut fund at €15 million ($17 million), with backing from Phoenix Court's Basecamp fund-of-funds and the British Business Bank. The London-based VC, founded by solo General Partner Yvonne Bajela, will write cheques of €299,000 to €599,000 (£250k–£500k) at pre-seed, targeting founders building frontier technologies primarily in the UK and Europe.

The close lands in a crowded year for European early-stage funds — and a tough one for solo GPs. According to Evertrue, 67% of new VC funds launched in 2024 targeted under €8.9 million ($10 million), and fundraising for solo GPs has become increasingly difficult. Evertrue cleared that bar with institutional weight behind it.

Who is backing the fund?

The LP roster includes:

• Phoenix Court, through Basecamp, its fund of funds investing in a global community of emerging managers
• British Business Bank, which named Evertrue among its first microfund recipients in June 2026
• Better Society Capital
• Bootstrap 4F (Invest in Women Taskforce)
• Allocator One

That backing anchors a first-time fund in a segment where capital has thinned out.

What does the fund's strategy look like?

Bajela is explicit about the approach: concentrated, early, and before the market has proof.

"Over the past decade, I've backed founders who went on to build billion-dollar companies, and almost none of them looked obvious at the start," Bajela said. "The ones I'm drawn to understand a problem deeply, often from lived experience, and have the conviction and discipline to build around it. They don't always fit a familiar pattern, but their insight gives them an edge others can't yet see."

She added: "The best moment to invest is before the market has proof. That belief has shaped Evertrue. We make concentrated, early bets and give founders the capital, access and support to build companies of consequence."

Rather than a high-volume portfolio, Evertrue will lead a concentrated number of investments each year. The fund has already deployed into seven companies:

• Revion — agentic AI for the automotive sector
• Poindexter Labs — an AI capability and efficiency lab
• Zuba — the FinTech building infrastructure for global businesses
• Zaro — the shared knowledge layer for enterprises

Half the portfolio has already launched operations in the US.

What do the founders say?

Zaki Gabe-Wilkinson, co-founder of YC-backed Revion, said: "Yvonne was our first cheque and backed us from day zero. Her conviction in us as founders was clear from the start and she immediately got to work, helping us find top talent and opening doors across the UK and US to industry leaders and investors ahead of our Seed round."

Jocelyn D'Arcy, co-founder of Poindexter Labs, said: "Yvonne saw what we were building before it was easy to explain, back when training data was still an afterthought to most investors. That early belief gave us the confidence to go after the partnerships that mattered."

Both quotes point to the same thing: hands-on support from day zero, not just capital.

Who is Yvonne Bajela?

The fund is built on a belief shaped by Bajela's career: that insight often comes before the evidence. She was previously a Partner at Phoenix Court, home of LocalGlobe and Latitude.

Her path runs through several name-brand institutions. She began at Goldman Sachs, founded her own company, then joined Mitsui & Co., where she became one of its youngest investment managers, investing globally in tech companies including Wise and helping portfolio companies expand into Asia. She later became a founding member and Principal at Impact X Capital, leading its Seed investment in insurtech Marshmallow, before joining Phoenix Court, where she invested in and supported technology companies including Moove.

EU-Startups interviewed Bajela about her investment approach back in 2021 — five years before the fund closed.

How busy is the European early-stage market?

Evertrue's close follows a string of European early-stage announcements in 2026:

• Nauta (UK) — €60 million first close for software and DeepTech startups
• Project Ventures (UK) — €5.8 million fund targeting AI and research-led businesses
• Vanagon Ventures (Germany) — €20 million debut fund, also backed by Allocator One
• Robin Capital (Berlin) — €15 million second fund, closed the same day
• Masia (Spain) — €18 million
• NewSchool VC (Belgium) — €10 million solo-GP close
• ZOHO.VC (Germany) — €7 million first close

Together, those funds represent roughly €130 million in disclosed capital, rising to €145 million including Evertrue.

That's a lot of new pre-seed firepower landing at once — and with seven deals already done and half its portfolio live in the US, Evertrue is spending its €15 million now, not later.