Norway's Investinor out raising new LP fund amid European push to fund scaleups

Venture Partners, a global early-stage venture capital firm based in Dubai, has announced the successful closing of its third fund, Fund III, and the opening of a new office in Lisbon to expand its European operations. Fund III, which is backed by the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) and other regional investors such as Multi Lane, Transmed Capital, and the Idriss Family Office, is now valued at over $200 million.

The firm operates globally and has a mandate to invest in AI-native companies across 16 international markets, with two-thirds of its capital deployed outside the Middle East, particularly in North America and Europe.

The primary focus of Fund III is to invest up to $1 million in Pre-Seed to Series A stage companies, aiming to reimagine enterprise workflows and scale globally from day one. As of now, 15 investments have been made out of the planned 40-company portfolio, including PQ Shield, Cosyne, Isometric, Huspy, and Invisible. Ghaith Yafi, Founding Partner at BY Venture Partners, expressed enthusiasm for increasing investments in Europe, where hubs like Madrid, London, Paris, and Berlin are driving rapid advancements in AI-native software.

Yafi emphasized the firm's thesis to generate strong, long-term returns for its partners and highlighted the exciting opportunities ahead with this new fund.

BY Venture Partners has appointed a new office in Lisbon and hired two key local investment professionals to strengthen its European presence. Sohrab Jahanbani, Partner at BY Venture Partners, noted that Europe is home to exceptional technical talent, but European founders often face obstacles when bridging the gap to international capital and achieving global commercial scale.

By establishing a presence in Lisbon, BY Venture Partners aims to provide ambitious European founders with direct access to global networks, cross-border deployment opportunities, and an operator-led team with expertise in building international markets. All four partners at BY Venture Partners are experienced entrepreneurs who have built and exited businesses before joining forces as investors.

The firm's Fund I and II have produced four unicorns alongside a portfolio of companies now valued in the hundreds of millions, and they have already returned meaningful capital to their limited partners.