European companies backed by Endeavor Catalyst raised more than $8.3 billion across 2025 and the first half of 2026, as the global investment fund continues to increase its exposure to a region it sees as both undercapitalized and increasingly capable of producing global technology companies.
Of that total, more than $3.2 billion came from rounds in which Endeavor Catalyst participated directly, while another $5.1 billion was raised by its portfolio companies without the fund's participation. Combined, that is more than six times the amount raised in 2023 and 2024.
Europe accounted for 11% of deployed capital in Fund I; by Fund IV, that share had climbed to 25%. The fund has now directly invested $104.3 million across 84 European companies, representing around 20% of its global portfolio.
For Pete Benedetto, Head of EMEA for Endeavor Catalyst, the shift is the result of both stronger European ecosystems and a deliberate expansion of Endeavor's presence on the continent.
“We've increased quite a bit, and we'll continue to increase the amount of investing we're doing in Europe,” Benedetto tells The Recursive. “We see a lot of promise from the markets that we're in and from other markets across the continent as well. There are a lot of strong companies coming out of Central and Eastern Europe.”
Europe becomes a bigger part of Endeavor's map
Endeavor's roots are far from Europe. The organization began in Latin America almost three decades ago before expanding into the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Europe came considerably later, with Greece becoming its first market on the continent around a decade ago.
Since then, its footprint has expanded. Endeavor Catalyst is currently active across ten European markets, including Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. Endeavor has also recently opened operations in Romania, Poland, and Ukraine.
For Benedetto, the expansion is driven by the companies and opportunities emerging in each market. “We want to be pulled into markets in order to begin operating there and supporting entrepreneurs and supporting those ecosystems,” he explains.
In markets such as Poland, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria, Benedetto says that pull has been particularly strong. Once established, local Endeavor chapters are locally led and funded, while connecting entrepreneurs to the organization's international network.
The founders Endeavor is looking for, Benedetto says, are those who can move beyond their home markets: entrepreneurs who may start locally but have ambitions to build companies across regions and ultimately globally.
CEE engineering talent
Endeavor Catalyst itself has co-invested with firms including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Sequoia. According to Benedetto, there is now broad recognition among US investors of the technical talent available across Europe and particularly its eastern half.
“There’s broad recognition that there’s incredible talent in Europe and all across Europe, especially from Eastern Europe,” he says.
That influence is not always captured by looking at where a company is headquartered. Benedetto points out that some companies perceived as American have founders or significant technical roots in CEE.
“You can name company after company that trace their legacy back there.”
Still, the global venture capital market remains heavily concentrated around Silicon Valley. Benedetto argues that this leaves an opening elsewhere.
“There are incredible founders building companies across Europe that are undercapitalized and are under-recognized for their potential. Endeavor sees that as a core part of our mission — to support and identify those founders, help them grow and scale their companies, and serve as a platform for them.”
It is a thesis Benedetto has made publicly as well, arguing that many leading AI businesses rely on technical talent from Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, and Turkey, and that the next generation of global technology companies will not necessarily originate in Silicon Valley.
How Endeavor Catalyst actually chooses its investments
There is, however, an important distinction between Endeavor and Endeavor Catalyst.
Endeavor is first a global entrepreneurial network that identifies and supports high-growth founders. Catalyst is its investment arm, and companies cannot simply pitch the fund in the same way they would approach a conventional VC. Endeavor Catalyst invests exclusively in companies led by entrepreneurs who have already been selected into the Endeavor network. It also operates as a rules-based co-investment fund rather than a lead investor.
“We do not lead rounds. We only invest in the companies that are part of the Endeavor network, where there's a qualified lead investor who's leading the round.”
Benedetto explains that Catalyst can invest a maximum of 10% of a round, up to approximately $2–3 million. Half of the fund's profits go toward funding Endeavor's nonprofit organization.
“The fund very much serves the mission of the broader organization,” he says.
Before reaching that stage, Endeavor itself takes a deliberately broad approach to identifying founders. It is sector agnostic, with potential companies ranging from fintech and software to edtech and other industries. Geography is similarly flexible: a founder might build entirely from Poland, for example, or operate from San Francisco while retaining a large engineering operation in Warsaw.
The common denominator is what Endeavor calls the “multiplier effect”; the potential for successful entrepreneurs to strengthen the ecosystems around them.
“We're looking for the companies we think are going to have the greatest impact on their ecosystems, on their communities, on their economies."
The European portfolio already includes some of the region's most recognizable technology companies. Fifteen European-founded companies backed by Endeavor Catalyst have reached valuations of at least $1 billion, according to the fund's latest figures, with names including ElevenLabs, ICEYE, Fever, and Bending Spoons.
Member discussion