Unconventional Ventures bags €52m first close to back diverse founders: 'Bigger and bolder'

Nordic impact investor Unconventional Ventures (UV) has announced the first close of its €80m second fund at €52m.

The fund has drawn backing from a coalition of institutional investors including the European Investment Fund (EIF), EIFO (the Danish Sovereign Fund), Nordea-fonden, Augustinus Fabrikker, TryghedsGruppen, and several family offices aligned with UV’s diversity mission.

Founded to challenge structural inequities in venture capital, UV focuses on startups led by women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ founders, and other underrepresented groups. Its Fund II aims to prove that inclusive investment can drive both competitive returns and systemic impact.

“Our conviction has only grown stronger since Fund I,” said Thea Messel, founding partner at UV. “When you invest in diverse founders, you unlock new markets, overlooked opportunities, and future-proof solutions. Fund II is about going bigger, bolder, and proving that equity and returns can, and must, coexist.”

Expanding the model

The new fund will target pre-seed and seed-stage startups in climate and sustainability, health, and education.

To qualify, portfolio companies must include at least one underrepresented founder and demonstrate both scalable business potential and measurable social or environmental impact.

Alongside the fund close, UV announced Alexis Horowitz-Burdick as its third general partner. A former managing director at LEGO Ventures, Horowitz-Burdick brings extensive experience scaling global consumer and impact-driven businesses.

“Joining UV at this moment feels urgent and exciting,” Horowitz-Burdick said. “This is more than a fund – it’s a movement grounded in the belief that capital should unlock opportunity, not reinforce old patterns.”

Building on early success

Launched in 2019, UV’s first fund invested in 19 early-stage startups across the Nordics and Europe. The firm says Fund II will expand its model across Europe, providing larger checks and deeper operational support.

“This first close sends a clear signal to the market,” said Nora Bavey, general partner at UV. “Investing through a diversity lens is not just a moral imperative – it’s a strategic advantage. Inclusive innovation builds stronger companies and delivers outsized returns.”

Tech’s diversity problem

Diverse founding teams have been consistently shown to outperform homogenous ones. Meanwhile, countless studies have found that inclusive companies generally attract better talent.

However, a report from the Founders Forum Group this year found that of the $289 billion in VC money invested globally in 2024, just 2.3% went to female-only founding teams ($6.7 billion). Just over 14% went to mixed-gender founding teams, while all-male teams took the lion’s share at 83.6%.

Meanwhile, black founders in the UK overall received just 0.23% of venture funds in 2018, despite making up 4% of Britain’s population. In the US, Black-founded startups raised about 0.4% of venture funds in 2024, despite making up around 13% of the population, according to Crunchbase data.

UV hopes its inclusive financing model will help level the paying field.