Highland Europe is a growth-stage venture capital firm headquartered in London and Geneva. Spun off from Highland Capital Partners in 2012 to focus exclusively on European-rooted technology scale-ups, the firm operates as an equal partnership backing exceptional teams across Europe and Israel.
Highland Europe invests in growth-stage, product-led companies across software and consumer technology sectors in Europe and Israel, including AI, enterprise software, fintech, healthcare, and consumer technology.
The firm targets companies growing organically with strong customer momentum, demonstrating clear product-market fit and compelling unit economics, led by ambitious teams ready to scale and typically raising $20–80 million rounds to accelerate expansion.
Highland has backed European tech leaders including Bending Spoons, GetYourGuide, Wolt, n8n, and Nothing.
Highland Europe closed its sixth fund, Fund VI, at $1.25 billion in July 2026, the firm's largest fund to date.
The close followed a year in which Highland generated more than $1.1 billion in liquidity from major portfolio milestones, including the $3 billion sale of Nexthink to Vista Equity Partners, Danone's roughly $1.1 billion acquisition of Huel, the $7.5 billion merger of EGYM and Playlist, and Bending Spoons' Nasdaq listing at over $18 billion.
Since its founding in 2012, Highland Europe has raised $4.3 billion across six funds.
Leadership
Highland Europe was co-founded in 2012 by Fergal Mullen, formerly a General Partner at Highland Capital Partners, alongside partners including Tony Zappalà (from Index Ventures) and Stan Laurent.
The firm's partnership today includes Sam Brooks, David Blyghton, Laurence Garrett, Irena Goldenberg, Stan Laurent, Fergal Mullen, Gajan Rajanathan, Helena Richardson, Ronan Shally (Partner and CFO), Jean Tardy-Joubert, and Tony Zappalà.
Alongside Fund VI's close, Highland promoted Helena Richardson (joined 2016, consumer investments including Huel and ME+EM) and Jacob Bernstein (joined 2017, enterprise investments including Unframe) to Partner.
The firm operates as an equal partnership of 36 people, including 20 investment professionals, across its London and Geneva offices.
Investment Strategy
Highland Europe backs growth-stage, product-led companies typically raising $20–80 million rounds, often leading or co-leading. Recent deals include leading Wordsmith's $70 million Series B, Unframe's $50 million Series B, and Ecorobotix's $105 million Series D.
The firm takes a high-touch, collaborative approach with founders and has generated liquidity through both trade sales (Nexthink, Huel) and public listings (Bending Spoons).
Notable Investments
Notable Exits
Fergal Mullen — Co-Founder and Partner
fergal@highlandeurope.com
Stan Laurent — Partner
stan@highlandeurope.com
Helena Richardson — Partner
helena@highlandeurope.com
Jacob Bernstein — Partner
jacob@highlandeurope.com
United Kingdom
