Forbes has released the 2021 Midas List Europe, the definitive ranking of the top 25 venture capital investors in Europe and the Middle East, produced for the fifth consecutive year in partnership with TrueBridge Capital Partners.
- Index Ventures investor Jan Hammer retains the top spot for the fourth year in succession. He has remained unchallenged since his landmark investment in the Dutch payments company Adyen and has been further bolstered by successful investments in Robinhood and Wise, both of which went public this year.
- Other notable listmakers include Luciana Lixandruwho has jumped up ten spots to No. 2 and Avi Eyal, Israel’s top-ranked investor, who moved up from No. 10 to No. 3 due to the March IPO of Coupang. Lixandru moved to Sequoia last year and was boosted up the rankings by UiPath’s April listing, as well as the rest of her portfolio which includes Deliveroo, Hopin and Miro.
- “Despite ongoing uncertainty in the global economy, this year saw a record number of European IPOs at the beginning of the year and our listmakers capitalized on their experience of investing in game-changing businesses,” said Forbes Senior Editor Alex Konrad. “While we celebrate the success of those on the list, the results also highlight the underrepresentation of women and people of color in the global VC landscape. It is exciting to see Luciana Lixandru’s rise to the second spot, and we hope her continued success is indicative of a more equitable future for the sector.”
- The list features two newcomers, Rahul Mehta of DST Global (No. 17), based in Dubai, who premiered on the global Midas List earlier this year, and Nenad Marovac, Founder of London-based DN Capital (No. 21). In addition, three investors, Index’s Neil Rimer (No. 12), Mosaic Venture’s Simon Levene (No. 20), and Atomico’s Niklas Zennström (No. 25) return to the list, having previously dropped off. Alongside Lixandru, just two other women feature on this year’s ranking – Sonali De Rycker of Accel (No. 13) and Reshma Sohoni of Seedcamp (No. 16).
- London continues to dominate the list, with 15 of the 25 listmakers based there. Other investors on this year’s ranking hail from Israel (3), Sweden (3), Switzerland (2), Berlin (1) and Dubai (1).
Methodology
Forbes’ Midas List Europe receives submissions from dozens of Europe’s and Israel’s leading venture capital firms. Forbes and data partner TrueBridge Capital Partners run that data through a proprietary model that evaluates investors by their portfolio companies valued at $200 million or more or that exited at $100 million or more, factoring in the stage, size and returns of such deals. Spanning early and later stage investments, Forbes’ Midas List Europe recognizes bolder and bigger bets.
For the complete ranking, methodology, videos and more, visit: The Midas List Europe 2021
