Entourage, the early-stage venture firm founded by Showpad co-founder Pieterjan Bouten, has closed its second fund at €100m. It passed its €75m target within two weeks, took more than €100m in commitments, and capped the fund there.
Fund II will back about 25 companies at pre-seed and seed stage, in Europe and beyond, Entourage said on Thursday. First cheques will range from €1m to €5m, with money held back for follow-on rounds, Tech.eu reported.
The first fund focused mainly on software. The new one widens the remit to AI, enterprise software, robotics, physical AI and deep tech.
Backed by founders
Entrepreneurs, family offices and private investors put up all of the money, according to EU-Startups. They include founders of Aikido, Collibra and TechWolf, which SAP agreed to buy this month.
Entourage launched in 2024. It says it was among the first investors in Aikido Security, which became a unicorn in January. It also backed AI research startup Conveo early, before its $50m Series A in September. It was also an early backer of Milan-based legal AI company Lexroom, which raised a $50m Series B in May.
“What these founders have achieved in such a short time has only strengthened our conviction in our generalist, founder-first approach. With Fund II, we’re doubling down,” Bouten said.
No board seats
Entourage leads or co-leads most of its rounds but rarely takes a board seat. Bouten, who ran Showpad for more than a decade, says that is deliberate.
“Most VCs destroy value in early-stage boardrooms. Too few have built a company at scale,” Bouten said in a statement.
“Great founders don’t need babysitting,” he added.
Bouten said he has invested in more than 60 companies and has seen investors slow founders down with misplaced advice. Many of Entourage’s own investors have built companies, which he said aligns them with the founders the firm backs.
Moving into robotics and deep tech tests that model, Sofia Chesnokova wrote for Tech Funding News. Those companies usually take longer, need more capital and leave less room for mistakes than software startups.
A bigger team
The firm’s partners are Bouten, Evert Beeckman and Maarten Mortier. Alongside Fund II, it has hired three investors, Erwan Gardelle, Sixtine Riescher and Illja Schiller. It has also opened a London office and set up a presence in Paris.
Entourage also builds companies through Entourage Studio. Tekst, an AI process automation company that came out of the studio, recently raised a €10m Series A, Tech.eu reported.
In Belgium, home to Aikido, Syndicate One raised €22m for early-stage startups in February.