Brighteye Ventures

Brighteye Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

Brighteye Ventures is a pan-European venture capital firm built around the conviction that technology is fundamentally reshaping the human capacity to learn, work, and adapt. The firm coined the term "HumanOS" to describe the category they invest in: systems that help people continuously learn, perform, and evolve throughout their lives and careers. As software becomes increasingly intelligent and autonomous, Brighteye believes it multiplies the value of human skills and knowledge — and that the next generation of category-defining companies will harness this technology to redefine human capability.

The firm explicitly targets large underserved markets — sectors where legacy players linger and innovation moves too slowly, where visionary founders with deep domain insight can build dominant platforms. Education, workforce technology, and health are their three primary verticals, with climate appearing selectively in their portfolio.

Stage Focus

Brighteye invests from the earliest signs of product-market fit through to Series A. They explicitly back companies "from Pre-Seed to Series A" — rarely investing pre-traction unless they see a deep, genuinely exciting insight from the founding team. The firm wants to see authentic early pull: "not through hype, but through real user need, love, and repeat behaviour." Their portfolio shows a concentration at Pre-Seed and Seed stages, with selective Series A investments where they led the round.

Check Size

Initial investments range from €0.4M to €4M (approximately $440K–$4.4M USD). The firm reserves additional capital for follow-on rounds and emphasises its commitment to supporting portfolio companies through future raises. Brighteye typically leads or co-leads investment rounds and almost always takes board seats as standard practice.

Lead Tendency

Brighteye consistently positions as lead or co-lead investor. Their approach page states they "typically lead or co-lead" and take board seats as standard. They describe themselves as hands-on partners who "roll up their sleeves" alongside founders from day one, providing not just capital but strategic support, operational mentorship, customer introductions, and fundraising guidance.

Fund Status and AUM

Brighteye manages over €150M (~$165M USD) in total assets under management across two funds. Fund II, their most recent vehicle, closed at €100M in June 2023. Three legal entities operate under the Brighteye umbrella: Brighteye Research London Ltd, Brighteye Research Paris SAS, and Gestron Asset Management SA (Luxembourg). The founding partners also serve as CIO and Deputy CIO of Gestron Asset Management. Investment activity in May and July 2026 confirms they are actively deploying Fund II.

Geographic Focus

Pan-European with offices in London (7 Colville Mews, W11 2DA) and Paris (34 rue de Montpensier, 75001). The portfolio shows strong representation across the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, and Turkey. The firm explicitly backs "European companies built to compete globally" with the ambition to reach €100M+ in revenue. International expansion support — including into the US, Asia-Pacific, and beyond — is a core part of their value proposition to portfolio founders.

Recent Activity (2025–2026)

Brighteye has been actively deploying Fund II with several investments in 2025–2026:

• July 2026: Co-led Sherpa's $2.2M pre-seed alongside Seedcamp, DN Capital, and Activant Capital. Sherpa is the first agentic-native operating system for external workforce management, helping large enterprises automate contractor and freelancer coordination.
• May 2026: Led Gyver's €1.4M investment alongside Vento, Zanichelli Venture, Antler, and āltitude. Gyver is a conversational hiring platform for blue-collar electricians in Europe, operating via WhatsApp.
• May 2026: Led NEX Health Intelligence's €1M pre-seed alongside Adeline Arts & Science, AFI Ventures, and Momentous Ventures. NEX is an AI-powered infection intelligence platform for hospitals.
• May 2026: Invested in Coachbetter, a sports coaching platform.

Portfolio Highlights

Brighteye has funded 50+ companies at Pre-Seed to Series A, with a large portion of early-portfolio companies having exited (acquired). Notable active companies include:

• Zen Educate (UK) — Tech-enabled supply teacher marketplace; Brighteye led the Series A in 2019. Now expanded to the US and Australia, saving schools over £20M annually in the UK alone.
• Hack The Box (Greece/UK) — World's largest gamified cybersecurity upskilling, certification, and talent assessment platform. Millions of members; trusted by blue-chip enterprises and governments globally.
• Seven Education (Germany) — Cloud-based administrative software for K-12 schools and nurseries across Europe. Serves tens of thousands of institutions.
• Ornikar (France) — Dominant driver education platform in France, helping millions pass their driving exams faster and at lower cost. Extended into insurance for young drivers.
• Sherpa — Agentic AI platform for external workforce management; pre-seed, July 2026.
• Gyver — Conversational hiring for blue-collar electricians; May 2026.
• NEX Health Intelligence — Hospital infection AI; May 2026.
• Ironhack — Technology bootcamps and coding schools across Europe and the US.
• Genially — Visual content creation platform widely used in education.
• Tandem — Language exchange and learning app.
• Rosalyn — AI-powered assessment and proctoring platform.
• Studystream — Community study platform for students.

Team

• Ben Wirz — Founding Partner. After ten years building startups including a $500M exit and multiple failures, Ben led direct venture investments at the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation before founding Brighteye. Also serves as Deputy CIO-VC at Gestron Asset Management. Languages: English, French, Spanish. Particularly drawn to first-time founders.
• Alex Spiro Latsis — Founding Partner. Entrepreneur with background in tech, publishing, media, and licensing with deep networks across education, entertainment, and mobile software. Serves as CIO-VC at Gestron Asset Management. Languages: English, French, Greek. Focus on product-driven founders.
• David Guérin — Partner. Former strategy and management consultant in Mexico; joined a fast-scaling healthcare startup before joining Brighteye in 2018. Closely involved in 45+ investments, supporting founders on growth, fundraising, and internationalisation. Also serves as Investment Director-VC at Gestron. Languages: French, Spanish, English.
• Isabella Vahdati — Principal. Former consultant and climate software operator; founded Aspiring Female Partners, a European community supporting junior women in VC. Based in London. Languages: English.
• Rhys Spence — Head of Platform & Research. Former Director at the Education Policy Institute (schools, higher education, vocational). Leads Brighteye's research programme and Sidekick publication (13,500+ subscribers). At Brighteye since 2021.
• Hege Tollerud — Head of Community & Events. Former CEO at Oslo Edtech Cluster. 20+ years in communications, media relations, community building, and international profiling across Norway, UK, and China. Joined late 2020.
• Andreas Schropfer — Head of Finance. 9+ years in senior finance roles at VC- and PE-backed technology companies. Joined early 2026.
• James Wilson — Designer-in-Residence. 20+ years in visual communication across graphic design, UX, and animation.

Decision Process

Brighteye operates as a partnership model with three investment decision-makers: two Founding Partners (Ben Wirz, Alex Spiro Latsis) and one Partner (David Guérin). Isabella Vahdati at Principal level also sources and leads investments. The firm has a culture of intensive founder engagement before investment, with the team spending significant time getting aligned with founders on what success looks like before committing. The partnership model suggests collaborative decision-making rather than solo GP or a large investment committee.

Founder Preferences

Brighteye explicitly looks for:

• Visionary founders with deep domain understanding and genuine clarity about the problem they're solving
• Products generating authentic early traction — real user need, love, and repeat behaviour (not hype-driven)
• European companies with global ambitions, built to reach €100M+ in revenue
• Teams targeting large, underserved markets where legacy players linger and innovation is slow
• First-time founders are welcome; Ben Wirz specifically notes he is "naturally drawn to entrepreneurs with a strong sense of the future who are embarking on the venture journey for the first time"
• Founders with sharp market insight and bold global ambitions (David Guérin's profile)

Value-Add Beyond Capital

• Founder Studio: Notion-based resource hub with playbooks and tools for portfolio founders
• Sidekick: A Substack-based publication and podcast with 13,500+ subscribers covering learning and work sector trends
• Mentor Network: 15+ C-level mentors (including ex-COOs, CPOs, Chief People Officers) across 11 operational areas: product, engineering, customer success, people, marketing, sales, learning design, branding, operations, impact, and leadership
• Customer introductions: Active effort to connect founders with lighthouse customers and design partners in new markets
• Talent support: Network of Chief People Officers and hiring strategy guidance, particularly valuable for the critical first 15 hires
• Fundraising support: Bespoke raise process support, deck/pitching guidance, financial model review, and access to top-tier European and US investors for follow-on rounds