Newion Research
Investment Thesis
Newion is an Amsterdam-based venture capital firm investing in early-stage European B2B software companies. The firm's stated approach is to pressure-test the coherence between a market problem, a product solution, and a viable sales path before committing capital, looking for "an underlying market shift, and people who can lead the journey." Newion describes itself as investing case by case rather than against a rigid thesis template, prioritizing founder psychology and go-to-market discipline over pattern-matching.
Sector Focus
Across more than 50 portfolio investments since 2000, Newion has concentrated on enterprise/vertical SaaS, developer tools and data infrastructure, marketing and martech, HR and workforce tools, fintech and payments, legal/regtech, and a growing cluster of AI-native products (conversational AI, AI personalization, AI-powered professional-services tooling). Recent 2025-2026 investments lean into agentic AI and vertical automation: healthcare AI (TurnUp), GenAI marketing (nuwacom), AI customer support (Neople), and AI-driven professional services operations (Agileday).
Stage Focus
Newion invests primarily at Seed and Series A, occasionally participating in later follow-on rounds for existing portfolio companies (e.g., Parloa's Series C, Dexter Energy's growth round).
Check Size
Typical checks run EUR 1M-10M, with the firm noting it can participate in rounds up to roughly EUR 20M alongside co-investors.
Lead Tendency
Newion frequently leads or co-leads seed and Series A rounds (e.g., led Nopan's EUR 7.2M round; co-led Birdsview's EUR 2.5M seed with Fortino Ventures; led Agileday's EUR 6.4M Series A; co-led SEQUESTO's seed with Smartfin).
Recent Activity
Newion has been active through mid-2026: leading Nopan's EUR 7.2M round (July 2026) alongside follow-on investors Crane and Seedcamp; co-leading Birdsview's EUR 2.5M seed with Fortino Ventures (July 2026); leading Agileday's EUR 6.4M Series A (January 2026) with Specialist VC, Vendep Capital and Business Finland participating; and co-leading SEQUESTO's seed with Smartfin (January 2026). Portfolio companies Parloa (agentic AI customer service) and Dexter Energy (AI forecasting for renewables) both raised significant follow-on rounds in mid-2025 (Parloa's $120M Series C, Dexter's EUR 23M raise).
Fund Status
Newion is investing out of Newion IV, which had an oversubscribed EUR 130M initial close in October 2022 (over 50% larger than Fund III) with cornerstone LPs including BNP Paribas, PMV, the European Investment Fund, and family offices, with a final close targeted around EUR 140M. Across four funds the firm manages roughly EUR 300M.
Portfolio Highlights
Newion's portfolio spans 55+ companies since 2000 and includes three unicorns. Notable names include Collibra (data governance unicorn), Deliverect (restaurant tech, major exit trajectory), Parloa (agentic AI, unicorn-track), iWelcome (identity management, rebranded OneWelcome), Servoy and VIKTOR (low-code platforms), and CustomerGauge (NPS/CX platform). Several portfolio companies have been acquired or rebranded into larger platforms, including Roadmap (acquired by Emburse), PlayPass (acquired by Weezevent), and LeanApps (acquired by Keylane).
Team
- Mathijs R. de Wit, Managing Partner - engineering background, focuses on founder psychology
- Pieter Welten, Partner - 10+ years at Prime Ventures, tax law and international business background
- Fatin El Azear, CFO/Partner - corporate finance background, prior VC experience at Rockstart
- Dorus Olgers, Partner - operational startup experience, joined Newion 2018
- Patrick Polak, Partner (Fund I-IV) - co-founder since 2000, aerospace engineering background
- Frank Claassen, Partner (Fund I-IV) - joined 2005, 20+ years VC experience
- Lora Orlando, Analyst - sustainable finance and climate change background, joined 2025
- Anton Keller, Associate - management consulting background
- Giacomo Benatelli, Associate - prior impact investing experience
- Nick Herts, Finance Associate
- Geert Zanting, Controller - joined 2003
Decision-making is partnership-based rather than solo-GP: the firm describes a "compact and dedicated" team that debates until reasoning is clear, aligns, and moves, rather than routing decisions through a formal investment committee structure.
Decision Process
Partnership-driven, with an emphasis on fast, direct answers to founders and heavy post-investment involvement (particularly in the first 12-18 months) on strategy and finance.
Founder Preferences
Newion favors founders who can articulate a clear underlying market shift and demonstrate they can lead the journey from early product-market fit through scale, with the firm's own diligence focused on distinguishing durable growth drivers from one-off effects.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Benelux, DACH, and Nordic Europe, with portfolio companies headquartered in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Luxembourg.