Amsterdam-based venture firm DFF Ventures, formerly known as Dutch Founders Fund, has closed the first close of its third fund, securing €50 million toward a hard cap of €60 million and expecting a final close in early 2026. This marks a major step for the VC firm, which is broadening its geographic and sector focus, now backing early-stage startups worldwide with a particular eye on Vertical AI, recommerce platforms, and marketplaces.
Founded by entrepreneurs behind WeTransfer, fonQ, Just Eat, and Treatwell, DFF Ventures maintains a founder-first approach, frequently writing checks before products hit the market. The fund remains intentionally lean, offering investment sizes ranging from €250,000 to €2.5 million.
“I honestly don’t know how the €500 million funds plan to return capital to their LPs. VC is a game of outliers, and our focus on smaller, focused funds works better for everyone. VC is a game of outliers, and while such outcomes are possible, they are the exception, not the rule. By keeping our fund lean, the model works better for our LPs, our founders, and for us,” founding partner Laurens Groenendijk notes.
Rather than partnering with institutional investors, DFF uniquely taps entrepreneurs and family offices as LPs, deliberately avoiding institutional capital to ensure active engagement and agility. “We want an active LP base that we can engage with, not institutions that might slow us down,” adds partner Patrick Kerssemakers. This community-driven model ensures agility and direct support for founders.
Vertical AI, a major focus for the fund, is about deep industry specialisation. Partner Maarten Engelen described the model: “You go very deep into one industry. It starts with a workflow tool, an ‘operating system’ for that sector, and then you gradually expand, adding financing, logistics, and eventually transactional layers, such as a marketplace, on top. You’re trading market size for market share, but in doing so, you can become indispensable. The beauty is that you start as a tool, but you end up as the backbone of an entire industry.”
Groenendijk highlights how AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to creating products: anyone can spin up a no-code MVP overnight: “The real test is: can you reach customers, build a team, and scale distribution? That’s where the bar has gone up.”
The fund’s portfolio of more than 40 startups across 14 countries includes companies like Metycle, an AI-powered scrap metal brokerage; Cofrai, which applies Vertical AI to fire-protection maintenance; and Getmobil, an infrastructure platform for secondhand device trade.
Looking ahead, DFF Ventures is doubling down on founder-first support, speed, and tangible impact. Their lean fund strategy and tight-knit LP community continue to shape their approach as they help startups navigate a fast-evolving venture landscape
