Candice du Fretay, a former investor at global VC powerhouse Accel, has launched Outlier Grove, a $20 million solo GP fund designed to back Europe’s next generation of global B2B category leaders. The fund marks a bold step for du Fretay, who brings nearly a decade of transatlantic tech and investment experience to the table.
Outlier Grove will focus on early-stage B2B startups across Europe, writing cheques of $200K to $500K at the angel and seed stages. Over the next four years, the fund aims to invest in up to 25 companies, with a clear intention to help European startups engage with the US market earlier and build globally competitive platforms from day one.
Despite recent geopolitical uncertainty, particularly around a potential second Trump presidency and its “America-first” implications, du Fretay sees early US market engagement as a make-or-break strategy for ambitious European founders.
A transatlantic network of support
Half of Outlier Grove’s $20 million target has already been raised, backed by a mix of institutional investors, family offices, and high-profile operators. The fund boasts LPs from 25 major US tech scaleups, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Datadog, Stripe, CrowdStrike, and MongoDB. These C-level execs and founders are more than passive backers and du Fretay sees them as an extension of her portfolio companies’ teams, offering advice, introductions, and insights from the frontlines of global tech.
Rather than going it alone, Outlier Grove plans to collaborate with angels and other early-stage funds, bringing additional value through its US network and Candice’s unique cross-border experience. The fund will act as an active partner in company-building and not just a source of capital.
From Accel to Outlier: Candice du Fretay’s journey
Candice du Fretay spent four years at Accel’s London office, one of Europe’s most prestigious venture firms. While there, she worked on investments in standout companies like H Company, a buzzed-about agentic AI startup, and Sorare, the fantasy football unicorn with global reach.
Before Accel, du Fretay spent nearly a decade in the US, beginning her career at investment bank Lazard, followed by an MBA at Harvard Business School. That transatlantic perspective now shapes her investment thesis at Outlier Grove: European founders can and should think globally from day one.
Du Fretay is also a strong believer in Europe’s growing ability to produce global B2B winners. She points to the continent’s leading universities, vibrant research labs like DeepMind in London and Meta’s FAIR in Paris, and the increasing concentration of AI and engineering talent as signs of Europe’s rising influence.
Planting the seeds of global success
With Outlier Grove, Candice du Fretay is offering something rare in European venture, a solo GP focus paired with global reach. Her fund is small by design, aiming to deliver high-conviction, high-involvement support to a curated group of founders who are ready to scale across borders.
Whether it’s through mentorship, product feedback, or leveraging her LP network, du Fretay’s mission is clear to help the next generation of European B2B startups grow into global category leaders from the very beginning.
Candice du Fretay, founder and solo GP said: “Europe is home to world-class tech talent and has consistently produced groundbreaking research and innovation. At the same time, the US is a large and lucrative market where buyers have big budgets and a strong appetite for adopting emerging technologies. With Outlier Grove, my goal is to connect the two, so Europe’s outliers can think globally from day one. Through my own US network and the backing of entrepreneurs and C-level executives from iconic US scale-ups and enterprises, Outlier Grove will support these exceptional individuals and accelerate their journey to global leadership.”
