Financeupdated 36m ago2 min read
Yvonne Bajela Closes Oversubscribed $17 Million Evertrue Capital Fund For UK And Europe
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Evertrue Capital closed $17 million oversubscribed Fund I for UK and Europe. Fund targets AI and fintech, backing at least 20 companies in three years.
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Evertrue closes Fund I
Yvonne Bajela closed Evertrue Capital's Fund I at $17 million, and the fund was oversubscribed as it prepared to back early-stage startups across the UK and Europe. Bajela said, "After more than a decade backing founders who bet everything on their ideas, it felt like time to make a bet of my own," as she framed the move as a personal investment decision. Evertrue Capital planned to invest in at least 20 companies over the next three years, and the firm set an average check size of around £350,000 for its early-stage strategy.
Evertrue Capital had already backed seven companies, and Bajela said the AI boom helped her conclude it was the right time to launch her own fund. Bajela said, "The ability to build has been democratized," while she argued that the ability to build something enduring remains rare.
Backers and fund size
Evertrue Capital secured five institutional backers, including the British Business Bank and Basecamp, the fund-of-funds of Phoenix Court, as it closed its debut vehicle. Evertrue Capital was part of the British Business Bank's £400 million Investor Pathways capital initiative, which saw it distribute £90 million to 10 first-time fund managers. Bajela told TechCrunch she wanted to raise around $13 million but turned down additional investors rather than expand the fund size.
Bajela said, "Fund size is a strategic decision, not a measure of success in itself," and she added she wanted enough capital to build meaningful positions without pressure to deploy. Evertrue Capital raised €15 million, and the fund would aim to invest €299-€599k at pre-Seed in founders building frontier technologies primarily in the UK and Europe.
Portfolio bets and thesis
Evertrue Capital said it would focus on early-stage investing across the U.K. and Europe, with a plan to back at least 20 companies over the next three years. Bajela planned to invest cheque sizes of around £350,000 and to back AI and tech companies at the pre-seed stage across the UK and Europe, while it described the fund as looking to discover Europe’s next AI success story. Bajela said, "The best moment to invest is before the market has proof," and it tied that belief to Evertrue making concentrated, early bets.
Evertrue had already invested in seven companies, listing Revion, Poindexter Labs, Zuba, and Zaro, and it reported that half the portfolio had already launched operations in the US. Bajela said more than half her portfolio already operates in the U.S., and it quoted her interest in founders with "a unique insight into a problem" and "the ambition to build something much bigger than their initial product."