Jorge Blasco

The VC secondary market is on fire. But many LPs are rushing in without fully appreciating the risks. VenCap International plc has been active in VC secondaries (LP positions only) since 1987 — and this is one of the hottest markets we’ve seen. In the first half of 2025 we reviewed $6.5bn of secondary VC deals — a 41% jump from the $4.6bn we saw in the same period last year. This includes both GP-led and LP-led deals. Here are 4 lessons we've learned from nearly 40 years of buying secondaries: 1️⃣ Power law still rules – a few companies will drive most returns. 2️⃣ Quality over discount – our best deal was bought at a premium to NAV. 3️⃣ Know the valuation policy – different VCs can value the same company very differently. 4️⃣ Factor in manager behavior – holding winners vs. selling early can make or break returns. VC secondaries ≠ PE secondaries. The risks are different — but for LPs who can access the right deal, at the right price, the rewards can be exceptional.

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FemWealth Issue 227 highlights 💌 In the Spotlight 💸 Co-founded and led by Bianca Cefalo, Space DOTS® helps space tech manufacturers and operators to detect, interpret, and attribute natural and human-originated threats in orbit. The London-based company announced a $1.5M Seed round led by Female Founders Fund. Startup News: - Co-founded by Haya Odeh, Replit, a San Francisco-based agentic software creation platform, secured $250M at a $3B valuation - Co-founded by Sylvie Menezo, SCINTIL Photonics, a France-based company that develops light-based components to enable AI chips to connect better and faster in data centres, raised a $58M Series B - Led by Dr Daniela Marino, CUTISS AG, a Swiss clinical-stage biotech developing personalised, scalable skin tissue therapy, raised €57.9M in Series C - Led by Kate Condliffe, Diana Health (We're Hiring!), a New York City-based network of women’s health practices, closed $55M in Series C  - Founded and led by Alyx van der Vorm, Clyx, a US social platform that helps users find community events to join, closed a $14M Series A - Co-founded by Ioana Hreninciuc, Runware, a San Francisco startup providing a unified platform that delivers the latest AI models, raised a $13M Seed round  - Co-founded by Marianne Tikkanen, Puro.earth, a Helsinki-based company that brings together suppliers of carbon net-negative technologies and companies seeking to reduce or offset their carbon footprints, raised $12.8M in Series B - Co-founded and led by Avencia Sanchez-Mejias PhD, IntegraTherapeutics, a Barcelona startup that develops next-gen gene writing tools, raised $12.6M - Founded and led by Michelle Lee, Medra , a San Francisco startup developing AI-powered robotics for labs, raised $11M in Pre-Seed and Seed - Co-founded and led by Michal Lupu, Blocks, an Israeli AI-native platform that lets organizations build intelligent work tools and AI agents through simple conversation, raised $10M in Seed  - Co-founded and led by Noel Pugh, Lōvu Health, a California-based digital maternal health platform, raised $8M in Series A - Co-founded and led by Doris Messina,Tot, an Italy-based business platform for administrative and financial management, raised €7M in Pre-Series A - Co-founded by Hanah-Marie Darley, Geordie AI, a London startup building security tools for enterprises adopting AI agents, raised a $6.5M Seed   - Co-founded by Dr Jackie Matthew, Fraiya Ultrasound, a UK startup providing AI-powered pregnancy ultrasound technology, raised £3.5M in Pre-Seed - Co-founded by Tara O'Driscoll, PhD, Dr. Sioned Fôn Jones, and Lydia Mapstone, PhD, BoobyBiome, a London company developing a device universally compatible with breast milk storage bottles that absorbs oxygen to maintain microbiome viability, raised £2.5M in Seed  - Co-founded by Tanja Danner and Professor Aasa Feragen, Prenaital, a Danish startup providing AI-powered prenatal screening tech, secured $1.57M Read more and subscribe [link in comments section]

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𝐏𝐄 𝐯𝐬. 𝐕𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞: 𝐀 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 Our latest data at Gain.pro highlights how PE and VC firms invest across Europe: ▪ PE-backed businesses are widely spread across the continent ▪ VC-owned assets are clustered in cities 📊 Sector focus drives this: – VC assets = 47% TMT (vs. 17% for PE) → drawn to innovation hubs – PE = 24% Services + 22% Industrials (vs. 13% & 7% for VC) → broader geographic reach beyond capitals 🌍 Top destinations: – Both: London & Paris lead – VC: 25% of assets in 11 cities (Berlin, Munich, Amsterdam next) – PE: 25% spread across 22 cities (Stockholm, Milan, Madrid stand out) ➡️ Same continent. Very different maps.

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