For decades, Europe’s pension funds have largely watched the continent’s biggest technology success stories from the sidelines. While companies such as Revolut, Databricks, ElevenLabs and Vinted created billions in value before reaching the public markets, or while remaining private altogether, most European retirement savings never participated in that growth. Instead, pension capital has traditionally favored public equities, bonds, and other lower-risk assets, leaving venture capital largely dependent on specialist investors and international institutions.
Prague-based investment platform Aspire11 wants to change that equation, as the firm announced that it has deployed the first €100 million of its €515 million pension-backed fund, investing across a portfolio of private technology companies that includes Revolut, Databricks, VAST Data, Vinted, ElevenLabs and Baseten. The deployment marks the first major milestone since Aspire11 launched in late 2025 with the ambition of connecting long-term institutional capital with Europe’s innovation economy.
The announcement arrives at a time when institutional investors across Europe are facing growing pressure to rethink how they allocate capital. Private markets have become increasingly important as startups delay public listings and remain private for significantly longer than they did a decade ago. Companies are staying private for significantly longer than they did a decade ago, meaning much of today’s value creation now happens before an IPO. According to PitchBook, the median time to IPO has stretched from roughly 7.5 years to 9.4 years, reinforcing the growing importance of private markets.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence has accelerated the trend even further. More than half of global venture capital now flows into AI-related companies, many of which are expected to stay private for years while reaching enormous valuations. The result is a growing disconnect between where innovation happens and where institutional capital is invested.
Today, Europe’s private unicorns and late-stage technology companies represent trillions of euros in enterprise value. Yet European pension funds continue to allocate only around 4% of their assets to private markets, according to Aspire11. Canada’s largest pension funds, by comparison, invest approximately 21% of their capital into venture and private-capital-backed companies.
"While many of the world's most valuable technology companies now create the majority of their value while still private, much of Europe's pension capital remains significantly underrepresented in venture and growth investing. Our goal is to help long-term institutional capital access exceptional businesses while remaining invested through their most important growth phases."
Kadyrova joined Aspire11 after more than three years investing at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of Canada’s best-known institutional investors and often cited as a benchmark for long-term private market investing. Her arrival reflects Aspire11’s ambition to bring elements of the Canadian pension investment model to Europe.
Instead of chasing rapid exits, Aspire11 is structured around a longer investment horizon. The firm’s primary growth strategy, called Eternals, builds concentrated positions in mature private technology companies across Europe and the United States. Rather than making large investments immediately, Aspire11 intends to increase exposure as businesses continue to execute.
“We start small, and as we see a company becoming a potential long-term compounder, we increase our exposure over time,” Kadyrova explained. That philosophy also extends beyond IPOs. Unlike traditional venture funds that often distribute shares shortly after companies go public, Aspire11 expects to remain invested for an average of eight years, and potentially ten to twelve years, allowing pension capital to continue benefiting from long-term value creation after public listings.
The strategy naturally favors businesses that have already reduced much of the execution risk typically associated with venture investing. Many portfolio companies are already generating meaningful revenue, positive cash flow, or have established leadership positions within their categories.
The first deployment reflects that approach as the portfolio spans fintech giant Revolut, AI voice company ElevenLabs, data infrastructure leader Databricks, enterprise storage company VAST Data, second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted, and AI infrastructure startup Baseten; companies operating across sectors but sharing a common characteristic. They have already become category leaders while still remaining private.
Covering the entire innovation lifecycle
Aspire11’s investment model doesn’t stop at growth-stage companies as, alongside Eternals, the firm operates Tribes, a strategy focused on investing in emerging venture capital managers backing startups at the pre-seed and seed stages. Led by co-founder Tülin Tokatli, Tribes aims to identify the next generation of category-defining companies through specialist fund managers before they become obvious winners.
"Aspire11 was designed to create a pipeline of opportunities spanning the entire innovation ecosystem. Our goal is to identify exceptional companies as early as possible and remain a long-term partner as they scale. Tribes gives us exposure to the managers discovering tomorrow's category leaders, while Eternals allows us to back the most compelling businesses as they mature into global companies."
Together, the two strategies give institutional investors exposure across the full lifecycle of innovation; from the earliest venture-backed startups through to global growth companies.
A broader shift in European capital
Governments across the continent are increasingly looking for ways to unlock institutional capital for technology companies. In the UK, the Mansion House Accord has encouraged major pension providers to allocate at least 10% of default pension funds to private markets by 2030. Similar discussions are taking place elsewhere as policymakers search for ways to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness against the United States and Canada.
A simple reality drives the debate: European founders are producing globally competitive companies, but much of the capital supporting their growth still comes from outside the continent. “Europe has no shortage of innovation, entrepreneurial talent or ambitious founders,” said Aspire11 founder Pavel Mucha.
“The challenge is connecting that innovation with the pools of long-term capital that can help it scale. Aspire11 was created to help bridge that gap and demonstrate how pension capital can play a much greater role in backing the companies shaping the future economy.”
The timing also aligns with a broader wave of activity across European private markets infrastructure. In recent months, investors have seen significant fundraising across venture debt, investment technology and institutional finance, including Orbit Capital‘s Growth Debt Fund II, Berlin fintech Upvest‘s latest financing round and bunch‘s Series B investment round, highlighting continued momentum around the infrastructure supporting private capital.
Why founders should pay attention
For startup founders, Aspire11’s announcement is about more than another €100 million entering the market. As startups remain private longer and AI continues to reshape industries, access to patient institutional capital may become one of the defining competitive advantages for Europe’s next generation of scaleups. Pension funds, with investment horizons measured in decades rather than years, are naturally positioned to provide that capital, provided the right investment vehicles exist.
Aspire11 believes it can become one of those vehicles as the firm has deployed only the first portion of its €515 million fund and says it will continue expanding both its portfolio and its network of institutional partners across Europe.
Whether more pension funds follow remains one of the biggest questions facing European venture capital. But if they do, the continent’s startup ecosystem could gain access to one of the largest pools of long-term capital it has historically left untapped.
