Introduction to DIG Ventures

In recent years, the number of “operator VCs” – former founders turned venture capitalists – has increased significantly in Europe. Unlike the U.S., where most venture capitalists are former founders, Europe has traditionally seen most of its VCs come from banking or finance backgrounds. Recent examples of operator VCs in Europe include Wise founder Taavet Hinrikus, Glovo founder Oscar Pierre, and Pitch founder Christian Reber.

The Founding of DIG Ventures

Following the acquisition of MuleSoft by Salesforce in 2018 for $6.5 billion, founder Ross Mason established DIG Ventures, initially as a family office, which later transitioned into a venture capital firm. Mason co-founded the firm with Melissa Klinger, the former U.K. sales lead at MuleSoft. DIG Ventures has now launched its second fund, and its first institutional fund, with a total of $100 million, focusing on investing in B2B SaaS, AI, and cloud infrastructure startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, primarily in Europe, as well as in Israel and the U.S.

Backing and Support

The new fund has received backing from several prominent limited partners, including The Hillman Company, Granite Capital, Sofina, and Grove Street. Additionally, the fund has drawn participation from notable investors such as Datadog founder Olivier Pomel and several MuleSoft executives.

DIG Ventures’ Unique Approach

As a fund built by former startup operators, DIG Ventures positions itself as a hands-on, operator-led fund capable of providing a range of support, including go-to-market strategy and execution.

The Team Behind DIG Ventures

Mason and Klinger are joined by several experienced individuals, including Rytis Vitkauskas, founder of YPlan and former partner at Lightspeed, and Scott Grimes, co-founder of Stackin’ and Uproxx.

Current Portfolio

The firm’s current portfolio includes several notable companies, such as People.ai, Karat, Bubble, ComplyAdvantage, PlanetScale, Rasa, Taktile, Rossum, Flock, and Prophecy.

Deployment of Capital

The second fund has already begun deploying capital, investing in companies such as Dash0, an observability platform, Nexos.ai, an AI orchestration platform, and PolyAPI, an enterprise middleware offering.

Insights from the Founders

“After MuleSoft, I saw a significant opportunity to return to Europe and establish an operator-led fund,” Mason told TechCrunch. “We managed to develop a strategy that enables us to identify and meet founders more quickly and earlier than most other funds.”

“Founders appreciate that we engage with them on a conversational level, drawing from our experience at MuleSoft,” Klinger added. “We have a strong affinity for highly technical products and excel at selling them effectively, which is a crucial aspect of success in this space.”

Klinger emphasized that while the fund’s sweet spot is highly technical products, it also has extensive expertise in go-to-market strategies. “We can help founders package and sell their products, which is a unique capability that not all VCs possess,” she said.

The Future of AI

Mason believes that the next significant shift will be in enterprises building their own AI capabilities. “This is a new arms race, particularly with the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) within enterprises,” he said. “The foundation layer is still in its early stages, and many vendors will likely adopt open-source solutions to maintain control over their data.”

Klinger thinks that Europe has untapped strengths in AI. “Europe is a dark horse in the AI landscape, with access to exceptional talent at a lower cost than in the U.S.,” she said. “While we face challenges in securing sufficient funding for AI-driven startups, our universities are producing outstanding research in this field.”

The Rise of Operator VCs

In the U.S., former founders and operators, such as Peter Thiel, Paul Graham, and Marc Andreessen, have become highly influential venture capitalists. As geopolitics continues to impact economies and strong early-stage momentum emerges in Europe, the region may witness a rise in operator VCs, mirroring the U.S. model.