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Indico Capital
Stephan Morais co-founded Indico Capital in 2017, now the largest dedicated software VC in Iberia.
Indico Capital
Indico Capital opened in 2017 when Stephan Morais and Ricardo Torgal, former operators and investors, set out to professionalize the fragmented early-stage financing landscape of Portugal and Spain. The founding thesis was simple: Iberia produces strong technical talent and increasingly mature founders but lacked a dedicated, institutionally-backed venture platform to underwrite seed through Series B rounds. Indico filled that gap, raising its first €53M fund (per TechCrunch, 2019) and deploying across sectors where the region has a growing comparative advantage — enterprise software, fintech, and AI-enabled platforms. The firm runs a conviction-concentrated strategy, targeting 20-25 investments per fund, with reserves for follow-on through Series B. Indico leads or co-leads rounds, writing initial checks from €500K to €5M. Confirmed positions include Anchorage Digital, the regulated crypto platform where Indico participated before its $3B valuation round (per Bloomberg, December 2021), and StudentFinance, an income-share agreement platform that raised a €39M Series A led by Iberis Capital alongside Indico (per Sifted, 2022). The portfolio spans Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, and Porto, with a deliberate tilt toward B2B software companies that can scale internationally from day one. The team operates from Lisbon with a lean investment committee led by Morais. Indico's second fund closed at €76M in 2022, backed by the European Investment Fund, Portugal's Fundo de Capitalização e Resiliência, and LPs from family offices and tech founders across Europe (per the firm, 2022). May 2022: Indico announced the final close of Indico Capital Partners Fund II at €76 million, surpassing its original target (per EU-Startups, May 2022). While no dedicated philanthropic vehicle is separately branded, Morais has publicly engaged with the Portuguese startup ecosystem as a non-executive board member and policy advisor on innovation funding. Indico's structural differentiator is its hybrid of regional focus and global co-investor network. The firm acts as a gateway for US and Asian growth-stage funds seeking curated Iberian exposure, syndicating later rounds to names like a16z and Pantera in the Anchorage case. This positions Indico not merely as a local VC but as the default entry point for global allocators who want software-alpha in Southern Europe without building local origination themselves.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2017
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Portugal
City
Lisbon
Corporate office
Lisbon, Portugal
Principals
Stephan Morais
Managing General Partner
Ricardo Torgal
General Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Indico Capital?
Stephan Morais and Ricardo Torgal co-lead the investment committee as Managing General Partner and General Partner, respectively. Morais served previously on the board of the European Investment Fund and as a non-executive director at Caixa Capital, giving Indico unusually deep public-institutional ties for a venture firm of its scale.
How does Indico Capital source proprietary deal flow?
Indico draws strongly from the Lisbon and broader Iberian technical ecosystem, where it is often the first institutional check available to startups graduating from local accelerators. Partners also leverage their network of angel investors, university spinouts, and co-investor relationships to see deals before they formally market across Europe.
Is Indico structured as a single-country fund, or does it invest across borders?
Indico invests across Portugal and Spain, with portfolio companies typically headquartered in Lisbon, Porto, Barcelona, or Madrid. Several of its companies are incorporated in Delaware or operate globally, reflecting the firm's thesis that Iberian SaaS startups should scale internationally from inception.
Does Indico participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Indico is exclusively a direct-investment venture capital firm, not a fund-of-funds. It writes primary equity checks into operating companies and occasionally acquires secondary positions. The firm does not allocate capital to other venture managers.
What investment stages does Indico Capital target?
Indico invests from seed through Series B, with initial check sizes between €500K and €5M. The firm reserves significant capital for follow-on rounds, typically co-leading or participating alongside US and pan-European co-investors in later-stage rounds for its highest-conviction positions.
Which sectors does Indico Capital explicitly avoid?
Indico does not invest in hardware, deep-tech labs, or capital-intensive life sciences. The firm stays focused on capital-efficient software and platform models in fintech, enterprise SaaS, AI, and climate-tech markets where product-market fit can be demonstrated before large Series B rounds.
What is Indico's known posture on co-investments alongside external GPs?
Indico actively syndicates, particularly at Series B and beyond, when portfolio companies require larger rounds than the firm can lead internally. It has co-invested alongside global funds such as a16z and Pantera Capital, acting as the local anchor that de-risks the Iberian allocation for international investors.
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