Not every investor works the same way. Here's what each label in the directory means, and how many firms fall into each bucket.
VC46firms
Traditional venture capital fund. Raises from LPs (institutional investors, family offices, EIF) and deploys equity cheques into startups on a 10-year fund cycle.
e.g. Indico Capital, Shilling, Faber, Armilar
VC (SCR)21firms
Sociedade de Capital de Risco, the Portuguese legal wrapper for a VC firm regulated by CMVM. Functionally the same as a VC; the label just signals the local vehicle structure.
e.g. Most Portugal-domiciled funds
CVC10firms
Corporate Venture Capital. Investment arm of a large company (bank, telco, energy, retail) investing off the balance sheet. Often strategic, sometimes with a commercial partnership attached.
e.g. Semapa Next, Sonae IM, BiG Start Ventures
PE / VC9firms
Firm that does both Private Equity (buyouts, growth equity, majority stakes in mature companies) and Venture Capital. Usually writes larger cheques at later stages.
e.g. Explorer Investments, Oxy Capital
VC (Impact)8firms
Impact-focused venture funds. Invest with a dual mandate: financial return plus measurable social or environmental outcomes (climate, health, inclusion).
e.g. Mustard Seed Maze, Maze Impact
VC (Government)2firms
Publicly-backed venture arms. Deploy state capital into startups, often co-investing alongside private VCs and angels. Portugal Ventures is by far the most active investor by deal count.
e.g. Portugal Ventures, BPF
Angel Network3firms
Structured groups of individual angel investors who pool cheques (usually €25K–€250K per deal) and co-invest as a syndicate with one member leading the terms.
e.g. COREangels, REDangels, Invicta Angels
Accelerator / VC3firms
Runs a cohort-based accelerator program (mentorship, curriculum, demo day) and invests a small cheque at entry, sometimes with follow-on capacity for the best performers.
e.g. Beta-i, BGI
Incubator / VC1firms
Longer-form incubation (often 6–18 months) with workspace, services, and equity investment. Usually vertical-focused.
e.g. Fábrica de Startups
Venture Studio5firms
Builds companies in-house (ideation, co-founding, initial team, and seed capital), then spins them out. Takes larger equity stakes than a typical VC.
e.g. Bright Pixel Capital, Building Global Innovators