Index Ventures

Venture Capital · Business

Mentions

Podcasts

Episodes

Podcast consensus

Points of consensus

▶Index Ventures is consistently regarded as a top-tier, elite venture capital firm. This is supported by claims that it is the 'single best-performing venture capital firm at scale' and that having it on a cap table significantly simplifies subsequent fundraising for startups [12, 16, 17].Mar–Apr 2026

▶The firm's success is driven by concentrated bets in category-defining companies. The majority of its returns come from just 8-9 companies out of nearly 400, and it holds the largest or second-largest shareholder positions in key assets like Figma, Wiz, and Scale.ai [6, 14].Mar 2026

▶Index Ventures has a long and successful history of early-stage investing. The firm has led or co-led seed rounds for major companies including Figma, Robinhood, Wiz, and Mashape (now Kong) [18, 20, 21].Mar–Apr 2026

▶The firm operates with a structured, transatlantic investment strategy. It consistently allocates capital 50/50 between Europe and the United States and utilizes a multi-stage fund family covering seed, venture, and growth stages [1, 2].Mar 2026

Points of debate

▶There is evidence of significant internal friction and debate over major investment decisions. The investment in Revolut was described as one of the most controversial deals internally, highlighting differing perspectives between US and European partners on product-market fit and financial metrics [8].Mar 2026

▶The firm's disciplined process is not immune to biases and strategic misses. A negative bias from a prior investment in Last.fm led Index to pass on investing in Spotify multiple times, representing a significant missed opportunity [4].Mar 2026

▶Index Ventures' investment philosophy appears to have conflicting principles depending on the stage. While the firm's strategy is to 'never pass on an early-stage investment deal due to its price,' it also chose to hold its investment in Nasty Gal at cost rather than participate in a later-stage down round, indicating a different risk calculus for follow-on funding [5, 22].Mar 2026

▶The firm's strategy adapts to market conditions, which can seem at odds with a long-term, price-agnostic approach. Index Ventures reduced the size of its latest fund after the 2021 market peak, a move credited to its performance-driven culture but which also reflects a reaction to market cyclicality [15].Mar 2026

Key themes

▶Elite Performance and Concentrated ReturnsMar 2026

Index Ventures is consistently identified as a top-performing VC firm at scale, with a 30-year history of investing $11.5 billion and returning nearly $30 billion. This success is not evenly distributed; the vast majority of returns are concentrated in a handful of outlier companies like Figma, Adyen, and Wiz, where Index often holds a leading shareholder position.

The firm's model exemplifies the power-law dynamics of venture capital, where success is defined not by the average portfolio company but by the ability to identify, win, and hold significant stakes in a few generational companies.

▶Structured Transatlantic StrategyMar 2026

The firm operates a disciplined, geographically balanced strategy, consistently allocating its capital equally between Europe and the United States. This is supported by a multi-stage fund structure, including distinct seed, venture, and growth funds, and a systematic process for exiting public holdings over a three-year period post-IPO.

This structured approach provides diversification across major tech ecosystems and investment stages, allowing Index to deploy large amounts of capital with operational consistency, a key differentiator for a firm of its scale.

▶Calculated Risk and Internal DebateMar 2026

Despite its success, Index's decision-making is not monolithic and involves calculated risks and internal disagreements. The firm's investment in Revolut was highly controversial internally, and a past investment failure led to a bias that caused them to miss Spotify, demonstrating that even a top firm grapples with uncertainty and internal dissent.

This theme reveals that a successful investment process at scale is not about eliminating error or debate, but about creating a framework that can withstand and learn from internal friction and strategic misses.

▶Brand as a Strategic AssetMar–Apr 2026

The Index Ventures brand carries significant weight in the startup ecosystem. Having Index on a cap table is cited as a key factor that 'significantly simplifies' the process of raising subsequent funding rounds for a startup.

Index's reputation creates a powerful self-reinforcing flywheel; its brand attracts the best founders and deals, which in turn fuels the high performance that sustains the brand's elite status.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Mar 2026

11 bullish, 1 bearish, 7 neutral(19 claims)

Index Ventures' latest fund family consists of a $300 million seed fund, an $800...

Apr 2026

1 neutral(1 claim)

The startup Bridge, which was co-led at the seed stage by Index Ventures, was ev...

Changes over time

Pre-2010s

A mediocre investment in Last.fm creates a negative bias against the music industry within the firm, leading Index to pass on investing in Spotify multiple times in its early days [4].

Early 2010s

Index establishes its reputation for early-stage investing by leading or co-leading seed rounds for future unicorns like Mashape (now Kong) with NEA, Jeff Bezos, and Eric Schmidt [21], as well as Robinhood and Figma [18].

Mid-2010s

The firm makes a highly controversial but ultimately successful investment in Revolut, a deal that highlighted cultural and strategic differences between its US and European partners [8].

Late 2010s

Index continues its active early-stage and growth investing, leading a funding round for Revel [19] and participating in the $20 million seed syndicate for cybersecurity giant Wiz [20].

Post-2021

In response to the market correction after the 2021 peak, Index Ventures reduces the size of its latest fund [15]. It simultaneously launches a new fund family, including a $300M seed fund, $800M venture fund, and $1.5B growth fund, reaffirming its multi-stage strategy [1].

Suggested prompts

How does Index Ventures' 50/50 capital allocation between the US and Europe influence its portfolio construction and ability to spot trends compared to more geographically focused firms? &nearr;Given that the majority of returns come from only 8-9 companies, what common characteristics do these outliers share, and how does this inform Index's current selection criteria? &nearr;Analyze the internal debate over the Revolut investment. What does this case study reveal about the cultural and strategic tensions between the firm's US and European partners? &nearr;How does Index's systematic three-year sell-down strategy for public holdings impact its DPI and overall fund performance, particularly in volatile public market conditions? &nearr;

Key concepts

Portfolio Management 4 ep Investment Thesis 4 ep Fund Structure & Performance 3 ep Decision Making Process 3 ep Seed Stage Investing 4 ep European Investments 2 ep Figma 3 ep Wiz 3 ep Industry Reputation 2 ep Investment Misses 1 ep

Notable quotes

“Who is the single best performer to you at scale? Index. I think they have to be.”

Miles · Miles Dieffenbach: Inside Carnegie Mellon’s $4BN Endowment & The Math Behind DPI, TVPI, Illiquidity

“Index Ventures is the largest shareholder in Figma, Dream Games, and Wiz, and the second-largest shareholder in Scale.ai.”

Miles · Miles Dieffenbach: Inside Carnegie Mellon’s $4BN Endowment & The Math Behind DPI, TVPI, Illiquidity

“Index preferred to hold Nasty Gal at cost than do a down round.”

Sophia Amoruso · Raising a Trust Fund With Marc Andreessen & Paris Hilton | Sophia Amoruso

“where we ended up was NEA leading the seed round and then Index co-leading to NEA... And then we got a long tail, which was Like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt into the funds... it was 1.5”

Augusto 'Aghi' Marietti · How Kong Was Born: APIs, Hustle, and the Future of AI Infrastructure

Report last updated: Apr 20, 2026

Get started free

Back to Entities Intelligence Report