Index Ventures

Most venture capitalists evolved in a single ecosystem—Silicon Valley—and struggle to operate elsewhere. Index Ventures migrates between continents like an Arctic tern, thriving in both European and American environments because it built infrastructure for perpetual movement.

Neil Rimer founded Index in Geneva in 1996 with a thesis that proved prescient: great founders would emerge everywhere, and the firms that could operate across borders would capture opportunities others missed. The strategy required phenotypic plasticity—the ability to adapt behavior to local conditions while maintaining core identity. Index opened London in 2002, San Francisco in 2011, New York in 2022, each office learning to speak local dialects while preserving transatlantic fluency.

The portfolio reflects this migratory pattern. European-born companies like Revolut, Adyen, and Deliveroo received Index backing to scale into the US market. American companies like Figma, Discord, and Roblox benefited from Index's understanding of European expansion. The firm's 'born transatlantic' thesis treats geography as habitat, not identity—companies should exploit resources across both ecosystems from inception.

The numbers validate the migration strategy. Index manages over $15 billion, has backed 63 unicorns, and achieved 40 IPOs. The Figma investment—$2 million that became $2.2 billion—exemplifies how cross-border networks create deal flow invisible to geographically constrained competitors. Jan Hammer's fintech portfolio (Adyen, Robinhood, Wise) demonstrates sector-specific expertise crossing borders effortlessly.

Index functions as an ecological corridor connecting startup ecosystems that would otherwise remain isolated. European founders learn American scaling playbooks; American companies access European talent pools and regulatory expertise. This mutualism benefits both populations. But the model requires continuous investment in transatlantic infrastructure—offices, relationships, cultural fluency—that smaller firms cannot replicate.