The early-stage firm founded by Showpad co-founder Pieterjan Bouten passed its €75 million target in two weeks, and is widening its remit from software to AI, robotics and deep tech.

Image: The Entourage team. Photo: Entourage (press image, via EU-Startups).

Entourage, the European early-stage venture firm founded by Showpad co-founder and former chief executive Pieterjan Bouten, has closed its second fund at €100 million, just over two years after launching its first in 2024.

The firm said Fund II passed its original €75 million target within two weeks and attracted more than €100 million in commitments before being capped. It is backed entirely by entrepreneurs, family offices and private investors, including founders behind Aikido, TechWolf and Collibra.

25 companies, cheques of €1 million to €5 million

Fund II will back around 25 companies at pre-seed and seed stage across Europe and beyond, with initial investments of €1 million to €5 million and capital reserved for follow-on rounds. While the first fund focused mainly on software, the new vehicle broadens the scope to AI and enterprise software, robotics, physical AI and deep tech.

"The next decade will produce some of the most iconic technology companies in history, and it's time for Europe to rise to the occasion," Bouten said. "AI is reinventing software and taking intelligence into the physical world. Entire industries will be rebuilt."

Entourage points to early bets on three fast-growing companies as its track record. It says it was among the first investors in Ghent-based developer security company Aikido Security, which reached unicorn status earlier this year; Conveo, which recently raised a $50 million Series A; and Lexroom, which the firm says reached €30 million in annual recurring revenue within 24 months. "We wrote the first cheques into companies like Aikido, Conveo and Lexroom," Bouten said. "With Fund II, we're doubling down."

Leading rounds, but rarely on the board

The firm is pitching an unusually hands-off governance model. Although it leads or co-leads most of its rounds, Entourage says it rarely takes board seats.

"Most VCs destroy value in early-stage boardrooms. Too few have built a company at scale," Bouten said, according to EU-Startups. "Great founders don't need babysitting. They need trust, challenge when it counts and perspective at pivotal moments. That's why we rarely take board seats, even when we lead a round."

Alongside the fund, Entourage also runs Entourage Studio, a venture-building arm that co-founds companies. One studio company, AI process mining and automation business Tekst, recently raised a €10 million Series A, according to Tech.eu.

The investment team, led by partners Bouten, Evert Beeckman and Maarten Mortier, has added three investors: Erwan Gardelle, Sixtine Riescher and Illja Schiller. The firm has also opened an office in London and established a presence in Paris.

Why it matters

The close is a signal that Europe's own founders are increasingly recycling their exits into the next generation of start-ups. A €100 million fund raised without named institutional backers, from people who built companies such as Showpad, Aikido and Collibra, shows the depth of operator capital now available in the Belgian and wider European ecosystem. The shift into robotics and physical AI will be the real test: those areas typically need more capital and longer timelines than the software companies on which Entourage built its early reputation.

Sources

• Entourage announcement as reported by EU-Startups, 29 October 2026
• Tech.eu, 29 October 2026
• Tech Funding News and Dealroom News, 29 October 2026