Aspire11 launches €500M pension-backed fund

Aspire11 has announced the launch of its inaugural €500 million pension-backed fund, led by Pavel Mucha, a long-term VC investor in the CEE region. Aspire11 is designed to connect world-class innovation with long-term capital intended to support companies for decades.

Aspire11's goal is to open new pathways for European pension funds to increase their exposure to VC funds and growth companies. It is inspired by the Canadian Maple Model. Currently, only 0.02 per cent of assets flow into high-growth startups, leading to globally uncompetitive returns for Europe’s retirees. Aspire11 aims to break this cycle.

Pavel Mucha founded KAYA VC, one of CEE’s first venture firms, co-founded the venture debt firm Orbit Capital, and has backed some of the region’s most successful venture stories, including Rohlik Group, Mews, Booksy, and DocPlanner.  He has also been an LP in numerous exceptional seed VC funds behind companies such as Revolut, PhotoRoom, Incident and Yoco. 

With more than 15 years of experience in private (non-public) markets and venture capital, Mucha brings this track record to Aspire11’s mission of reshaping and growing pension capital as a generational force fuelling the future economy.

Removing the pressure of short-term exits and cap table disruptions

The fund invests directly into VC investors and entrepreneurs, without intermediaries. By removing the pressure of short-term exits and cap table disruptions, Aspire11 empowers entrepreneurs and VC investors to focus on building enduring, industry-defining businesses. The fund operates with a long-term horizon, focusing on private (non-public) markets, prioritising fee efficiency and active participation, and has a mission to strengthen pensions.

Aspire11 launches with a barbell approach consisting of two strategies, named  Tribes and Eternals. With Tribes, it invests into a new generation of early-stage VC investors, growing tribes of ambitious founders specialising in emerging technologies and demographic shift-driven opportunities. With Eternals, Aspire11 fuels a fund that can hold for 20 years or more, supporting companies with a long-term vision for generational value through quality execution.

Mucha is joined by Tülin Tokatli as a partner to build and curate the Tribes portfolio, drawing on her track record in evaluating VC investors as a former investor at the European Investment Fund (EIF).  

With pension company Rentea, which is part of Czech financial organisation The Partners Group, a major LP of Aspire11, the fund aims to demonstrate that once pension capital is placed in the hands of outstanding VC investors and entrepreneurs, it benefits everybody and drives lasting prosperity.

Europe is undercapitalised and dependent on overseas capital. 

Analysis by Aspire11 found that redirecting just 1 per cent of European pension funds’ assets under management (AUM) would unlock an estimated €87 billion — which represents less than a quarter of their average annual yield — without undermining societal stability or welfare.

Aspire11's calculations indicate that an annual investment of as little as 1 per cent of European pension funds' AUM into the continent's economy over the next decade would unlock a sum exceeding €1.1 trillion. This is due to the benefits of increasing valuations and decades of compounding interest.

According to the European Central Bank, EU pension funds allocate just 0.02 per cent of total assets to venture capital, compared with almost 2 per cent for US pension funds.

Aspire11 plans to gradually grow its global footprint in the years to come, while always keeping Europe high on its agenda.

For Pavel Mucha, founder of Aspire11, awakening dormant pension capital and connecting it efficiently to VC investors and lifelong builders has turned into a mission:

"Thanks to broader shifts in EU pension and long-term investment rules, pension capital can now engage with the private and venture markets.

For years, the pattern has been the same. European private markets have not been deep enough, and their progress has been painfully slow. Entrepreneurs across the continent have been scrambling for patient, long-term capital inside Europe so they can build at scale, while VC investors have been forced to seek liquidity overseas.

The contrast with the depth of North American markets has been obvious and has long screamed for change."

Aspire11 will back both lifelong business builders and frontier VC investors. Mucha explains, 

"With Tribes, we commit ourselves to the next wave of high-conviction VC pickers. Through Eternals, we are ready to support companies not just for years, but decades, to buy them time to win. “Aspire11 invites entrepreneurs and VC investors to join in growing this vision.

With a horizon measured in decades, our goal is to turn dormant pension funds into a force that works for the people who have built and served the country, ensuring that life after work is not only secure but also rich in quality and possibility.”

As Aspire11’s international team expands, it will gradually extend its global reach.

According to Jan Hammer, Partner at Index Ventures, European tech is entering a new era of entrepreneurship. 

“The ambition to create European-born $50bn and $100bn companies has shifted from aspiration to reality. Each success paves the way for the next, delivering value for employees, investors, and the economy at large.

This momentum presents a significant opportunity for European pension funds — most of which have yet to allocate capital to venture—to share in the growth and prosperity.” 

Kai Hansen, founder of Lieferando/Takeaway and angel investor, shared:

“Having built and backed companies myself, I know that the businesses which truly change industries and deliver outstanding returns are created by founders who stay focused over decades, not quarters. 

To back such founders, we need a new kind of venture investor — one free from the short-term cycles that define traditional VC."

Aspire11 now aims to bring European pensions into the mix to make them work for stronger returns and contribute to future economy and prosperity.