A new wave of venture capital is reshaping Europe’s tech ecosystem—one led not by traditional financiers but by experienced operators. At the forefront is DIG Ventures, the operator-led VC firm founded by Ross Mason, the entrepreneur behind MuleSoft, which Salesforce acquired in 2018 for $6.5 billion.
DIG Ventures has officially closed a $100 million institutional fund to support early-stage startups in B2B SaaS, artificial intelligence, and cloud infrastructure. The fund will primarily target European companies, while also considering select investments in the United States and Israel.
Mason co-founded the firm alongside Melissa Klinger, former UK Sales Lead at MuleSoft. Originally launched as a family office, DIG Ventures has now evolved into a fully-fledged venture firm with a distinct mission: to support founders through hands-on operational expertise as much as financial capital.
“We are not simply capital providers—we are partners in execution,” said Mason in a recent statement. “Having built and scaled companies ourselves, we understand the challenges founders face from the inside.”
The fund has secured support from several prominent limited partners, including The Hillman Company, Granite Capital, Sofina, and Grove Street. Additionally, the round attracted participation from Datadog founder Olivier Pomel and several former MuleSoft executives, further reinforcing the firm’s strong operator-led network.
Klinger emphasised the value of this approach: “Many founders have told us they appreciate speaking with investors who understand their challenges from direct experience. Go-to-market execution is not theoretical for us—it’s practical knowledge we bring to the table.”
DIG Ventures' leadership team also includes Rytis Vitkauskas, founder of YPlan and former partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Scott Grimes, co-founder of Stackin’ and Uproxx. Together, they are building a portfolio of high-growth startups that includes People.ai, Karat, PlanetScale, Bubble, Rasa, Rossum, and Taktile.
The newly launched fund has already begun deploying capital, investing in companies such as Dash0 (an observability platform), Nexos.ai (an AI orchestration platform), and PolyAPI (an enterprise middleware solution). All investments share a common theme: complex, technical products with strong market potential.
Looking ahead, Mason predicts a significant shift in enterprise technology. “We anticipate a surge in companies developing their own AI infrastructure. The foundational layer of this space remains far from complete, and open-source solutions will likely play a key role as enterprises seek greater control over their data.”
Klinger echoed this view, pointing to Europe’s strengths in AI research and engineering talent. “Europe offers deep technical expertise at a lower cost than the US. What we now need is to unlock the scale of capital required to build globally competitive AI companies—and that’s where DIG Ventures comes in.”
With its latest fund, DIG Ventures aims to help bridge that gap—bringing capital, experience, and strategic support to Europe’s most promising founders at the earliest stages of their journeys.Image Credit: The DIG Venture Team
A new wave of venture capital is reshaping Europe’s tech ecosystem—one led not by traditional financiers but by experienced operators. At the forefront is DIG Ventures, the operator-led VC firm founded by Ross Mason, the entrepreneur behind MuleSoft, which Salesforce acquired in 2018 for $6.5 billion.
DIG Ventures has officially closed a $100 million institutional fund to support early-stage startups in B2B SaaS, artificial intelligence, and cloud infrastructure. The fund will primarily target European companies, while also considering select investments in the United States and Israel. Utilizing an advanced online interface, DIG Ventures facilitates interaction between investors and startups, reinforcing its commitment to efficiency and transparency.
Mason co-founded the firm alongside Melissa Klinger, former UK Sales Lead at MuleSoft. Originally launched as a family office, DIG Ventures has now evolved into a fully-fledged venture firm with a distinct mission: to support founders through hands-on operational expertise as much as financial capital.
“We are not simply capital providers—we are partners in execution,” said Mason in a recent statement. “Having built and scaled companies ourselves, we understand the challenges founders face from the inside.”
The fund has secured support from several prominent limited partners, including The Hillman Company, Granite Capital, Sofina, and Grove Street. Additionally, the round attracted participation from Datadog founder Olivier Pomel and several former MuleSoft executives, further reinforcing the firm’s strong operator-led network.
Klinger emphasised the value of this approach: “Many founders have told us they appreciate speaking with investors who understand their challenges from direct experience. Go-to-market execution is not theoretical for us—it’s practical knowledge we bring to the table.”
DIG Ventures' leadership team also includes Rytis Vitkauskas, founder of YPlan and former partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Scott Grimes, co-founder of Stackin’ and Uproxx. Together, they are building a portfolio of high-growth startups that includes People.ai, Karat, PlanetScale, Bubble, Rasa, Rossum, and Taktile.
The newly launched fund has already begun deploying capital, investing in companies such as Dash0 (an observability platform), Nexos.ai (an AI orchestration platform), and PolyAPI (an enterprise middleware solution). All investments share a common theme: complex, technical products with strong market potential. Automated lookups for potential high-reward investments allow the team to make informed decisions quickly.
Looking ahead, Mason predicts a significant shift in enterprise technology. “We anticipate a surge in companies developing their own AI infrastructure. The foundational layer of this space remains far from complete, and open-source solutions will likely play a key role as enterprises seek greater control over their data.”
Klinger echoed this view, pointing to Europe’s strengths in AI research and engineering talent. “Europe offers deep technical expertise at a lower cost than the US. What we now need is to unlock the scale of capital required to build globally competitive AI companies—and that’s where DIG Ventures comes in.”
With its latest fund, DIG Ventures aims to help bridge that gap—bringing capital, experience, and strategic support to Europe’s most promising founders at the earliest stages of their journeys.
