At the time, the ambition was clear to me, but I confess that I did not imagine that shortly afterwards, a new fund of 125 million euros would be announced with a clear focus on Southern Europe. Today, this announcement confirms everything I felt in that conversation.

The launch of the Indico VC Fund III is not just another fund on the market. It is a sign of the maturity of the Portuguese and Iberian technological ecosystem. Índico's new bet will invest in technological startups created in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, without forgetting the diaspora of these countries spread across centers such as the United States and the United Kingdom. This connection between the talent that stays and the talent that emigrates is, in my opinion, one of the keys to building truly global companies.

The fund starts with a strong vote of institutional confidence. The European Investment Fund, the European Investment Bank's branch specializing in SMEs and mid-caps, has made an initial commitment of €30 million. This does not happen by chance. The entry of the EIF validates Índico's track record, its strategy, and its ability to identify companies with real potential for international growth.

The fund's focus is clear and reveals a lot about where the future of the economy lies. Investments from the Seed phase to Series B in areas such as enterprise software, artificial intelligence, deep tech, space technology, and ocean economics. We are talking about exactly the sectors that will define the next decade. Sectors where knowledge, science, and technology overlap with traditional physical capital. And Portugal, with its universities, research centers and new generations of entrepreneurs, is increasingly prepared for this challenge.

The very size of Índico is impressive. It currently manages more than €240 million in five funds and has already supported 53 companies that, together, have raised more than €2.5 billion. Four of these companies became unicorns. These numbers show that we are not facing an experimental project, but an investment house with concrete results and real impact.

What pleases me most about this movement is to realize that Portugal is not only receiving foreign capital, as we have seen in other sectors. It is also generating capital, strategy, and leadership from within. From Lisbon, Índico is helping to build bridges between Southern Europe and the global market. It is proving that it is possible to scale companies from this geography with success and ambition.

After having seen up close, at the Web Summit, the dynamics of the team and the type of projects they evaluate, this announcement does not surprise me. On the contrary, it confirms that we are entering a phase in which Portuguese venture capital is no longer peripheral and begins to assume a relevant role in the design of the European technological future.

Índico is today a mirror of a country that has stopped thinking small in the world of startups. And this, for those who have been following the Portuguese economy for years, is perhaps one of the most encouraging signs of our time.