Index Ventures

Index Ventures is a European venture capital firm based in London, with offices in San Francisco, Geneva, and New York City¹ that manages €11.7 billion in assets as of 2024¹. Founded in Geneva in 1996, the firm backed European technology startups at a time when most venture capital was concentrated in Silicon Valley⁴. Key portfolio companies include Spotify, Dropbox, Discord, and Figma¹.

Origins

Index Ventures traces its origins to Index Securities, a Swiss bond-trading firm founded by Gerald Rimer in 1976¹. In 1992, Gerald recruited his son Neil Rimer to launch a technology investment arm within the firm³. That arm evolved into Index Ventures, formally founded in Geneva in 1996 by Neil Rimer, his brother David Rimer, and Giuseppe Zocco⁴.

The firm's strategy focused on European technology companies that were receiving far less venture funding than Silicon Valley counterparts, often relocating to the US for capital⁴. Index built relationships with founders across Israel and Europe, investing in Israel starting in 2003¹. The firm raised €300 million for its third fund in 2005, followed by €350 million for its fourth fund in 2007, with 15–20% allocated to Israeli companies¹.

Three members of the Rimer family have been central to the firm: Gerald, who founded the precursor bond-trading firm, and his sons Neil and Danny, who built the venture practice³.

Spotify and European breakouts

In 2008, partner Danny Rimer led Index's investment in Spotify, a Swedish music streaming startup founded by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon¹²¹. The investment established Index as a top backer of European consumer internet companies during a period of widespread skepticism toward the continent's startup ecosystem¹³.

Index had earlier invested in Skype's Series A in 2004; eBay acquired Skype for $2.5 billion in 2005, and Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011¹. The Skype and Spotify returns gave Index the track record to raise larger funds and attract US-based limited partners¹³.

Other major European investments include Deliveroo (IPO 2021), Adyen (IPO 2018, market cap over €60 billion), and Revolut (valued at $45 billion in 2024)¹².

Expansion to the US

Index opened its San Francisco office in 2011, led by Danny Rimer¹¹¹. The firm began investing in US companies while maintaining its European focus, operating a single global fund rather than separate regional pools¹.

In the US, Index invested early in Dropbox (Series A in 2008), Discord (Series A), Roblox (Series A in 2017, direct listing 2021), and Plaid (Series A; Visa's $5.3 billion acquisition was blocked by regulators in 2021)¹. The firm led Figma's Series B in 2020; Adobe announced a $20 billion acquisition in 2022, but the deal was abandoned in December 2023 after UK and EU regulatory opposition¹⁴.

Funds and recent investments

Index has raised progressively larger funds. It raised €350 million for its sixth fund in 2012, $550 million for an early-stage fund in 2014, and €400 million for its seventh fund in 2017¹⁶. In 2021, the firm raised $3.1 billion across venture and growth funds: $900 million for early-stage, $2 billion for growth, and $200 million for seed⁷. In 2022, it closed a $300 million seed-only fund¹⁰.

In July 2024, Index raised $2.3 billion for new venture and growth funds⁸⁹. The firm has invested in AI companies including Scale AI and continues to deploy capital across enterprise software, fintech, and gaming¹.

In 2016, Index spun off its life sciences practice as Medicxi Ventures, an independently operated firm focused on biopharmaceutical and medical device investments¹². Neil Rimer stepped back from day-to-day investing in 2021 after 25 years as a partner¹. Current general partners include Danny Rimer, Mike Volpi, Martin Mignot, and Jan Hammer¹.

References

1. Index Ventures — Wikipedia(accessed Apr 18, 2026)
2. How VC Firm Index Ventures Is Hunting for the Next Deliveroo — Wired(accessed Apr 18, 2026)
3. 25 Rising Stars — Fortune(accessed Apr 18, 2026)
4. A Venture Capitalist's European Mission — Financial Times(accessed Apr 18, 2026)
5. Index Ventures Forth, Bridging Silicon Valley with Silicon Roundabout — TechCrunch