Multi-stage VC, London

Molten Ventures

Venture capital firm · London · Founded 2015

Quick read

Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit) is a publicly listed, multi-stage VC founded in 2015 and headquartered in London. It's one of Europe's most active tech investors, backing companies from Series A through pre-IPO across SaaS, deeptech, healthtech, and consumer software. Its evergreen capital structure — enabled by its LSE listing — means it's not bound by traditional five-year fund cycles, giving founders a longer-term partner.

Key facts

Founded
2015
Employees
29
Sectors
generalist, enterprise, consumer, ai, healthcare
Website
www.moltenventures.com

Investment thesis

Molten backs high-growth European technology companies across SaaS, deeptech, healthtech, and consumer software, writing first cheques at Series A or B and following companies through to pre-IPO. Its public listing and evergreen capital structure let it invest without the constraints of traditional closed-end fund timelines.

Recent activity

  • Mar 2026leadership
    Molten established a dedicated secondaries investment team, hiring Malcolm Ferguson, Nicholas Sando, and Steven Mendel to lead the strategy. The move is designed to build scale, grow third-party capital, and expand beyond core Series A and B investing. uk.linkedin.com
  • Mar 2026press
    Molten published its quarterly newsletter for March 2026 and held an Investor Day titled 'Reflecting on 20 Years', marking two decades since the firm's founding. moltenventures.com
  • Feb 2026press
    The Irish National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), acting via the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, increased its stake in Molten Ventures from 7.41% to 8.00% of voting rights, notified on 3 February 2026. finanzwire.com
  • Jan 2026press
    Molten completed a £10m share repurchase programme and immediately commenced an additional £10m buyback programme. tracxn.com
  • Jan 2026investment
    Molten led a £4m Series A into MAIA Technology, a platform modernising portfolio management for hedge funds. maiatech.io
  • Jun 2026investment
    Portfolio company ICEYE closed a new funding round that revalued it upward by 236%, adding £238m in gains to Molten's portfolio and pushing ICEYE to the firm's largest holding, ahead of Revolut. Molten realised £22m in the transaction. The same week, Molten announced a €30m follow-on investment into Isar Aerospace. trustintelligence.co.uk
  • FY2026 (year to Mar 2026)press
    Molten reported gross portfolio fair value growth of 13% for FY 2026. NAV per share rose to £7.60, with a post-period uplift to £8.77. The stock jumped 15.99% on the day of the announcement. Total group realisations for the year reached £124m, ahead of the £100m guidance. investing.com
  • Sep 2025press
    As part of a share repurchase programme launched 4 August 2025, Molten bought back 49,841 ordinary shares on 1 September 2025 at a volume-weighted average price of 363.46p, and a further 50,000 shares on 30 September 2025 at 385.22p. webdisclosure.com
  • May 2026press
    Molten scheduled full-year FY26 results presentations for 9 and 12 June 2026, available in-person and virtually. webdisclosure.com
  • Feb 2026press
    Molten held its 2026 Investor Day, marking 20 years since founding and 10 years since its LSE IPO. CEO Ben Wilkinson presented on recent activity and priorities; Co-Founder Stuart Chapman reviewed the firm's history. eqs-news.com
  • Jan 2026press
    Molten's share price delivered approximately 67% returns in the year to 23 January 2026, with the discount to NAV narrowing from around 60% in April 2025 to around 29%. trustintelligence.co.uk
  • Jan 2026press
    Gross portfolio value (GPV) expected to rise 11% to approximately £1.52bn for the year to March 2026; NAV per share forecast up 13% to around 760p. A newly formed team will focus on acquiring mature assets with nearer-term exit potential. thearmchairtrader.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Martin Davis · CEO
  • Stuart Chapman · Co-founder
  • Vinoth Jayakumar · Partner
  • Christoph Hornung · Partner
  • Christel Piron · Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Molten Ventures?+

Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit) is a publicly listed, multi-stage VC founded in 2015 and headquartered in London. It's one of Europe's most active tech investors, backing companies from Series A through pre-IPO across SaaS, deeptech, healthtech, and consumer software.

Where is Molten Ventures headquartered?+

Molten Ventures is headquartered in London, United Kingdom.

When was Molten Ventures founded?+

Molten Ventures was founded in 2015.

What sectors does Molten Ventures invest in?+

Molten Ventures focuses on generalist, enterprise, consumer, ai, healthcare. They primarily invest in these sectors.

Who is the CEO of Molten Ventures?+

Martin Davis is the CEO of Molten Ventures.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Molten Ventures?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated July 8, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

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