The Seed-Stage Squeeze: Evertrue's $17M Bet on the UK's Fintech and AI Future
AI-generated image · US National Wire
As venture capital tightens, Yvonne Bajela launches a focused fund targeting early-stage European talent, but the real question is whether the capital will chase AI hype or the harder-to-find margins in payments infrastructure.
In the current venture climate, the headline figure often masks the actual strategy. When Yvonne Bajela announced the closing of her first fund, Evertrue Fund I, as TechCrunch first reported, the $17 million total might seem modest compared to the mega-funds dominating the U.S. market, but for a seed-stage play in the U.K. and Europe, the focus is on where the fee—and the margin—actually lands.
According to TechCrunch, Bajela is leveraging more than a decade of experience at firms including LocalGlobe and Impact X Capital Partners—where she backed unicorns such as the fintech Wise—to target early-stage investments. Bajela plans to invest in a minimum of 20 companies over a three-year window, with typical checks averaging roughly £350,000.
From a markets lens, the most telling detail isn't the capital raised, but the discipline of the fund's size. TechCrunch reports that Bajela originally aimed for $13 million and ultimately capped the fund at $17 million despite being oversubscribed. In my view, this is a calculated move to avoid the "deployment pressure" that often forces VCs to overpay for overvalued AI hype just to put capital to work. By keeping the fund lean, Bajela can prioritize high-conviction bets over volume.
Bajela has explicitly stated that Evertrue will focus primarily on AI and fintech. While the AI boom provided the catalyst for the fund's launch, the real opportunity for sustainable margins often lies in the fragmented plumbing of European payments—a sector Bajela is well-acquainted with given her history with Wise.
The funding environment for emerging managers remains a grind. TechCrunch notes that the U.S. market has become a "barbell," concentrating capital at the very top. However, the U.K. shows more resilience; PitchBook data cited by TechCrunch indicates that emerging managers in the region raised $7.4 billion through September, already eclipsing the $6.2 billion raised in all of 2025.
Evertrue's backing reflects a mix of institutional support and strategic partnerships. The fund secured five institutional backers, including Basecamp (the fund-of-funds for Phoenix Court) and the British Business Bank. Specifically, Evertrue was part of the British Business Bank’s £400 million Investor Pathways initiative, which allocated £90 million across 10 first-time managers.
While the fund is rooted in the U.K.—where 80% of limited partners are based—the ambition is global. TechCrunch reports that more than half of Evertrue's current portfolio already operates in the U.S., signaling that while the capital is being deployed in Europe, the exit strategy remains firmly tied to the American market.