Forbes Ranks Europe’s Top VCs, And London’s Grip Is Slipping

According to Forbes, on December 11, 2025, they unveiled the 2025 Midas List Europe, the definitive ranking of the top 25 venture capital investors across Europe and the Middle East. The list, produced in partnership with TrueBridge Capital Partners, is based on metrics that track returns from exits and valuation increases. Danny Rimer of Index Ventures secured the number one position this year. The ranking highlights a clear trend of geographic diversification, with notable new entrants including Romania’s Dan Lupu of Earlybird and Germany’s Florian Heinemann of Trade Republic. The list also features investors behind major European companies like Revolut, Mistral AI, and Monzo, reflecting where the big returns are currently being generated.

The London Tax Is Fading

Here’s the thing: for years, making the European VC elite seemed to require a London postcode. That’s changing fast. Forbes explicitly notes the list is “steadily less London-focused,” and the fact that countries like Ireland, Romania, Israel, and Germany now have multiple investors on the list is a big deal. It signals that serious capital and, more importantly, serious exits, are being cultivated outside the traditional hubs. This isn’t just about a few seed checks; it’s about the maturation of entire regional ecosystems capable of building and financing billion-dollar companies from scratch. That’s healthy for Europe overall, but it probably has some old-guard London firms looking over their shoulders.

The Midas Momentum Question

Now, a list like this is inherently backward-looking. It’s celebrating the wins of the last cycle—the Figmas, the potential Revolut exits, the AI hype train embodied by Mistral. And that’s fine; it’s how these rankings work. But the real question is, what comes next? The report mentions “big deals from the last cycle age out,” which is a polite way of saying the clock is ticking on some massive, high-valuation private companies that need a liquidity event. The investors on this list are being crowned for past performance. The next five years will test whether they can find and fund the *next* generation of winners in a totally different economic climate. Can they repeat the trick?

Methodology Matters

It’s always worth remembering what the Midas List actually measures: returns for limited partners. That means it’s heavily weighted towards investors who got into companies that either went public, got acquired, or raised money at a much higher price later. This methodology naturally favors later-stage investors or those who got into breakout companies early. It doesn’t necessarily spotlight the best early-stage talent scouts who are planting the seeds for 2030. So while it’s a great snapshot of who’s cashing in now, it’s not a perfect predictor of who will dominate tomorrow. The list tells you who won the last game, not who’s best at the new one being played.