Mission debuts after Demium rebrand, launches €35M pre-seed fund
Madrid-based talent investment firm Demium has rebranded as Mission and unveiled a new venture fund targeting €35 million to invest in Spain’s earliest-stage startups. The vehicle will focus on pre-seed rounds, with the firm positioning itself as a frequent first institutional backer for founders building in the Spanish market.
The newly announced Mission Fund I is managed by Jorge Dobón, who serves as managing partner. The fund is supported by a group of operating and founder-advisers, including Álvaro Callejo (former CEO of Ritmo), Julio Ribes (founder of Swipcar and Holaglow), and Mario Navarro (founder of Triple).
Plan: about 80 investments, €250k initial tickets
According to the firm, the fund intends to invest in approximately 80 companies. The average initial cheque is expected to be around €250,000, with follow-on capacity that can reach up to €2 million for the most promising portfolio companies. In many cases, Mission said it expects to be the first institutional investor, a role that can be pivotal for founders seeking early validation, governance support, and access to follow-on capital.
“As the Spanish ecosystem matures, entrepreneurs have increasing options about who they want to partner with. We believe the best founders want a travel companion who knows what they’re going through,” said Jorge Dobón, Managing Partner of Mission, in comments shared alongside the announcement.
From Valencia origins to a new brand identity
Demium was founded in Valencia in 2013 and built its reputation as a “talent VC” backing “exceptional individuals willing to launch their startup, with or without an idea, a team and a product.” Over time, the firm expanded its footprint across Spain’s startup hubs and became known for pairing entrepreneurial talent with structured support to turn concepts into investable companies.
The rebrand to Mission is framed as the culmination of a multi-year strategic shift. In June 2020, the firm’s venture capital management arm launched a €50 million vehicle, Think Bigger Fund I, aimed at investing in more than 75 startups annually at pre-seed and seed stages. In 2022, the group—through its asset management company, then known as Think Bigger Capital—announced a fund to back Central European startups at seed and pre-seed. By 2023, the firm said it had moved away from an incubation model and toward direct equity investments, a transition it now says is consolidated under the Mission brand.
Portfolio and positioning in an “AI and automation” era
Mission said it has backed more than 250 Spanish startups to date, citing portfolio names such as Citibox, Theker, Dealcar, Voicemod, Singularu, and Swipcar. In its announcement, the firm described the new identity as an evolution reflecting both its investment approach and the changing technology landscape.
“Mission emerges as the natural evolution of 13 years of experience investing in and creating companies from scratch. After supporting more than 250 startups, Demium now consolidates its strategy under a new brand, Mission, and a fund structure designed for the age of AI and automation,” the firm said in its press release.
While the company did not disclose sector allocations, the emphasis on AI and automation suggests the fund expects a growing share of software-first and productivity-driven businesses among Spain’s next cohort of early-stage startups. The pre-seed focus also reflects a broader European trend: investors are increasingly seeking to establish conviction earlier, then reserve capital for follow-on rounds as companies demonstrate product-market fit.
Capital already deploying; backing includes public institutions
Mission Fund I has already begun deploying capital and has made its first investments, the firm said, though it did not name the initial portfolio companies in the announcement. The fund is backed by a group of limited partners, including founders and investors who participated in previous funds. It also has support from Spain’s Official Credit Institute (ICO) and the Valencian Institute of Finance (IVF), adding public-sector participation to its LP base.
The combination of founder-led LPs and institutional support is increasingly common in European venture funds, particularly at the pre-seed stage, where networks, operator insight, and early customer access can be as valuable as the capital itself. For Mission, the structure is intended to reinforce a hands-on posture as it targets a high volume of early checks with selective follow-ons.
What the rebrand signals for Spain’s early-stage market
The shift from Demium to Mission signals a clearer alignment with a traditional venture model—direct equity investment and fund-led deployment—while retaining the firm’s original identity as a talent-first backer. With a stated goal of roughly 80 investments and the ability to scale follow-on cheques, the fund could become a meaningful source of first institutional capital for Spanish founders navigating the transition from idea to initial traction.
As competition for high-quality deals increases in Spain’s maturing ecosystem, Mission is betting that brand clarity, early conviction, and operational proximity to founders will differentiate it in the pre-seed segment.
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