Prominent biotechnology investor Jeito Capital said Wednesday it closed a 1 billion euro, or $1.2 billion, venture fund to invest in a variety of early-stage drugmakers predominantly based in Europe.
The Jeito II Fund is “the largest raise ever achieved by a fully independent European fund dedicated to biopharma,” the Paris-based firm said in a statement. Jeito plans to support 15 to 20 clinical-stage drugmakers, supplying each with investments worth up to 150 million euros.
Launched in 2020, Jeito closed its first fund, a 534 million euro haul, a year later. The firm specifically focuses on what it calls “high-potential, clinical biopharma companies” and provides continued investments as those startups boost their value.
Jeito has seen three of its portfolio companies acquired so far: Neogene, a cancer drugmaker AstraZeneca purchased for $200 million in 2022; EyeBio, an eye drug developer Merck & Co. bought in 2024 for $1.3 billion; and Hi-Bio, an immunology company Biogen acquired that same year for $1.15 billion. The firm has also supported companies like antibody-drug conjugate specialist Callio Therapeutics and women’s health startup ReproNovo.
The latest fundraise is a “strong signal for the European biopharma ecosystem, demonstrating the growing conviction that European companies can drive major therapeutic innovation and significant economic benefits with the appropriate access to financial and strategic resources,” Rafaèle Tordjman, Jeito’s founder and president, said in a statement.
Jeito said it’s already put some of that funding to work in therapeutic areas with “strong demand,” such as obesity, oncology and autoimmune conditions. The firm participated in the “second closing” of a $197 million Series A round for metabolic disease drug developer Alveus Therapeutics in February
A number of venture funds have banked fresh capital over the past year, among them fellow European investors Sofinnova Partners and Medicxi, as well as U.S.-based firms Frazier Life Sciences and Atlas Venture.
But the total amount of venture funding raised in the first quarter of 2026 among companies tracked by BioPharma Dive dropped substantially compared to the same period in the two years prior. Between January and March, those firms poured $3.2 billion into biotech startups, versus more than $4.8 and $3.9 billion, respectively, in both 2025 and 2024, data show.
Still, the median value of those rounds remained stable across those quarters, totaling $85 million in the first three months of 2026 compared to $88 million and $87 million in 2025 and 2024.
