Top 9 Angel Investors and VC Partners in Portugal (2026)

Portugal had 5,091 active startups in 2025, and the angels and early-stage investors backing them include Miguel Santo Amaro, Alex Vassiliev, Sergio Rodrigues, Nicolas Julia and Miguel Barbosa. That startup count comes from Startup Portugal's Startup & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report 2025. On the investor side, Forbes Portugal reports that Investors Portugal, the national early-stage investor association, represents more than 300 business angels and 26 venture capital firms and investment vehicles.

Some of the investors below are based in Portugal, while others invest from abroad, often after backing a Lisbon startup such as ScorePlay.

Want more names? Angel Match lists 300+ investors in Portugal, including 100+ in Lisbon.

Who Are the Top 9 Angel Investors and VC Partners in Portugal?

Following are some of the top angel investors and VC partners in Portugal, along with some tips on how to pitch to them.

Miguel Barbosa

Miguel Barbosa is Investment Director of the Tourism Division at Portugal Ventures, a venture capital firm backing early-stage startups. He has more than 20 years of experience in venture capital and has worked on investments in the industry, tourism and ICT sectors.

His profile here is that of a venture capital investment director, not an individual angel.

• Preferred Industries: Tourism, hardware, IoT, agri-food, industrial products, and telecommunications
• Notable Investments: Parkalgar, StrayBoots, and Indie Campers (exit)

Sergio Rodrigues

Sergio Rodrigues is a Portuguese business angel linked to Invicta Angels, the Porto-based angel association that considers seed and early-stage investments. He sits on the board of Investors Portugal, the national early-stage investor association.

Invicta Angels was founded by Ricardo Luz, who serves as its president.

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn

Ricardo Normand

Ricardo Normand is a venture partner at Tomahawk.VC, where he oversees the firm's activities in Lisbon. Tomahawk.VC is an entrepreneur-led early-stage venture capital firm based in Switzerland that invests at the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, with a focus on fintech, DeFi, and enterprise software.

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn

Miguel Santo Amaro

Miguel Santo Amaro is a tech entrepreneur and early-stage investor. He co-founded Uniplaces in 2012 and Coverflex, where he is co-founder and CEO, and he has been a partner at Shilling VC since 2017. According to his professional bio, he has led angel investments in more than 30 early-stage companies across Europe.

Santo Amaro invests at the pre-seed and seed stages.

• LinkedIn: LinkedIn
• Preferred Industries: Consumer marketplaces, B2B SaaS, fintech and insurtech, and D2C brands
• Notable Investments: EatTasty and kencko

Alex Vassiliev

Alex Vassiliev is an angel investor and a former executive at Alibaba, JD.com, and Yandex. Since 2019 he has been an investment partner and business angel at REDangels, a group of business angels based in Aveiro, Portugal, that invests at the pre-seed and seed stages.

NFX Signal lists his typical check at $5,000 to $50,000.

• LinkedIn: Alex Vassiliev | LinkedIn
• Preferred Industries: Enterprise applications, marketplaces, and AI
• Notable Investments: Bairro

David Apple

David Apple is an angel investor and startup advisor based in San Francisco. He is Chief Business Officer of ScorePlay, the Lisbon-based AI media asset manager for sports, and serves on the board of the CMTA. ScorePlay's 2022 funding announcement lists him among its pre-seed investors and describes him as ex-Notion and Typeform.

• LinkedIn: David Apple | LinkedIn
• Notable Investments: ScorePlay

Omar Fonseca

Omar Fonseca, also written as Omar da Fonseca, is a former soccer player and beIN commentator who became an angel investor. He was an early backer of ScorePlay and, according to the investor database Shizune, focuses on sports and soccer startups at the pre-seed and seed stages from a base in France.

• Preferred Industries: Sports and soccer
• Notable Investments: ScorePlay

Alexis Bonte

Alexis Bonte is an angel investor and the president and group CEO of Stillfront Group, the publicly listed games company that acquired eRepublik Labs, the studio he founded. He was a venture partner at Atomico from 2016 to 2020, advising on investments in France, Spain, Portugal, and Eastern Europe, and he chairs the Tezos Foundation.

• LinkedIn: Alexis Bonte | LinkedIn
• Preferred Industries: Games, blockchain, and travel

Nicolas Julia

Nicolas Julia is an angel investor based in Paris and the co-founder and CEO of Sorare, the fantasy football game. He previously worked as VP of Operations at Stratumn. As an angel, he backs pre-seed, seed, and Series A companies in gaming, consumer internet, and crypto and Web3.

• LinkedIn: Nicolas Julia | LinkedIn
• Preferred Industries: Gaming, consumer internet, and crypto and Web3
• Notable Investments: ScorePlay, Flowdesk, Tweed, and cubzh

How To Pitch To Angel Investors?

If you're an entrepreneur who has already founded 3-4 startups and is securing investment for the fifth one, pitching to angel investors may not sound like a big deal.

However, the real problem arises for startup leaders who are going to do it for the first time. So, let us ease the job a little bit by helping you with some important tips on how to pitch to angel investors.

Research Your Angel Investors BEFORE You Meet

The most important aspect of securing an investment is knowing the person who will be investing. If you're planning to just randomly attend an investor meeting and satisfy the investors, this won't work.

Always research your targeted angel investors and understand their backgrounds and interests before meeting them. A warm introduction helps too, so see how to get a warm introduction to investors.

Be Passionate and Authentic in Your Purpose

During an investor meeting, never lie about your goals and don't get too excited either. Be realistic and passionate about what you dream of building/providing and how your business can improve the community.

Tell a Compelling Story

It's important to make your pitch deck sound like an attractive story, but it's equally important to not bore the investors. Start with a journey about your startup and wrap up within a few minutes to ensure the investors are still listening. You can browse real examples in our Pitch Deck Database.

Some additional tips include:

• Keep Your Pitch Straightforward
• Introduce Your Team
• Include Rich and Concise Data
• Personalize Your Pitch for Your Audience
• Be Prepared to Answer Questions
• Practice Often and Improve Your Public Speaking Skills
• Meet With the Intention of Building Relationships
• Learn From Your Mistakes

Wrap Up

So, there you have the list of the top angel investors and VC partners in Portugal. However, before we end things, here's an important piece of advice:

"When attending an investor meeting, always keep a formal dress code and don't try to come up with something flashy/out of context"

Frequently Asked Questions