Yvonne Bajela launches $17m debut solo fund Evertrue Capital for pre-seed AI startups

Fund focus and investment strategy

Evertrue Capital will target pre-seed AI and frontier technology startups across the UK and Europe. The fund plans to invest £350,000 per startup, aiming to back at least 20 companies over the next three years. Bajela emphasized a preference for founders who understand their problem deeply, often from personal experience, and who demonstrate conviction in their approach.

According to Bajela, the best investment opportunities emerge before the market recognizes their potential. Evertrue Capital will lead or co-invest in a small number of deals annually, positioning itself to back founders before consensus forms.

Backers and portfolio

The $17 million fund is backed by Bajela’s former employer Phoenix Court, through its Basecamp fund of funds for new managers, alongside the British Business Bank, Better Society Capital, Bootstrap 4F, and Allocator One. Additional investors include founders, operators, and general partners in Evertrue’s network, who will also provide support to portfolio companies.

Evertrue Capital has already made seven investments, including Revion, an AI company for the automotive sector, and Poindexter Labs, an AI data and infrastructure firm. Half of these portfolio companies operate in the US, indicating a transatlantic focus.

Bajela’s track record and market context

Bajela’s career includes roles at Goldman Sachs, Japanese trading house Mitsui—where she invested in Wise—and Impact X Capital, where she led the seed investment in insurtech startup Marshmallow. At Phoenix Court, she invested in companies like Moove, a mobility startup.

She noted that many of the billion-dollar companies she backed earlier in her career did not appear obvious at the outset. This experience informs Evertrue’s strategy of investing in startups before they gain market validation.

The launch comes as solo fund managers face increasing challenges in raising capital. Data cited by The Next Web shows that two-thirds of new venture funds launched this year aimed to raise less than $10 million, making Evertrue’s $17 million fund a notable exception.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Evertrue Capital’s debut reflects a growing trend of solo funds emerging from established venture capital firms to target niche, high-risk segments like pre-seed AI. For founders, Bajela’s fund represents both a funding opportunity and a signal that investors are still willing to bet on unproven ideas—provided the founder demonstrates deep domain expertise and conviction. The oversubscription of the fund also suggests that limited partners remain confident in operators with a track record, even in a tighter funding environment. For the UK and European startup ecosystems, Evertrue’s focus on frontier technology could help bridge the gap between early-stage innovation and later-stage scaling, particularly for startups addressing complex, underserved problems.

Key takeaways

• Founders in AI and frontier tech should note the growing appetite for pre-seed capital in the UK and Europe, particularly from solo funds like Evertrue Capital.
• The oversubscription of Bajela’s fund signals strong investor confidence in her ability to identify high-potential startups early, even without market proof.
• The fund’s focus on founders with deep problem understanding—rather than traction—may appeal to early-stage teams facing challenges in validation or commercialization.
• Evertrue’s investment thesis underscores the opportunities in backing startups before they become obvious, a strategy that could redefine risk-reward expectations for pre-seed funding.

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