LONDON, UK – WEDNESDAY 12 MARCH 2025 – Impact X Capital Partners, Europe’s leading venture capital firm focused on delivering exceptional financial returns and compound impact, has announced the final close of its latest fund, Impact X Global I, LP. The fund has secured backing from Illumen Capital, a BIPOC-led investment firm based in Oakland, California, and Basecamp Fund, the fund of funds investing in emerging managers, from London’s Phoenix Court. Both capital allocators join previously announced tier 1 Impact X limited partners including Guy’s & St Thomas Foundation, the Visa Foundation, and Atomico.
This milestone strengthens Impact X’s mission to tackle systemic barriers in venture capital by supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs across high-growth sectors such as technology, healthcare, and targeted creative industries. By leveraging its differentiated deal flow strategy, Impact X identifies and scales innovative businesses often overlooked by other VC investors.
“This fund close is about more than capital—it’s about building a coalition of partners who share our vision for immediately transforming venture capital allocating now and into the future,” said Eric Collins, CEO and co-founder of Impact X Capital. “With Illumen Capital and Basecamp, we are expanding our ability to drive meaningful innovation, deliver outstanding returns plus create measurable sustained impact.”
Illumen Capital, led by Managing Partner Daryn Dodson, brings a unique approach to investing by integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion into its strategy. A strong proponent of the “diversity dividend,” Illumen Capital builds on growing evidence that diverse teams outperform homogeneous ones.
The firm works closely with portfolio managers to actively reduce racial and gender bias in investment decision making. “At Illumen Capital, we are deeply committed to unlocking the full potential of overlooked and underestimated funds and companies,” said Dodson. “We are honored to partner with Impact X as a way to advance our shared mission beyond North America, bridge equity gaps, and foster innovation in the UK and Europe. We are thrilled to collaborate with a like-minded partner to deliver measurable, sustained impact on a global scale”
Basecamp, known for its strategic investments in ventures that deliver measurable impact, brings a complementary focus on European markets.
One of Impact X’s most notable investments, Marshmallow, demonstrates the power of its differentiated deal flow strategy. As the UK’s second Black-led unicorn, Marshmallow has redefined the insurance industry with a customer-first, tech-driven approach, achieving a 75% turnover growth to £184M in 2023 while maintaining its workforce at over-indexes for both women and people of colour. The company’s success underscores Impact X’s ability to identify and nurture high-potential businesses in often overlooked markets.
Impact X Capital’s Chief Investments Officer Paula Groves said “Companies like Marshmallow are proof of how underrepresented entrepreneurs can create extraordinary value for the global economy who can’t – and shouldn’t – leave money on the table. We are proud to lead the way in demonstrating the power of inclusive investment strategies.”
With this fund close, Impact X aims to invest in up to 30 high-growth companies in the short-term, unlocking opportunities across Europe and the UK. This latest infusion of capital reaffirms the company’s commitment to delivering both compound societal impacts and exceptional financial returns.