Previous on Tech Odyssey: In our last episode, we went to the University of Porto, INESC TEC, and UPTEC to see how research can move from the lab into startups. This time, we look at what often comes next: who backs those companies when they are still too early for most investors.

When a startup leaves a university lab, incubator, or science park, it is often at its most fragile point. There may be a team, a technology, and a clear ambition, but little market proof and little or no revenue. For many private investors, the easier answer is to wait.

Portugal Ventures exists for the moment before that answer becomes obvious.

The firm is part of BPF Group, Portugal’s national promotional bank, and operates as a public venture capital investor. Its mandate is to invest in Portuguese startups with global ambitions, usually at the pre-seed and seed stages. Since its creation in 2012 through the merger of three existing venture capital firms, Portugal Ventures has invested more than €255 million.

Its focus covers four broad areas: digital and technology, industry, life sciences, and tourism. Taken together, those categories touch much of the Portuguese economy. In practice, the firm is not trying to narrow the market too early. At the earliest stage, the important question is often not whether a company fits neatly into one sector, but whether it can grow from Portugal into a larger market.

That national role is also built into the name. Portugal Ventures does not want its pipeline to come only from Lisbon and Porto, the country’s two main startup hubs. Through its Ignition Partners network, it works with universities, incubators, and accelerators across Portugal, including the islands. These partners help the firm see projects before they are fully formed, when they may still be close to a lab, a prototype, or an early technical team.

For a pre-seed investor, that matters. At this stage, companies rarely arrive with polished numbers. The signals are softer: the strength of the team, the depth of the technology, the relevance of the problem, and whether the company can move from research or incubation into a real market.

Portugal Ventures also draws a clear line around what it means by a Portuguese startup. The founder’s nationality is not the main issue. The company can be started by Portuguese, British, Chinese, or other entrepreneurs. What matters is that it is based in Portugal, headquartered there, or has significant operations in the country.

That reflects the public nature of the capital. The investment is expected to create impact inside Portugal, whether through jobs, technology development, or wider economic activity. The company may be built for global markets, but part of the value it creates needs to remain connected to Portugal.

The challenge becomes harder as companies grow. Portugal’s startup ecosystem has become more coordinated, with universities, incubators, accelerators, local governments, and national institutions working more closely together. But later-stage capital remains thinner. Once companies move beyond the earlier rounds, especially as they become scale-ups, many still need to look abroad for larger pools of funding.

That is why the first cheque matters. Without early capital, there is no later pipeline to finance.

Asia is one possible part of that next stage. Portugal Ventures has already begun building links through Macau, where 929 is part of its Ignition Partners network, and through channels such as AICEP. Those connections are still early, but the logic is clear: Portuguese startups need larger markets and more application scenarios, while investors in Asia are also looking outward for differentiated technology companies.

In the end, Portugal Ventures’ advice to founders comes back to choosing the right people to travel with. For early-stage startups, an investor is not just a source of capital. It is a partner that may stay through uncertainty, product changes, and the next round of financing.

The first cheque is therefore not only about money. For Portugal’s youngest startups, it can decide whether an unfinished idea gets enough time, trust, and support to become a company.

Next on Tech Odyssey: We head to Coimbra to continue exploring the role of another important city in Portugal’s innovation ecosystem.