Investor Insights: Jimmy Fussing Nielsen, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Heartcore Capital
Interviews with Global VCs on technology, trends, and turbulence
With recent geopolitical shifts, understanding how to engage investors and stay front of mind has become even more important for start-ups looking to fundraise.
This is the third interview in our TFD Investor Insights Series, where we speak to global VCs on a host of topics, including how AI is impacting their investment strategies and how the current macro economic environment is shaping the tech investment space. Last week our CEO, Stephanie Forrest, was fortunate enough to sit down with Jimmy Fussing Nielsen, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Heartcore Capital, a premier early-stage European venture capital firm headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, that helps founders build the next generation of iconic global technology companies.
Heartcore has backed five unicorns and created ten ‘soonicorns’ from initial early-stage investments, including start-ups like Neo4J and TravelPerk. Heartcore has helped create over 10 billion Euros in enterprise value.
What is the most interesting technology to you this year and why?
We are generalist investors, and with each of our funds we invest in different technology themes. With our latest fund, for example, we are looking to invest in technology that’s lower down the stack. The areas that we’re most interested in, for example, are LLM type architectures, quantum technologies, and then the cross section of technology with, for example, synthetic biology or chemistry. We are seeing a lot of interesting innovation happening in this space, whether it is technologies that compete with NVIDIA’s monopoly, or technology that enables you to understand things at a protein level or physicochemical level and not just at a DNA level.
What sectors or trends is Heartcore Capital most excited about in the next 12-18 months?
We take an enabling technology approach. Key areas to look at in the future are resilience and, also, for example, the ability to support multiple sectors. We lean into markets where there will be a major change in user adoption and try to get ahead of this and invest in the technologies that will enable this shift. Think about food supplies – genetically modified food is part of our future. What are the innovations and start-ups that will make this happen? Another example is climate change. China is ahead in terms of alleviating pressure on energy grids, but who are the start-ups in areas like carbon capture, insurance, or software?
Has the rapid rise of AI impacted your investment strategy?
Absolutely - in fact AI has already had an impact. Investment in AI infrastructure in the US has increased 75% in 2025. Companies need to adopt AI to stay relevant. LLM is compute-hungry, however there has been a step change in terms of capabilities compared to previous models. What you will start to see is that LLMs will be verticalised depending on the use case so that they’ll be more effective and require less power.
It's becoming more and more important to be agile. You have 18 months to work out if you’re right or not with an investment and the only constant is change.
Are there any under the radar technologies or sectors that you think are poised for rapid growth?
There is so much activity going on now there isn’t really anything that’s ‘under the radar’. That said, however, it’s probably a good time to invest in green. There’s still some good innovation going on in this space.
How do you think the macro environment is shaping the tech investment space?
We are no longer in a market economy, we’re in a war economy. It’s a huge paradigm shift. Today investments into venture capital in Europe come mainly from governments and then family offices. To increase Europe’s competitiveness by increasing capital inflow to venture capital and innovation, pension funds will have to participate to a higher degree. The government's focus will be to invest in dual use and resilient technology.
Which area of tech are you most excited about and why?
We cover a number of technologies but personally I’m super passionate about AI and quantum technologies. That’s where I focus on the most. You meet super smart people in these fields and I find them exciting to work in.
Do you have any advice for founders on how to get noticed in the tech space?
Make sure you tell a story. It’s not about the tech per se, it’s about what is the challenge or pain that your technology is trying to solve. Also, founders need to have the understanding that we are in a war economy. Understanding that and how your innovation supports that is critical.