Transition Ventures secures $150 million for Fund II, featuring Olix, Applied Atomics, and Seneca in its portfolio.

      Transition Ventures, the early-stage firm based in London and led by Unity co-founder David Helgason, has successfully closed a second fund totaling $150 million, increasing the platform’s assets under management to over $300 million. Fund II will adhere to Transition’s belief that the most impactful companies of the next decade will emerge where AI intersects with the physical realm: including power, robotics, materials, refining, and the integration of hardware and software.

      Helgason, who has refined his investment strategy since founding Transition in 2021 after stepping back as Unity's CEO in 2014, argues that the traditional venture model of funding software-only incremental advancements has reached its limits. He believes the next generation of technology firms will merge advanced hardware with AI software in ways that require investors capable of assessing both components.

      Transition's compact team operates based on this thesis, with Helgason joined by his brother Ari (formerly of Index Ventures), Kristian Branaes (formerly of Atomico), Clara Ricard (formerly of Balderton), and David Pacák (formerly of Earlybird and Picus Capital). The team collectively claims to have founded companies valued at over $15 billion; when including recent equity from Unity, the firm notes this figure approaches $20 billion, largely based on Helgason’s time at Unity ($2 billion+ annual revenue at its peak).

      The portfolio merits attention, particularly Olix, a Bristol-based company specializing in photonics computing and developing Optical Tensor Processing Units. Formerly known as Flux Computing and rebranded in January, Olix has raised around $220 million at a valuation of $1 billion, with a round led by Hummingbird Ventures and additional support from Plural and LocalGlobe.

      Founder James Dacombe, a 25-year-old Thiel Fellow, received mentorship from Helgason while working on his first venture, CoMind, with Transition participating in the initial funding round. Another notable company is Applied Atomics, created by ex-SpaceX engineers Ben Kellie and Paul Keutelian, which is developing small modular nuclear plants aimed at supplying power directly to data centers and large industrial consumers. Keutelian previously served as COO at the nuclear microreactor unicorn Radiant, and both founders worked on SpaceX launch sites before transitioning into the nuclear sector. The company employs light-water reactor technology—an established design used in most existing commercial facilities—with potential licensing timelines from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission as short as 36 to 48 months for its class of designs. Co-located nuclear power for large-scale data centers is a prominent proposal for alleviating energy challenges, and Applied Atomics aligns with that concept.

      Seneca, a wildfire suppression drone company that debuted publicly with $60 million last October, can deploy autonomous drones to a fire within ten minutes of detection. The funding round was led by Caffeinated Capital and Convective Capital, with Transition participating in the initial investment round; additional backers include DCVC, First Round Capital, and Slow Ventures. The drones can carry 100 pounds of suppressant and operate at 100 PSI, with Seneca preparing to deploy its first systems for the 2026 fire season.

      Upway, based in Paris and specializing in refurbished e-bikes, has seen its revenue increase approximately thirty-fold since Transition's investment in 2022, establishing itself as the leader in the European and US pre-owned e-bike markets. The company has secured over $125 million across funding rounds led by Sequoia, Exor, and AP Moller Holding, with its Series C round closing at a $400 million valuation in late 2025.

      Several unannounced portfolio companies are also part of the fund, including a Paris-based space venture founded by former SpaceX engineers, a semiconductor metrology startup spun out of ASML in Eindhoven, and a New York-based photonics materials discovery platform operated by senior AI researchers. This composition reflects Transition’s willingness to invest in hardware-and-software enterprises, often at a deeper stage of technology readiness than most early-stage funds typically embrace.

      The fundraise occurs during a period of visible strain within European venture capital. Transition’s success in securing $150 million for a targeted deep-tech-and-physical-AI strategy serves as a compelling counterpoint to the broader slowdown in European VC fundraising over the past 18 months. Whether Fund II will build upon the success of Fund I remains a long-term question. The current portfolio suggests that Helgason’s team is opting for riskier, less trend-driven sectors, which poses a greater challenge but also offers longer-term potential.