“Can an operational European VC own the infrastructure layer of the next generation of fintech and vertical SaaS by being the most value-additive early-stage partner on the continent?”
Founded in 2012 by ex-Rocket Internet operators, Project A positioned itself as an 'operational VC' — providing portfolio companies with shared services in engineering, marketing, and recruiting alongside capital. Over four funds it scaled from a €100M Berlin-focused seed vehicle to a $375M pan-European pre-seed-to-Series-A firm with $1B+ AUM. Its fintech thesis evolved from backing individual point solutions (WorldRemit, Trade Republic) toward conviction in embedded finance infrastructure — agentic payments, real-time reconciliation, embedded treasury, and programmable compliance — as the invisible layer beneath every modern business.
Project A's cards are issued through Pliant.
The Embedded Finance Index 2026 maps 2 layers in Project A's stack: Card issuing (Pliant); Spend / AP (Pliant).
Project A was founded by Florian Heinemann and Uwe Horstmann and is founded in 2012, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
Project A has raised ~$1B+ AUM across four funds in total (latest round: Fund IV, June 2022).
Get a read on where your own stack stands against Project A and the rest of its category — what they built versus bought, which providers they use, and where the gaps in your own strategy and competitive set actually are.