Summit | Pavel Mucha (Aspire11): Why and how a Czech pension fund launched a €500m venture fund

Getting pension capital into venture is not simply about proving that the returns are attractive. It requires building an investment model that institutions can actually underwrite, while knowing which parts of the strategy should remain non-negotiable.

Pavel Mucha, Founder of Aspire11, explains how a Czech pension fund committed €500 million to venture and growth investing, why the team chose to start with €500 million rather than the €2 billion initially discussed and how they structured the platform to make pension capital work in practice.

The conversation covers how Aspire11 adapted the economics, absorbed initial costs and introduced shorter commitment windows, while maintaining its position on avoiding home bias, accepting long holding periods and building concentrated portfolios.

Pavel also discusses why attracting younger savers mattered, what venture can learn from pension investment in buyout funds and how the Canadian pension model influenced Aspire11.

Highlights

• Why Aspire11 started with €500m rather than €2bn

• What pension capital needed from a venture investment model

• Why attracting younger savers mattered alongside returns

• What venture can learn from pension investment in buyouts

• Why Aspire11 rejected a domestic-only investment mandate

• Why long holding periods and concentration mattered

• How Aspire11 removed an additional management-fee layer

• Why the team absorbed initial costs itself

• How vintage windows made commitments easier to manage

• How fund investments and later-stage direct investments helped smooth the J-curve