APX.vc
APX is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Berlin, backed by Axel Springer and Porsche. They focus on partnering with and supporting ambitious pre-seed startups from Europe and beyond, often acting as the first investor. APX invests in exceptional earliest-stage founder teams building startups with digital business models, aiming to be a long-term partner. While the information available is limited on the website crawl, it can be seen that they likely provide resources and help for startups to grow with them. APX is positioned as one of Europe’s leading earliest-stage VCs. Their strategy is centered around identifying and investing in promising pre-seed startups with digital business models, providing them with the necessary support and resources to scale their businesses.
Ascenion
Ascenion GmbH is a knowledge and technology transfer company focused on academic life science research. They operate as a bridge between research institutions and industry, aiming to protect, develop, and commercialize innovative ideas. Ascenion initiates and finances start-ups, provides services to inventors and founders, and helps industry and investors discover opportunities for innovation. They manage a portfolio of over 700 technologies and research materials, facilitating the transfer of these assets to companies that can further develop and commercialize them. Their activities span from initial IP protection and development to financing and strategic support for start-ups, and ultimately to licensing and partnerships with established industry players. Ascenion's core strategy revolves around identifying promising research outputs from its partner institutes, securing intellectual property, and then de-risking and developing these technologies to a point where they are attractive for commercialization. This often involves initiating and supporting start-up companies, providing them with seed funding, management expertise, and access to Ascenion's network of industry contacts. The firm also works closely with established companies to license and co-develop technologies, creating value for both the research institutions and the industry partners. Ascenion's partnership with the LifeScience Foundation underlines its commitment to translating academic discoveries into real-world applications. The company plays a critical role in the life science ecosystem by accelerating the development and commercialization of innovative technologies, ultimately contributing to advancements in healthcare and other related fields. They also actively engage in knowledge sharing and collaboration through workshops and events, fostering a vibrant community of technology transfer professionals and entrepreneurs.
Auxxo
Auxxo is a venture capital firm that invests in female-led startups in Europe. They aim to address the gender funding gap in the startup ecosystem by providing capital and support to women entrepreneurs. They focus on companies with diverse teams and the potential for high growth. They invest across various sectors and stages, supporting startups from pre-seed to Series A. Auxxo's investment strategy is driven by the belief that female-led companies often outperform their male-led counterparts, leading to better returns. They provide portfolio companies with access to their network, mentorship, and operational support, aiming to accelerate their growth and success. Auxxo is committed to fostering a more inclusive and equitable startup ecosystem.
BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen
Based on the available information, BMH Beteiligungs-Managementgesellschaft Hessen (BMH Hessen) appears to focus on providing equity financing to businesses in the Hessen region of Germany. Their investment strategy includes supporting tech startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and companies in various sectors including healthtech, AI, proptech, and deep tech. BMH seems to participate in multiple funding rounds, from pre-seed and seed to growth stages, and also supports succession solutions for established companies. They actively manage the HessenFonds, indicating a commitment to fostering regional economic growth and innovation within Hessen. They look for companies that address significant needs or offer innovative solutions in their respective markets. The firm also co-invests with other VCs like HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds). BMH is interested in supporting succession planning and supporting smaller SMEs.
Bayern Kapital GmbH
Bayern Kapital is a venture capital firm that invests in innovative Bavarian startups and scale-ups in the high-tech, deep tech, and life sciences sectors. They act as an anchor investor, providing long-term support across multiple rounds, from pre-seed to scale-up stages, with investments ranging from €250,000 to €50 million per company. The firm prioritizes sustainable innovation and partners with companies that contribute to the advancement of technology in Bavaria. With 30 years of experience, they are one of the most active, experienced, and financially strong VC investors in the region. Bayern Kapital actively seeks companies that have the potential to become market leaders in their respective fields. They provide not only financial support but also strategic guidance and access to their extensive network. They invest in areas like autonomous mobility, medical technology, industrial manufacturing, and digital services. The firm aims to facilitate the growth of its portfolio companies, helping them scale their operations and achieve their business goals. The investment strategy focuses on companies that address real-world problems with innovative solutions. By partnering with Bayern Kapital, startups and scale-ups gain access to capital, expertise, and a strong network, enabling them to accelerate their growth and expand their market presence. Bayern Kapital positions itself as a reliable and supportive partner, committed to the long-term success of its portfolio companies. They invest in teams and support the personal growth of its founders and its people.
Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments
BDMI is a corporate venture investor with over $450M under management. They partner with early-stage companies, providing capital and access to Bertelsmann's global network. BDMI invests out of a seed fund and a traditional early-stage fund, preferring companies with a live product or service and initial data points demonstrating product-market fit. They leverage the global reach of Bertelsmann to bring experience and opportunities to emerging companies through a valuable network. BDMI's main fund targets Series A and Series B rounds, with initial investments ranging from $500k to $10m, plus reserves for follow-ons. They are open to leading, co-leading, or joining syndicates. Their investment focuses are in content, technology, and monetization models, blockchain solutions, software for digital transformation, and financial products.
Enjoyventure Management
EnjoyVenture GmbH is a venture capital firm that invests in innovative business models with the potential to influence the market and reform established business models. They are passionate about tech-affine startups and businesses with whom they want to discover new trends and shape the future. With over 20 years of experience since 2000, they expertly support technology startups. EnjoyVenture emphasizes talent investment, extensive networking within investor and technology sectors, and an interdisciplinary team with many years of business experience. They aim to connect innovative business models to the future through experience, networks, and investment strategies, leading innovations and teams to success. They focus on partnering with companies showing potential to influence markets. They support companies in their early stage from seed stage and on. They focus on supporting the company to grow within the market.
ExtraVallis
ExtraVallis is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage European startups with the goal of bridging them to the US market. They focus on curating the best European startups in Pre-seed, Seed, and Series A rounds, adding value through mentorship and defining KPIs to allow continued investment through exit. They believe that Europe has the potential to approach Silicon Valley success and aim to provide US investors access to the best companies there. ExtraVallis believes that a high ROI can be achieved by focusing on 'dragons' rather than unicorns. They highlight that European startups have relatively low valuations compared to US startups, enabling an early-exit ROI strategy. They focus on select industries and geographies where they have deep expertise to enhance alignment with investors, reduce failure rates, and further improve return on investment. They seek motivated and coachable founder teams who can execute in large markets. The firm emphasizes immersion, discipline, and focusing on value in startup discovery. They are hands-on and tailored to address the gaps in the European startup ecosystem. They start relationships early, often at the university level, primarily investing in Germany, the Netherlands, the Baltics, and Scandinavia. Contrary to typical European practice, they lead funding rounds and build personal relationships with founders long before they seek venture capital, providing unique value and guidance from inception to US or European exit. ExtraVallis is committed to discovering and supporting unique founders, including women and other under-represented groups. Their dedication to these principles ensures they not only invest in businesses but also nurture the leaders who will drive future innovation.
Feast Ventures
Feast Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing at the intersection of agriculture, food, and health, with the goal of enabling a new nutrition epitome. They aim to back founders who are delivering on a mission to create a more sustainable and regenerative food system. The firm believes that the food and agtech industry is a cornerstone of global economic, planetary, and individual health. Feast Ventures' investment strategy revolves around supporting entrepreneurs and management teams in achieving their ambitions within the agrifoodtech space. They dedicate themselves to supporting companies that demonstrate the potential to address shortcomings in today's food system. They aim to position agrifoodtech as a cornerstone of global economic, planetary, and individual health equally. The firm takes a thesis-driven, sector-specialized approach, working with founders and innovation partners who share their values and ambition to solve the food industry’s biggest challenges. They focus on opportunities in (Pre)Seed stages. They are backed by a selection of food entrepreneurs, family offices and selected thought leaders.
Fraunhofer Technologie-Transfer Fonds
Fraunhofer Venture focuses on technology transfer through spin-offs, supporting researchers and entrepreneurs who aim to transform the world with Fraunhofer technology. They offer comprehensive support from the initial idea to the eventual exit, providing internal funding opportunities, access to seed capital, and a strong network within industry and venture capital. Their mission is to enable Fraunhofer employees and founders to build internationally successful companies based on cutting-edge Fraunhofer technology, offering professional assistance throughout the entire process. They also strongly emphasize the importance of sustainability and societal benefit. They bring the latest technologies to market with start-ups in a dynamic environment, which they are very passionate about. In terms of collaboration, they closely cooperate with Fraunhofer spin-offs in close coordination with their institutes.
GF BRYCK Ventures Fund
GF BRYCK Ventures Fund, formerly known as Gründerfonds Ruhr, is an early-stage venture capital firm empowering founders and driving innovation with a focus on the Ruhr region and beyond. They invest in B2B-tech seed stage companies that solve relevant customer problems and have the potential to become market leaders. The firm provides not only financial capital but also entrepreneurial expertise and access to an international network of corporations. Founded in 2017 as an initiative of Initiativkreis Ruhr and NRW.BANK, the initial fund was established to address the capital gap for early-stage startups in the Ruhr region, a technology hub with significant entrepreneurial and industrial potential. The first fund, Gründerfonds Ruhr I, had a volume of €34M. After successfully completing its investment cycle, the firm reorganized and operates as an independent venture capital fund. Their strategy involves partnering with startups by providing financial resources and offering support through expertise, access to industry connections, and hands-on guidance. They aim to be a trustworthy partner, assisting startups with the resources needed for success. The firm's second fund, Gründerfonds Ruhr II, closed in October 2024 with an initial fund volume of €31M and invests across Germany with a focus on the Ruhr region. The firm leverages its location in the Ruhr region to access a rich ecosystem of 22 universities and colleges, research institutions, and international corporations. The team of experienced investment professionals is passionate about empowering innovations and providing hands-on support.
HEARTFELT_/APX
APX is an earliest-stage venture capital firm based in Berlin, backed by Axel Springer and Porsche. The firm focuses on supporting and partnering with ambitious pre-seed startups from Europe and beyond, often acting as their first investor. APX invests in exceptional founder teams building startups with digital business models. They emphasize being a long-term partner to their portfolio companies, providing support beyond just capital. The firm aims to be one of Europe's leading earliest-stage VCs, cultivating a growing family of startups and founders. Their investment strategy focuses on identifying promising digital business models and providing the resources and network necessary to help these startups succeed from their earliest stages. They operate as a pre-seed investor, helping startups at the very beginning of their journey.
HTGF | High-Tech Gruenderfonds
HTGF invests in tech founders who have the courage to shape the future. They focus on pre-seed and seed stages, providing a strong network in business and science, experience in scaling startups, and in-depth tech know-how. Their mission extends beyond their track record, aiming to sustainably strengthen the technological backbone of Germany as a business location and create international market leaders. They invest across all major tech fields from software to hardware: From AI, deep tech to biotech. They have over 300 years of investment experience. They believe that long-term success is only possible if the impact of technologies and business models are considered from the start and managed responsibly, integrating ESG measures into their processes since 2019. HTGF contributes at the fund level, including active risk management, measuring and offsetting carbon footprint, vegetarian catering, and environmentally friendly travel policies. They also provide a healthy work environment for their employees, with flexible working hours, company bicycle leasing, subsidized sports memberships, and the maximum employer subsidy for the Deutschlandticket. They actively advocate for practical requirements for founding teams in relevant areas within their network, ensuring standardization and transparency in ESG reporting. They offer ESG Due Diligence before investing and provide ESG Support for Impact after the investment, supporting companies to set up sustainably from the very beginning. They help startups to collect relevant data for annual ESG reporting, helping them present themselves transparently and convincingly to customers and investors.
Hamburg Investitions- und Förderbank (IFB)
IFB Hamburg (Hamburgische Investitions- und Förderbank) is the central development bank of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Its core mission is to support the economic and social development of Hamburg by providing public funding and financial instruments. IFB Hamburg focuses on urban development, housing, climate protection, economic development, and innovation, fostering sustainability and growth across various sectors. It offers a range of programs including grants, loans, and equity investments to support projects that contribute to the city's strategic goals. Their strategy is to create a positive impact on Hamburg by addressing key challenges and promoting a vibrant and resilient economy.
Heliad Equity Partners
Heliad Equity Partners focuses on providing generational founders with access to capital markets. They invest in early-stage companies through their fully owned early-stage investment vehicle, Collective Ventures, supporting founders from pre-seed to Series A. They also make growth-stage and beyond investments directly from their balance sheet, utilizing an evergreen structure that allows for long-term partnerships, even beyond an IPO. Heliad emphasizes its ability to support companies through various stages of their growth, without being constrained by typical fund life cycles. They aim to be more than just investors, acting as partners to help companies reach their full potential.
ICIG Ventures
ICIG Ventures, the venture capital arm of International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), invests in early-stage startups with the potential to reshape industries related to industrial biotechnology, chemistry, and advanced materials. ICIG Ventures plays a strategic role in expanding ICIG’s market-oriented platforms. Investments are strategically aligned with the long-term vision of ICIG and are intended to add value to their existing platforms. The firm leverages its access to ICIG's pilot-scale production capabilities, industry expertise, and scale-up support to help transform innovative ideas into commercially viable solutions. ICIG Ventures acts as an active partner, often taking board seats and providing strategic guidance to portfolio companies. The firm focuses on investments that align with the strategic goals of ICIG platforms or enterprises targeting innovations where ICIG can add value. ICIG Ventures aims to empower visionary entrepreneurs and drive breakthroughs within their focus sectors. ICIG Ventures' approach includes direct investments with a ticket size ranging from €0.25 million to €5 million and syndicates with other investors. They believe in a long-term value creation process, leveraging their industry, consulting, and financing expertise to improve the operating and financial performance of their portfolio companies. The firm monitors and controls investments with effective planning and controlling tools customized for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The fund also provides access to ICIG Business Services, which offers one-stop IT solutions including IT consulting, network and server conception, and implementation of IT landscapes and services. This support aims to optimize work processes and increase efficiency within portfolio companies.
Impact VC Übermorgen
Übermorgen Ventures focuses on addressing the climate crisis by investing in early-stage startups that are building a resilient and zero-carbon economy. They believe that climate change presents an opportunity to disrupt industries and generate long-term value. The firm invests across three key areas: decarbonization, carbon removal, and adaptation & resilience. In decarbonization, they target technologies that reduce emissions across various sectors like energy, transportation, and agriculture. For carbon removal, they fund technologies that extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, alongside the development of markets that support these solutions. Lastly, they support adaptation and resilience measures to manage climate risks, protect ecosystems, and reduce vulnerability to environmental challenges. Übermorgen Ventures aims to empower founders to create scalable businesses that address climate at scale. They believe that climate tech is no longer a niche but a horizontal layer transforming every major industry. With an evergreen model, they aim for long-term impact and partner with entrepreneurs, scientists, and business leaders who share their mission. Übermorgen Ventures facilitates access to granular energy data, empowering developers to focus on innovation and integrate energy data into their applications seamlessly. Their investment approach also includes supporting efforts on measurement, reporting, and verification capabilities within the carbon removal space. The firm views investment in climate tech as critical for a sustainable future, seeking to foster innovation in areas like energy efficiency, electric vehicle charging, and demand response solutions. They support solutions like enhanced rock weathering, which helps remove emissions while also enhancing soil health and fertilizing crops. Übermorgen's vision is to unlock possibilities for fresh energy management solutions and accelerate the green energy transition. They see the potential of breeding enough tritium to maintain steady state consumption by fusion devices, as well as breeding excess tritium to start up the next reactor. They aim to support the development of technology that refines the filtration of impurities from hydrogen, allowing maximal throughput as fast as possible.
La Famiglia VC
La Famiglia is a European seed and growth stage venture capital fund that invests in technology companies enabling or disrupting large industries. They differentiate themselves by offering more than just capital; they act as a trusted access platform, creating unique relationships between established industries and innovative startups. This access platform provides portfolio companies with early market access, impactful partnerships, and deep expertise, leveraging the connections and experience of their network of world-leading entrepreneurs. Their investment strategy focuses on facilitating relationships between the 'old' and 'new' worlds, indicating a focus on companies that can bridge the gap between traditional industries and emerging technologies. This approach suggests they look for startups that can offer innovative solutions to challenges faced by established businesses, or those that can create entirely new markets by leveraging existing industry infrastructure and knowledge. By building a strong network of successful entrepreneurs, La Famiglia provides its portfolio companies with unparalleled access to mentorship, strategic guidance, and potential business opportunities. They aim to offer differentiated leverage on capital by creating an ecosystem where portfolio companies can benefit from the collective experience and resources of their investors and network. This hands-on approach suggests that La Famiglia actively works to support its portfolio companies beyond just financial investment.
Plug & Play EMEA Ventures GmbH
Investing in seed-stage European startups, especially in Spain, across AI, fintech, sustainability, and mobility, by combining capital with Plug and Play's global acceleration and corporate networks.
Positron Ventures
Positron Ventures focuses on helping and funding Europe-based scientist-entrepreneurs who are pursuing moonshots for planetary health. They invest in scientist-entrepreneurs working on breakthroughs across the natural sciences, backing teams from day one in their pursuit of solving major global challenges. The firm often acts as the first believer and investor, offering support across all aspects of building a company. They proactively conduct deep dives in scientific niches to thoroughly understand the state of science in a given field before investing. Their investment strategy appears to be focused on early-stage, pre-seed deeptech companies. Positron Ventures aims to turn breakthrough research into successful companies by investing at the frontier of science and building systems that help deeptech founders succeed. This includes support across operations, people, communications, and LP engagement. Positron Ventures invests in deeptech funds in Europe and the US, and is launching the Positron Foundation to support high-risk, pre-commercial research.
Project A Studio
Project A Studio is a proving ground for Europe's boldest entrepreneurial talent, partnering with founders at the ideation and validation stage. They provide hands-on support from their experienced team, helping to shape and test the founder's vision. When conviction is mutual, they lead the pre-seed round on founder-fair terms and bring in high-signal angels.
Realyze Ventures
Realyze Ventures invests in European startups leveraging technology and innovation to decarbonize the built environment, improve process efficiency, and enable superior returns. Focus areas include sustainability, energy efficiency, digitalization, and scalable solutions for real estate and construction challenges.
Rocket Internet
Rocket Internet operates as an incubator and investor in internet and technology companies globally. Their strategy revolves around identifying promising business models, building companies from scratch using proprietary processes (incubation), and providing operational support to help them scale internationally. They also invest in existing companies through their investment arm, Global Founders Capital. They aim to create market-leading companies and provide a unique blend of operational support and capital, backing entrepreneurs across all stages from seed to IPO.
STARTHUB Ventures
STARTHUB Ventures focuses on providing financial support and a vast network to visionary entrepreneurs in the pre-seed and seed stages. They aim to boost leading young entrepreneurs and take their businesses to the next level, step by step, until they reach the sky. Their investment strategy revolves around identifying founders who combine vision with execution excellence, can build and lead outstanding teams, and have the courage and ability to change markets. They look at around 1,500 to 2,000 early-stage startups per year, primarily through recommendations from other investors, founders of portfolio companies, databases, media publications, accelerator graduates, and events. They emphasize the importance of early-stage capital and leverage their network, particularly in international logistics, to assist portfolio companies. The firm is open to various fields but primarily invests in digital companies within specific sectors. Their investment process includes sourcing, contact, deal screening, co-investor meetings, due diligence, contract negotiations, closing/signing, and payment. The duration can vary from 2 hours to 2-3 weeks depending on the startup's investment readiness. The firm looks for companies with founders who have experience and where contracts are finalized already. Alternatively, they also invest in companies coming out of accelerator programs and are ready to take the lead on first round investments. They aim to be the largest private investor in the first round. The firm wants a referral from an existing portfolio company or co-investor.