Join Capital
Join Capital focuses on investing in early-stage deep tech companies that are building foundational technologies to solve critical problems and create strategic strongholds. They prioritize companies with the potential to lead, scale, and last, aiming to support ventures that can address the world's toughest challenges. Their investment approach centers on providing close support to founders, leveraging deep expertise from industry, enterprise, and venture capital to transform breakthrough ideas into scalable solutions. They target areas where the next industrial edge isn't flashy but fundamental, such as defense, space, enterprise, AI & cybersecurity, industrial advanced materials and autonomous systems.
LEA Partners
LEA Partners is a venture capital and private equity firm based in Karlsruhe, Germany. Their investment strategy focuses on B2B software and technology companies in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and other parts of Europe. They target both early-stage and buy-out opportunities, aiming to partner with companies demonstrating strong market positions or the potential to achieve market leadership. LEA Partners leverages its deep understanding of the B2B software landscape to support its portfolio companies through strategic guidance, operational expertise, and access to a network of industry experts. They look for companies with scalable business models, recurring revenue streams, and strong management teams.
MIG Capital
MIG Capital's core philosophy revolves around "Aus Visionen Werte schaffen" which translates to "Creating value from visions". The firm focuses on partnering with entrepreneurs to shape the companies of tomorrow. Although the specific investment thesis isn't explicitly detailed on the homepage, the numerous portfolio companies and their exit data suggest a strong interest in innovative technology and healthcare companies. Their strategy seems to involve identifying promising early-stage ventures, providing capital and support for growth, and ultimately achieving successful exits through acquisitions or IPOs.
Matterwave Ventures
Matterwave Ventures is a European VC firm focused on backing hardware and software companies in the Industrial Technologies space. They aim to empower early-stage companies to reshape industrial value chains and become global leaders. The firm's core belief centers around funding companies that contribute to a sustainable, sovereign, and digitalized European industry. Their investment strategy revolves around three key areas: Industrial Tech, Deep Tech, and Climate Tech. In Industrial Tech, they support the digital transformation of industry to create upskilled local workforces, globally competitive, high-value exports, and superior industrial products. For Deep Tech, they back global champions in frontier technologies, building resilient supply chains and sovereign dual-use capabilities for long-term industrial autonomy. In Climate Tech, they invest in technologies driving smart industrial decarbonization, enabling global winners in novel climate solutions, and delivering proven climate impact at scale. They are particularly interested in companies that address the challenges and opportunities within the European industrial landscape. This includes fostering technological independence, promoting sustainable practices, and driving the adoption of digital solutions across various industrial sectors. They aim to create a future where European industries are competitive on a global scale, while also remaining environmentally conscious and socially responsible. Matterwave Ventures seeks companies demonstrating groundbreaking innovations that can have a significant impact on the European industrial ecosystem. They are dedicated to supporting the growth and development of these businesses, with a focus on enabling them to become market leaders and contribute to the overall advancement of European industry.
Merantix Capital
Merantix Capital focuses on building and investing in AI-native companies. Their approach includes a venture studio model, where they partner with pre-idea entrepreneurs to define new AI categories and build companies from scratch. Simultaneously, they operate a venture capital fund that invests in pre-seed and seed-stage AI-native companies. They aim to leverage Europe’s largest and most diverse AI community to provide support and resources to their portfolio companies. This multi-faceted approach allows them to identify, create, and nurture promising AI ventures from the earliest stages.
NRW.BANK
NRW.BANK is the promotional bank of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. Its primary objective is to support the state of NRW in its structural and economic policy tasks. It achieves this by offering a wide range of funding instruments across three main areas: Economy, Housing, and Infrastructure/Municipalities. These instruments include low-interest promotional loans, equity financing, and promotional consulting services. NRW.BANK operates in a competition-neutral manner, collaborating with all banks and savings banks in NRW. The bank's support for the economy includes initiatives for startups, established companies, and those undergoing transformation. This support ranges from providing basic guidance for new businesses to offering venture capital for startups through programs like NRW.Venture. For established companies, NRW.BANK facilitates growth, investment, digitalization, innovation, and internationalization through structured financing and equity capital. In the housing sector, NRW.BANK supports private individuals in building or buying homes, modernizing existing properties, making them accessible, and preserving historical buildings. The bank also assists in creating rental housing and offers services for existing customers and financing for associations. For infrastructure and municipalities, NRW.BANK provides long-term investment financing, secures liquidity, manages funding, and offers consulting on economic efficiency in municipal construction, sustainable municipal development, and investments in areas like digitalization, infrastructure, climate protection, housing, and waste management.
Occident Group
Occident Group is an owner-managed venture capital investor focused on financing spin-offs from scientific research. They invest in deep-tech startups with the aim of translating scientific research results into real-world applications. Their investment decisions are guided by the potential for sustainable success and align with their values of innovation, meaningfulness, expertise, partnership, and integrity. They invest their own money, make decisions based on the sustainable potential for success, and enable founding teams to achieve outstanding results. The firm emphasizes long-term relationships with their portfolio companies, providing not only financial support but also extensive experience and an entrepreneurial mindset.
Partners in Clime
Partners in Clime is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage green tech companies. They aim to back founders with capital and mentoring, offering founder-friendly terms that prioritize the startup's vision. The firm seeks to invest in and grow "polar bears" - companies that are both economically and ecologically successful. They provide startups with capital, hands-on support, access to a broad network of investors, and introductions to green tech partners.
Phoenix Contact Innovation Ventures GmbH
Investing in highly disruptive technologies to enable a sustainable future, focusing on scalable digital business models that enhance energy efficiency, renewable energy availability, and industrial optimization.
Planet A GmbH
Planet A GmbH is a European venture capital firm focused on investing in and supporting founders tackling the world's largest environmental problems. The firm believes that venture capital has the power to accelerate the transformation to a sustainable future and aims to make scientific impact investing the new normal. They strive to assess the ecological innovation potential of startups through close collaboration between scientists and entrepreneurs, using a science-meets-business approach. The firm quantifies the impact of a startup through life cycle assessments, and their scientists hold the power to veto investments without significant positive and quantifiable impact. Planet A believes that when founders profit, the planet profits too.
Project A Ventures
Project A Ventures is an early-stage VC firm focused on partnering with European entrepreneurs building the next generation of iconic companies. They invest in pre-seed and seed stages, providing initial investments ranging from €1m to €6m. The firm emphasizes a long-term, shoulder-to-shoulder approach, aiming to support founders through all cycles and build bold ideas into enduring businesses. Project A acts as early believers, offering support and expertise to overcome early-stage roadblocks. They are pan-European, investing from London to Berlin and beyond, and have a strong network that helps founders scale. Project A combines deep thematic expertise with a generalist platform, investing across sectors. The firm's investment themes include European Resilience, focusing on stronger national security, technological sovereignty, and democratic stability, as well as Fintech, towards democratic markets and efficient industries.
Rethink Ventures
Investing in visionary European startups redefining logistics, supply chain, and mobility tech through collaborative innovation networks with corporate partners.
Revent
Revent backs mission-driven founders addressing critical societal and planetary challenges through technology. Their thesis centers on companies that combine purpose with profit, aiming for measurable societal impact alongside financial returns.
Scalehouse Capital
Scalehouse Capital is an early-stage VC firm with a strong conviction in AI. They invest in compounding startups and teams, working closely with exceptional founders. The firm is backed by Venture Partners and investors who have built or backed Billion-Euro companies. Their investment strategy focuses on identifying and supporting startups that are shifting traditional SaaS models towards output-oriented products and offerings, particularly those leveraging AI to automate previously labor-intensive services and create new markets. Scalehouse emerged from a syndicate of entrepreneurs and business owners leading companies with over €20 billion in combined annual revenues. They have a unique Mittelstands-DNA, stemming from their origin in Seedhouse, a leading German innovation platform backed by 'Hidden Champions' and family-owned enterprises. This foundation provides the fund with access to a network of experienced business leaders and a deep understanding of traditional industries. The firm believes in the convergence of product and service, favoring a 'McTool' approach where consulting know-how is embedded directly into the product, providing customer-specific tailored solutions. They see potential in areas like professional services, financial and insurance services, and customer service, where AI can automate repetitive processes and enhance efficiency. Scalehouse Capital's team is focused on partnering with founders building 'Vertical AI Agents' that disrupt the services sector. Their portfolio companies are actively demonstrating how AI is redefining large parts of the services sector. They are actively investing in early-stage software startups that are AI-first and on their way to shifting traditional SaaS to output-oriented products and offerings and look to partner with 6-10 new startups every year.
Summiteer GmbH
Summiteer GmbH is a Venture Capital and Private Equity firm based in Southern Germany that supports companies creating sustainable value through innovative business models. They aim to be a strong partner to ambitious entrepreneurs, driving real change and achieving significant goals. The firm's investment philosophy is rooted in a shared understanding of values with portfolio companies, emphasizing commitment, goal-oriented action, high-quality standards, mutual respect, and sustainable, profitable, and responsible business practices. Summiteer leverages its extensive experience and know-how gained from successful business operations and capital market activities within the Schulz Group GmbH, a family holding company with a diversified portfolio across industries like automotive, engineering, machinery, software, and investment. They provide not only capital, but also strategic and operational guidance, drawing from the experience of building AKASOL AG, a leading German battery system manufacturer, from a startup to a global technology leader. Sven Schulz, the founder, aims to share his knowledge and open his network to aspiring entrepreneurs. Summiteer provides long-term private capital without a fixed term.
TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen
CFH, operating as TGFS Technologiegründerfonds Sachsen and WMS Wachstumsfonds Mittelstand Sachsen, provides tailored equity solutions to startups and established SMEs in Saxony, Germany. They aim to support Saxon companies across diverse financing needs by offering capital and know-how, leveraging an established network in business, administration, industry, and finance. For startups, they focus on technology financing, and for established SMEs, they facilitate growth financing and succession solutions. CFH offers capital and Mezzanine financing to growth-oriented mid-sized businesses. They have been active in Saxony for over 25 years, indicating a strong commitment to the regional economy. Their investment strategy involves two active funds: TGFS, targeting founders and young companies, focusing on knowledge-based, technology-driven startups, and WMS, dedicated to supporting established Mittelstand companies. CFH has a team with over 190 years of combined investment experience, having realized a substantial number of transactions and invested a considerable amount of capital (amount not specified). They emphasize a partnership-based approach with their portfolio companies, drawing on their extensive transaction experience and internal team capabilities, with significant experience in structuring and exiting deals. CFH aims to be a reliable partner, assisting companies not only with capital but also with strategic guidance and leveraging their network for growth and success. They provide access to their vast experience and resources to ensure portfolio companies thrive. Their focus on technology-driven and high-growth potential businesses suggests a forward-looking approach, contributing to the innovation ecosystem in Saxony and beyond.
Target Partners
Target Partners is a German venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in radical technologies with global potential. They emphasize a long-term investment horizon, providing ongoing support to their portfolio companies. The firm is composed of engineers and scientists with extensive experience in software development and company building. They prioritize technologies and scalable business models, aiming to partner with entrepreneurs who are building enduring companies rather than pursuing quick exits. With a strong understanding of technology and markets, Target Partners seeks to be a value-added investor, providing guidance and support beyond just financial capital.
Trind Ventures
Trind Ventures backs bold consumer ideas across Europe, focusing on early-stage consumer and community-driven startups. They invest in founders who build for real users, not just pitch decks, and provide support from the first ticket to multi-round investments. They look for startups that spark change and demonstrate early traction that can be turned into lasting growth. The firm is committed to long-term partnerships with its portfolio companies. The firm's focus is on companies operating in the consumer sector, including apps, marketplaces, and community-driven platforms. They prioritize companies that are building products people actually use, love, and talk about. Trind Ventures aims to help its portfolio companies scale with discipline, emphasizing capital efficiency and strong execution. Specifically, they are looking for companies that are addressing changing consumer attitudes, rising awareness of sustainability, and increasing cost-consciousness. They're excited to support companies expanding into new markets and bringing sustainable options to a broader audience.
Tvm-Capital
TVM Capital Life Science invests in the development of exciting life science products and the growth of companies to become innovative leaders in their market segment. They work closely with portfolio companies as true partners, enabling their ideas and bringing new therapies and medical products to market. Their approach focuses on building value for investors by providing capital to reach value inflection points, offering solid exit options. TVM employs a dual-pronged strategy. One aspect involves financing innovative early-stage therapeutics through single-asset companies, leveraging a strategic relationship with Eli Lilly and Company. The other is investing in differentiated commercial-stage medtech, diagnostics, digital health products, and late-stage therapeutics. TVM focuses on investments with clear and attractive exit strategies to maximize returns in a reasonable timeframe. Beyond capital, TVM provides portfolio companies with resources tailored to their needs, including recruiting management and board members, honing development, sales and marketing plans, QMS and manufacturing/supply chain logistics, regulatory strategies, finding potential partners, and executing financing and exit strategies. They aim to build groundbreaking companies that become industry leaders. TVM Capital Life Science emerged from Techno Venture Management, launched in 1983, and has focused exclusively on Life Sciences since 2012. The firm invests in assets and companies that provide a clear and attractive exit strategy, with the goal of maximizing returns.
UVC Partners
UVC Partners invests in visionary B2B startups that drive transformative change across Europe. Their focus is on early-stage companies with radical, scalable solutions in technology, sustainability, and industry disruption. They provide long-term support, investing up to €10 million and committing to a collaborative partnership for the long haul.
Unternehmertum Venture Capital
Unternehmertum Venture Capital focuses on supporting and empowering entrepreneurs to solve societal challenges and drive technological innovation. They aim to build entrepreneurial bridges and foster collaboration within the Munich innovation ecosystem and beyond. Their strategy includes providing resources, education, and networking opportunities to startups, fostering corporate innovation partnerships, and facilitating access to new markets. They are deeply involved in creating a leading startup hub in Europe, with a strong connection to the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The firm seeks to identify and scale promising startups, helping them to mature and contribute to the global economy. They demonstrate a commitment to building a strong ecosystem and supporting ventures from their earliest stages through to sustainable growth.
YZR Capital
YZR Capital is a venture capital firm focused on investing in European healthcare pioneers. Their mission is to back ambitious entrepreneurs tackling complex challenges in global healthcare. They combine deep expertise with fast execution, providing functional and healthcare-specific know-how to their portfolio companies from day one. The firm aims to help build global champions with lasting impact by partnering with European founders who are shaping the future of global healthcare. They invest in category-defining companies across Europe, focusing on companies that are improving patient care, increasing provider efficiencies, and innovating value chains within healthcare. They are particularly interested in teams solving large problems with scalable, tech-enabled solutions. YZR Capital's investment approach appears to be hands-on, offering functional and healthcare-specific support to help their portfolio companies scale and succeed. This suggests a value-add approach beyond just providing capital, which includes operational guidance and industry-specific expertise.
YZR Capital GmbH
YZR Capital focuses on investing in European HealthTech companies, from pre-seed to Series B, that are improving patient care, increasing provider efficiencies, and innovating value chains within healthcare. They aim to back ambitious entrepreneurs tackling complex challenges in global healthcare, combining deep expertise with fast execution to help build global champions with lasting impact. The firm emphasizes a hands-on, collaborative approach, leveraging their sector expertise to accelerate growth and support the founder's vision, building strong personal relationships with a shared ambition, and the freedom to innovate. They focus on quality over quantity, backing the right founders at the right time, and scaling them into market leaders across Europe. YZR Capital believes Europe offers an unmatched mix of world-class talent, deep tech expertise, and rising healthcare innovation potential. They aim to fill a critical knowledge gap and deploy capital when others paused, positioning themselves as a catalyst for this fast-growing ecosystem. They seek to partner with founders who are making healthcare more efficient, transparent, and accessible, building solutions that shape a healthier future. Their investment approach is centered around supporting founders who are building category-defining companies with scalable, tech-enabled solutions. They actively support their portfolio companies with functional and healthcare-specific know-how from day one. They aim to identify and scale companies that can address the growing challenges within healthcare such as a shortage of healthcare workers and the increasing number of people living with chronic diseases.
another.vc
another.vc focuses on founders who embrace a different way of thinking, prioritizing the people behind the companies rather than rigid investment theses. Recognizing that products and ideas often evolve in the early stages, the firm places a strong emphasis on the founders' capabilities and adaptability. Their investment approach involves fast decision-making, prioritizing conversations over formal pitches. They aim to provide an initial investment of €100k.