SURPLUS Equity Partners

ALP.X Group is a management-owned, entrepreneurial holding company that specializes in investment and development management, focusing on Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Corporate Growth. The firm operates in Germany and the United States, shaping urban and rural neighborhoods through residential, hospitality, and mixed-use real estate projects. It also focuses on renewable energy production and battery storage through solar and wind farm development in Bavaria and the rest of Germany. Within the Real Estate and Infrastructure verticals, ALP.X provides services as a developer, asset manager, investment manager, consultant, due diligence provider, and underwriting provider. A core aspect of their strategy is to build up independent long-term holdings under the group structure. The firm also invests in and manages companies relevant to urban development and energy production, including areas such as parking management, modular construction, AI-based data management, and hospitality concepts. ALP.X is actively seeking acquisition opportunities in Germany and the United States across their focus sectors, with specific acquisition profiles available on their website. These profiles detail the types of assets and developments they are interested in, including hospitality, repositioning projects, manage-to-green opportunities, residential buildings, parking facilities, project developments, and photovoltaic projects. The firm's strategic approach involves a combination of direct development, asset management, and venture capital-style investments to capitalize on the evolving trends in urban development and renewable energy production. Their team possesses extensive experience in real estate, infrastructure, investment banking, venture capital, and consulting, enabling them to effectively manage and grow their investments.
Saarländische Wagnisfinanzierungsgesellschaft mbH
Focuses on financing innovative, technology-driven startups with strong competitive advantages in the Saarland region. Emphasizes long-term partnerships, supporting founders from ideation to scaling, with a track record of over 75 portfolio companies since 1997. Open to co-investments and operates through the Saarländische Investitionskreditbank AG (SIKB).
Schumpeter Ventures

Schumpeter Ventures operates as an early-stage venture capital fund focused on the financial industry. Their investment strategy is built around the concept of a "3rd generation" VC fund. This involves specializing in the FinTech, InsurTech, and Cyber Security sectors, actively building ecosystems by fostering synergies among their portfolio companies. Schumpeter Ventures positions itself as an active partner, supporting startups in their development at a technological level. The firm emphasizes the importance of synergies between its portfolio companies, complemented by business-building activities rooted in a deep understanding of both industry and technology. By bringing together young companies with harmonizing skills and resources, they aim to achieve efficiency enhancements, cost savings, and economies of scale. They aim to create space for exceptionally innovative solutions incorporating disruptive technologies, positioning their investments to shape the future of technology-driven financial services. Their focus on ecosystems and synergies is a key differentiator. They actively shape the corporate development of their investments and leverage a powerful, active investor network. The firm is committed to identifying and nurturing startups with an exceptional sense for the future, providing the resources and expertise needed to revolutionize the finance and insurance industry. They focus on the challenges of today and tomorrow within the digital finance and insurance landscape. They drive the transformation of economic ecosystems by combining experience, impact, and technical expertise. Their technical expertise stems from collaborations with renowned research institutions and universities, as well as their close partnership.
Senovo

Senovo is an early-stage B2B software fund based in Europe, investing since 2013 in a new generation of European B2B software companies. They make a limited number of high-conviction investments per year in founders aiming to redefine categories. Their specialization allows them to have a real impact, providing deep understanding of B2B operations and support in areas like go-to-market strategy, US expansion, organizational scaling, and financial budgeting. They focus on solutions that enable the digitalization of medium and large enterprises, with a particular interest in AI-first products. Their primary areas of investment include cybersecurity, industrial tech, open source, infrastructure, SaaS, and other deep tech B2B software products. Senovo joins companies after they have achieved product-market fit and are generating initial revenue with their first customers. They recognize the crucial phase of building a scalable sales model, creating a performance-driven HR approach, and expanding internationally. They aim to help companies achieve these milestones in preparation for a larger subsequent growth round. Senovo seeks founders who build companies based on trust, innovation, and pushing boundaries. They understand the startup journey is not always easy, but strive for ambitious goals.
Senovo Capital Management GmbH

Senovo Capital Management is an early-stage B2B software fund based in Europe. They specialize in making a limited number of high-conviction investments each year, targeting founders who aim to redefine their respective categories. They invest in companies that have achieved product-market fit and are generating initial revenues. Senovo focuses on helping these companies build scalable sales models, create performance-driven HR approaches, and expand internationally, which are crucial for securing subsequent growth rounds. Their investment strategy centers around supporting the digitalization of medium and large enterprises. They primarily invest in AI-first products within cybersecurity, industrial tech, open source, infrastructure, SaaS, and other deep tech B2B software solutions. Senovo aims to be a European first-mover in identifying and supporting the next generation of B2B software companies. Senovo emphasizes specialization, leveraging their deep understanding of B2B operations to provide real impact. They offer support in areas such as go-to-market strategies, US expansion, organizational scaling, and financial planning. They believe that successful companies are built on trust, innovation, and a willingness to push boundaries, recognizing that the startup journey is rarely straightforward and advocating for ambitious goals.
Simon Capital

Simon Capital focuses on investing in driven founders who are reshaping their industries for a sustainable next generation. Their investment strategy involves backing companies from Seed to Series A and beyond, providing support through continuous sparring and network access in addition to financial investment. They emphasize partnerships with companies that address significant challenges and create positive impact, as exemplified by their investments in companies focused on sustainable consumption, social impact, and innovative technologies.
Spotlight Ventures

Spotlight! Ventures is a venture builder and early-stage technology investment firm focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. They invest in courageous founders and teams with passion, ambition, a willingness to take risks, determination, and innovative ideas, aiming to give companies a stage and support their growth from early stages to success. The firm operates at the intersection of technology, ingenuity, and originality, concentrating on the digital lifestyle. They build successful, global companies by partnering with brave tech companies that will shape the future. They prioritize inspiring personalities with big ideas who are willing to face challenges. Spotlight! Ventures supports portfolio companies in strategic decisions and operational challenges. Their team has experience in business model development, sales, new work, marketing, and public relations. They offer access to a global ecosystem and network, connecting startups with relevant players from business, science, research, VCs, and influencers.
TS Ventures
Backing early-stage technical founders across Europe and the US, focusing on AI, SaaS, DevTools, and B2B infrastructure with operational conviction.
Team Global Management GmbH

Team Global Management GmbH's mission is to create a better world via technology by creating organizations, products, and services that generate profound and lasting societal value. Their overarching goal is to participate in formulating and executing a vision for a better world by 2080, leveraging technology to address global challenges. They aim to unlock 100x energy through investments in climate technology, focusing on energy generation and decarbonization. The firm aims to foster world peace, global respect, and collaboration, emphasizing the responsible handling of technology. They envision significant increases in investment in education, advocating for a 10x to 100x increase in resources and attention. The firm's specific goals for the near future include fostering the development of air mobility to reduce reliance on traditional cars and investing in technology to combat climate change. They are building companies to solve the climate issues combining energy generation and decarbonization.
TecPier

TecPier is a specialized venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage B2B technology startups within the maritime, logistics, and supply chain sectors. Their investment thesis revolves around the belief that these industries are ripe for disruption through technology, offering significant opportunities for innovation and growth. They aim to identify and support companies developing solutions that enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and create new revenue streams in these traditionally underserved markets. TecPier looks for companies leveraging data-driven insights, automation, and connectivity to transform maritime operations, logistics processes, and global supply chain management. The fund seeks ventures that address specific pain points in these sectors and demonstrate the potential to scale rapidly.
Tengelmann Ventures

Based on the limited information available, Tengelmann Ventures appears to focus on investing in companies with disruptive potential and a strong vision. They emphasize a partnership-based approach, highlighting trust, open communication, and providing resources beyond just financial capital. The firm seems to value founders who are ambitious and driven to make a real difference, focusing on long-term value creation. They see challenges as opportunities for growth and emphasize learning together as crucial to success. The testimonials suggest a commitment to supporting their portfolio companies through turbulent times and offering valuable advice.
The Family Venture Capital

The Family is a fellowship of founders that selects 50 startups twice a year from around the world. In exchange for 5% equity, they provide advice, mindset, network and access to a world-class investor demo day. They believe in building ambitious startups by mixing the best of different worlds, including international entrepreneur know-how and local talent. They focus on providing education, tools, and access to capital to courageous founders. They aim to address key players, from corporates to public decision makers, in a startup-unfriendly context. They believe ambition can be taught and is a social construct and that being surrounded by highly motivated and skilled founders is key. They believe in the power of a community with a pay-it-forward culture.
VAERING

VAERING is a family-owned investment company based in Germany that focuses on supporting independent entrepreneurs with capital, expertise, and a long-term perspective. Founded in 2021 by the family behind KAEFER, a 100+ year old industrial services company, VAERING seeks to invest in solutions for decarbonization across various sectors including industry, buildings, and transportation, as well as promoting energy efficiency and circular economy practices. Their investment philosophy prioritizes a cultural fit and alignment of values over short-term financial gains, aiming for long-term development of their portfolio companies and partnerships built on mutual respect. VAERING's approach involves active engagement and support for their portfolio companies, leveraging the family's entrepreneurial background and industrial expertise. They provide not only financial resources but also strategic guidance, operational support, and access to their network. Key considerations when evaluating potential investments include the compatibility of the people and ideas with their values and goals, the potential for the investment to promote sustainability, and the company's commitment to long-term thinking and responsibility. They seek to partner with companies that are addressing significant challenges related to sustainability and that demonstrate a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions or minimizing plastic waste. They are particularly interested in industrial products and services that can be economically and ecologically aligned to be successful in the market. The team emphasizes transparency, digitization, new forms of collaboration, and improved employee health as important factors for success in today's business environment. VAERING differentiates itself from traditional investment firms by its focus on long-term value creation, its deep understanding of industrial businesses, and its commitment to sustainability. They are willing to take a patient approach to investing, prioritizing the long-term growth and impact of their portfolio companies over short-term returns. Their origins as a family-owned business also influence their investment approach, prioritizing trust, partnership, and a collaborative approach to working with entrepreneurs.
Vanagon Ventures

Vanagon Ventures is a Munich-based venture capital firm that focuses on pre-seed investments in DeepTech and AI-Native companies across the DACH region and Europe. They aim to accelerate Europe's growth by investing in founders working on innovations in sectors like Advanced Manufacturing, Future Materials, Geospatial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence, and Next-Gen Computing. Vanagon distinguishes itself by investing early, even where doubt and risk are high, and providing hands-on support to founders from day one. They believe traditional SaaS metrics are ill-suited for DeepTech and prefer to focus on the long-term potential of deep customer collaboration and strong IP development. Vanagon fosters a community-led approach with founders and actively facilitates follow-on funding through their network.
Velvet Ventures

Velvet Ventures focuses on building innovative B2B events and platforms. They aim to connect business leaders and digital innovators through various event formats. Since 2010, they have been launching new events regularly, targeting decision-makers from top companies across diverse industries. Their portfolio includes leading B2B trade shows and conferences like d3con and Spielmacher, highlighting their expertise in creating valuable networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities. Their business model is event creation and operation, not direct venture investing.
Venista Ventures

Venista Ventures is a seed capital fund that invests in ambitious founders with visionary ideas addressing current and future challenges. They aim to be among the first investors in the startups they support, with a broad investment approach across various verticals. The firm positions itself as more than a traditional VC, leveraging the founders' experience in scaling companies, including both successes and failures. This experience allows them to serve as engaged sparring partners, particularly in online marketing, B2B sales, and recruiting. Furthermore, the Venista Ventures group includes two fully-owned and operating agencies, providing additional resources and expertise to portfolio companies. They are looking for tech-driven enterprise and consumer internet startups.
Venture Stars GmbH

Backs disruptive, founder-friendly digital ventures with hands-on support from a team of serial internet entrepreneurs. Focuses on mentorship, operational guidance, and long-term partnership.
Visionaries Club

Visionaries invests in founders who embody obsession, ambition, and conviction, connecting them with a network of elite mentors (LPs) from tech and industrial sectors. Their thesis centers on empowering the top 0.1% of founders with access to the top 0.1% of experts, fostering rapid growth through mentorship, early customer adoption, and unique market insights. They prioritize companies building foundational infrastructure for AI, enterprise tools, and productivity, with a focus on solving real customer problems rather than chasing hype. Their model rejects institutional bloat, emphasizing obsession and conviction over size and consensus.
Vorsprung Partners

Vorsprung Partners provides entrepreneurial capital to hidden champion companies in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). They focus on the German Mittelstand, bridging the gap between entrepreneurial vision and family capital. Their strategy involves a buy-hold-develop model with patient capital from experienced investors and family equity, providing stability and a long-term perspective. Vorsprung actively develops its portfolio companies through strategic initiatives and hands-on operational support, with an ESG-focused value creation approach. The firm combines family and institutional capital with the discipline of private equity, aiming to build enduring success for all stakeholders. They provide expertise that drives sustainable growth while safeguarding businesses’ principles and independence. They work hand in hand with founder and owner families, offering flexible rollover options and long-term collaboration that preserve their entrepreneurial heritage. Vorsprung connects them to a wider network of like-minded business families, ensuring continuity, shared values, and sustainable growth for the future. Vorsprung invests with a long-term mindset, ensuring alignment of interests with business owners. Their approach creates trusted partnerships where continuity, legacy, and sustainable growth are safeguarded for the next generation. From day one post-acquisition, they strengthen management teams, professionalize structures, and unlock both organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Their hands-on approach to governance, reporting, and strategy ensures companies scale sustainably while maintaining their entrepreneurial spirit. They aim to transform companies with limited or no ESG footprint into sustainability and impact leaders, integrating environmental, social, and governance standards into strategy and operations. By preserving entrepreneurial DNA while providing strategic support, they help companies thrive well beyond the transition.
Vsquared Ventures Management GmbH

Vsquared Ventures focuses on investing in "madmen and -women" who are building technologies that advance society and engineer the impossible. They seek out transformative entrepreneurs and technologies at the convergence of various technological breakthroughs, acting on conviction rather than trends. They believe in supporting founders from the early stages, being the first investor in companies like Isar Aerospace and IQM. Their mission is to accelerate and scale the vision of these entrepreneurs, unlocking all possibilities of the seemingly impossible by providing dedicated partnership.
WENWEST CAPITAL

WENVEST Capital is a Munich-based early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on investing in B2B software companies across the DACH region. They aim to back ambitious founders from day zero to meaningful scale, providing patient and pragmatic capital. WENVEST emphasizes long-term capital, entrepreneurial empathy, and a broader view of what success looks like for their portfolio companies. They invest early and stay late, partnering with founders to build great companies that aren't built overnight.
Wenvest Capital

Wenvest Capital is a Munich-based early-stage venture capital firm specializing in B2B software companies across the DACH region. They aim to back ambitious founders from day zero to meaningful scale, providing patient and pragmatic capital. Wenvest Capital focuses on providing long-term capital with entrepreneurial empathy, with a broader view of what success looks like for founders. They invest early and stay late. They focus on B2B software and have an initial check size of EUR 250k - 1M.
WestTech Ventures

WestTech Ventures is a Berlin-based investment firm that operates with a dual investment strategy. They invest in emerging VC funds in Europe, specifically targeting Micro VCs and Solo GPs. Complementing this fund investment strategy, they also selectively invest in startups through their network. The overarching theme is a commitment to backing ventures dedicated to creating a positive global impact through technological innovation. WestTech emphasizes leveraging its deep understanding of the startup ecosystem, accumulated from over 90 investments, to provide supportive partnership throughout the entrepreneurial journey.
iVentureCapital GmbH
iVentureGroup GmbH, founded in 2006, has over 200 experts in IT Development, Online Marketing and Traffic Management, Analytics, and strategic product management. They consider themselves entrepreneurs with a start-up spirit. As a venture capitalist, they have supported dozens of companies in achieving their goals. Their portfolio includes community platforms in online dating, payment systems, traffic solutions, analysis tools, and disruptive advertising technologies. The firm has offices in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Kiel. They invest in scalable online firms, traffic solutions, disruptive advertising technologies, as well as Big Data and analysis tools. Their approach, called “Smart Money,” includes financial investment and active entrepreneurial support, offering portfolio companies experience and expertise.