The startup ecosystem in Germany is quite dynamic and full of opportunities. The country has seen many startups emerge over the years, but investors have always been picky about their investment decisions. As a result, only 20% of the funding goes to early-stage companies and another 20% goes to late-stage companies.
1. Venture capital capital
Venture Capital Earlybird is a German venture capital firm. Founded in 2011 by Maximilian Bittner, Janis Zech and Andreas Stolterfoht, the company has over 300 employees and is headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
Earlybird has raised €872 million since inception, making it one of Europe’s largest venture capital funds.
2. Global Founders Capital
Global Founders Capital is a venture capital firm that focuses on early stage startups. The company was founded in 2013 by former Managing Director of Earlybird Venture Capital, Stefan Glänzer, and has invested in over 50 companies. It focuses on Series A Rounds and provides seed funding for Berlin-based startups.
3. Plan a business
Project A Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies. The company specializes in seed-stage investing and has invested in over 100 startups since its founding in 2014.
Project A Ventures was founded by Eckhard Wortmann and Stefan Schubert, two founders who previously worked at Rocket Internet, the Berlin-based incubator and accelerator. Wortmann also spent time working as a consultant for several banks before founding Project A Ventures with Schubert.
4. BTOV Partners
Founded in 2015, BTOV Partners is a Berlin-based venture capital firm focused on consumer and enterprise companies. The company was founded by Ralf Böhme, who previously invested as a partner at Rocket Internet. The company has participated in early funding rounds for companies such as Flixbus and Kiwi Campus.
The average investment size is between €50,000 and €1,000,000 with investment on startups creating innovative solutions using artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology or augmented reality. In addition to its own investment funds, BTOV also works closely with venture capital fund Deutsche Telekom (DT) and has received funding from T-Venture as well as various banks, including Deutsche Bank Capital Finance International GmbH ( Deutsche Bank).
5. Cherry Ventures
Cherry Ventures is a German venture capital firm that has invested in over 100 companies. The company was founded in 2007 by [founder] and has offices in Berlin, Munich and London.
Cherry Ventures invests in early-stage companies across Europe, with a focus on Germany, France and the UK. Cherry Ventures generally prefers to invest between €1 million and €10 million per funding round (also known as Series A). In 2018 alone, Cherry Ventures made fifteen new investments – increasing its total number of portfolio companies to 114.
The company’s most notable releases include the delivery of the Hero which was acquired by Takeaway Group for billion; Kreditech which was acquired by BOA Capital Partners for 0 million; Unacast which was acquired by IHS Markit for 0 million
6. Spring
Springlane is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. Springlane was founded in 2016 by former Rocket Internet executives. They have offices in Berlin and London, where they invest in over 100 companies every year.
7.Brands
Wethebrands is a global venture capital firm with a focus on the internet and technology sectors. Wethebrands has invested in over 50 companies, including Graze, Wag and Secret Escapes.
Wethebrands was founded in 2009 as an asset manager for family offices and institutional investors by Matthias Huelsebusch, Head of Private Investments at Deutsche Bank Private Banking (Europe). He originally set up Wethebrands as a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank Group – but since then has grown into an independent venture capital fund.
8.Apx
APX is a venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests in early-stage companies. The company has invested in over 100 companies across Europe and the US, including startups like Lendify, Letsplayer and Freebird.
APX has offices in Berlin, London and New York.
9. IBB Ventures
IBB Ventures is a Berlin-based venture capital firm investing in European startups. IBB Ventures invests in seed and pre-series rounds and provides follow-on funding to growing companies.
The company has invested in over 100 companies since its founding in 2013, including:
- Diredify (acquired by Groupon)
- Myswimpro (acquired by Under Armor)
- Playtika
10. Companion
Companisto is a German venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. The company was founded in 2011 and has since invested in more than 100 companies, including Deliving Hero (sold to Lufthansa), Home24 (acquired by CBRE), Bugaboo and Cliqz. Companisto is one of Germany’s leading investors, with 0 million under management across its two funds.
11. Final
FinLab invests in seed and early stage companies. FinLab is a venture capital firm that invests in seed and early-stage companies in fintech, healthcare and EDTech. It was founded in 2012 by Maximilian Tayenthal and Christian Nagel.
The company currently has offices in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf.
12. The delta
The Delta is a German venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups. The company was founded in 2017 by Martin Zwilling, who also co-founded Rocket Internet and Global Founders Capital. In 2019, the Delta invested in 20 companies (including three financing rounds). The company’s portfolio includes Trivver, Gigawatt and Ringier Axel Springer Media Impact Fund.
13. Blueyard Capital
Blueyard Capital is a venture capital firm based in Berlin, Germany. The company was founded in 2014 by Jan Brzezinski and Christian Vollmann.
Blueyard Capital invests in seed, start-up and growth companies. It has made over 100 investments since its inception, including companies such as Delivery Hero (which it led early funding rounds) and Rocket Internet (the firm invested in Rocket Internet’s first institutional round). Its portfolio also includes startups like Backbase GMBH, YourparkingSpace GmbH, Hundeland24 GmbH & Co Kg
14. Stolen Ventures
Fly Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Berlin, Germany. It was founded by Christian Rauch and Jan Müller-Michaelis in 2013. Fly Ventures invests in seeds, pre-seeds and Series A. The company has invested in over 100 companies and has a portfolio of over 50 companies .
Fly Ventures offers seed funding to early-stage startups that have been founded in the last two years on an international scale through its network of partners, which are mainly located near Hubs such as London or New York.
15. Iconic Outfit
Iconic Holding was founded in 2012 by Christian Reber and Christoph Keese. The company has invested in over 100 companies including Sixten, Made.com and Crowd. The company is headquartered in Berlin and has offices in San Francisco, London, Dublin and Tel Aviv. Iconic Holding is a private venture capital firm focused on early stage investment opportunities across Europe and Israel.
16. Ventures JVH
JVH Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in companies across Europe and the United States. It was founded by Jens Vollmer and Oliver Jung in 2013, who decided to grow their business with a focus on “human-centric” startups. In the five years since its founding, JVH has invested more than €200 million (5 million) in more than 50 companies across multiple industries ranging from AI to healthcare to technology. energetic efficiency.
In addition to investing in startups, JVH also organizes incubators for young founders as well as experienced ones looking for new ideas or new partners.
17. Cavalry Ventures
Cavalry Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests in start-up companies.
Cavalry Ventures was founded in Berlin in 2007 and has since expanded to include offices in London and San Francisco. The company primarily invests in technology companies and has done so since its founding.
Cavalry Ventures has made investments across Europe as well as North America and Asia-Pacific with a focus on digital health, fintech, marketplaces, enterprise software, virtual reality / augmented reality (AR / VR), artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML (ML), robotics and cybersecurity.
18. Fundamental
Foundamental is a venture capital fund based in Berlin, Germany. Fundamental was founded in 2017 by Andreas Sezgin and Simon Böck.
The Fund invests in early-stage technology companies with the aim of helping them become global leaders. Some of his notable investments include N26, Delivering Hero, Flixbus, and Kreditech.
Conclusion
Germany is a great place for startups to meet their funding needs. It is also an ideal destination for investors who want to enter the startup market. The country offers many advantages, such as its central location in Europe and its low costs compared to Silicon Valley. With these facts in mind, it’s no surprise that there are many venture capital firms based in Germany that specialize in investing in start-up companies.