Yope Foundation
Yope Foundation focuses on empowering the next generation of innovators, specifically deep tech founders under 30, to create high-impact ventures. They provide $100k in funding and a 6-month fellowship, aiming to bring out the best in these courageous founders. The foundation emphasizes supporting extraordinary people and driving unstoppable change, recognizing the crucial role of founders in shaping the future. Yope seems to be looking for ambitious and driven founders tackling the world's most challenging problems. Yope's strategy appears to be centered around early-stage investment and intensive mentorship. The 6-month fellowship suggests a hands-on approach, potentially providing guidance on venture-building, access to world-class coaches and facilitators, and a network of experienced entrepreneurs. This hands-on approach is reinforced by the seasoned operational experience of their core team and the involvement of successful founders as team members. The team's composition, including individuals with experience in scaling companies and developing venture programs, points to a focus on operational expertise and founder support. They also are putting an emphasis on high-impact human development and combining performance science, well-being, and venture-building to achieve it. The involvement of AI and healthtech gurus also suggests a commitment to guiding founders in emerging technology areas. Yope's investment in early-stage founders and hands-on approach is geared toward transforming exceptional ideas into impactful businesses. They focus on identifying and supporting ambitious individuals who possess the potential to solve significant global challenges, leveraging their network and operational knowledge to fuel their growth and success.
Zacua Ventures
Zacua Ventures backs visionary entrepreneurs tackling global challenges in sustainability, productivity, and urbanization by adapting the built world for future generations. The fund focuses on ideation, partnership-driven growth, and scaling impactful solutions globally.
a16z Scouting Fund
a16z was founded in 2009 on the belief that software would fundamentally transform the world and that the most successful technology companies would become immensely valuable. The firm operates on a platform model, providing founders with a comprehensive team of operators across various functions, including marketing, talent, legal, and policy, to support them at every stage. Their investment team comprises former founders and operators with experience in building successful companies, offering firsthand knowledge of the challenges entrepreneurs face. a16z's investment strategy is centered around identifying and supporting builders who are shaping the future. They aim to provide these builders with the resources and support they need to succeed. The firm emphasizes long-term relationships and operates with a commitment to integrity, honesty, and keeping their word. a16z emphasizes investing in entrepreneurs to help achieve a better future and avoids public criticism of any entrepreneur or startup. They believe in taking a long view of relationships and prioritize truth and honesty in their interactions. The firm's philosophy extends to its internal culture, where actions are valued over beliefs. The firm emphasizes clarity about its values and expectations of team members. a16z takes inspiration from James Pierpont Morgan's approach to business, prioritizing respect for the entrepreneurial process and providing timely, substantive feedback to founders, even in cases of rejection. The firm invests across various sectors, from seed to growth stage, focusing on technology companies. The firm also actively produces content and engages with various forms of media to communicate and share big ideas.
bmp Ventures AG
bmp Ventures AG invests venture capital in outstanding teams with innovative business models, empowering tech companies. Since 1997, they have partnered with early-stage and growth startups. With 25 years of experience, they have managed 11 funds, invested in over 250 companies, achieved 120 exits, and more than 15 IPOs. Their investment strategy focuses on strengthening the founding team and providing them with expertise and a network for building technology companies. They invest in companies with sustainable growth, strong teams, and entrepreneurial substance. They aim to support companies in several financing rounds to enable solid company building in multiple stages. Often acting as the lead investor, bmp Ventures focuses on innovative and scalable companies with clear USPs. Their sweet spot lies between EUR 1.5-5 million per financing round, with total investments of up to EUR 15 million. They invest in the Pre-Seed stage (up to 500.000 EUR), Seed (1-3M EUR), Series A (2-5M EUR), and Growth stages.
bmt
bm|t is the investment company of the Free State of Thuringia, Germany. They invest in innovative and growth-oriented companies with significant future potential. Their approach involves providing venture capital and private equity to support companies at various stages of development. bm|t manages multiple funds, investing in a diverse portfolio of companies primarily within the Thuringia region, aiming to foster a robust regional innovation ecosystem. The firm's investment strategy includes supporting established, medium-sized Thuringian companies to strengthen their equity base for further growth, evidenced by the launch of the Mittelstands-Fonds Thüringen II (MFT II). They also focus on early-stage disruptors, offering follow-on financing to their investee partners, indicating a long-term commitment to building successful companies. The firm emphasizes collaboration within the Thuringian innovation ecosystem, working with partners and stakeholders to drive economic growth. They actively participate in financing rounds and support companies beyond the initial investment, fostering a supportive environment for their portfolio companies. bm|t seeks to enable long-term value creation, exemplified by successful exits like Spleenlab to Quantum Systems. Overall, bm|t's strategy is centered on strengthening the Thuringian economy by providing financial and strategic support to innovative companies across various stages, leveraging their expertise and network to foster growth and create value.
capiton
Capiton is a private equity firm based in the DACH region, investing in mid-sized companies since 1999. They partner with companies seeking to reposition themselves for the future, providing capital, expertise, and commitment. Capiton focuses on creating sustainable value and driving growth within its portfolio companies. They invest in innovative, profitable mid-sized companies with a turnover between 50 and 300 million euros and an average annual EBITDA growth of 18 percent. Capiton emphasizes a deep understanding of the challenges faced by mid-sized businesses, gained through long-term partnerships with portfolio companies. They aim to identify and capitalize on new opportunities through professional competence and a holistic perspective. Their investment approach is characterized by taking responsibility, and pursuing opportunities with courage and determination, ensuring the long-term success of their portfolio companies, employees, and investors. Capiton leverages a strong network, including the Global PE Alliance, to share best practices, provide access to international markets, and connect portfolio companies with specialists and advisors. This network facilitates international expansion and provides access to international investors. The firm builds dedicated partner teams for each investment, ensuring consistent support and a deep understanding of the specific challenges faced by each company. Capiton manages a fund volume of approximately 1.6 billion euros. They focus on future-oriented companies in the High-Tech Industrials and Healthcare & Life Sciences sectors. Their approach combines market experience with entrepreneurial thinking, enabling them to be a partner at eye level with the Mittelstand.
embedded/capital
Motive Partners employs a proven and repeatable model of Investing, Operating, and Innovating. They invest in financial technology opportunities through deep networks, sector insight, and disciplined underwriting. Their operators enhance, manage, and scale world-class companies across go-to-market, data, and operations. They leverage technology to unlock hidden opportunities and transform workflows, removing friction to drive better returns and make change real. The firm aims to unlock superior returns for their investors across relevant sectors while forming the future of finance with their portfolio companies and management teams. Motive Partners focuses on opportunities within Wealth & Asset Management, Banking & Payments, and Insurance. In Wealth & Asset Management, they back market-leading technology, data and service providers redefining how investment products are designed and distributed, leveraging data and AI to deliver scalable, frictionless services and democratize wealth and asset management. In Banking & Payments, they invest in payment technologies that transform commerce by streamlining transactions, improving efficiency, and opening new revenue through integrated solutions, replacing legacy pipelines to make payments faster, safer, and cheaper. In Insurance, they invest in next generation software, data, and services that modernize how risk is priced, distributed, and settled, enabling insurers to underwrite with greater precision, sell through digital channels, and resolve claims faster while delivering better outcomes for both carriers and customers. Their approach includes deep sector insights and a large network of investors, operators, and innovators. Their “Invest, Operate, Innovate” (IOI) model demonstrates their commitment to not only investing in, but actively building and improving companies.
eureKARE
eureKARE believes that synthetic biology, microbiome research, and the intersection between them can help tackle critical challenges and create a healthier, more prosperous, and sustainable world. They see Europe's strength in fundamental sciences as dramatically under-exploited and aim to harness the strengths of Europe's knowledge economy by investing in its brightest minds. They aim to support scientists' commercialization efforts, creating new jobs, companies, and novel industries along with the disruptive technology they bring to market. They focus on applications in healthcare, ranging from new cell therapies and microbiome-based medicines to life-saving gene therapies, and also environmental applications, such as creating better biofuels, restoring species diversity, and fighting pollution. The firm aims to fill the funding and support gap for entrepreneurship in the synthetic biology field, where Europe excels in research but lags in commercialization. They envision a world where synthetic biology plays a transformative role in solving some of the world's most pressing challenges, revolutionizing industries, creating new markets, and providing solutions to complex problems. eureKARE is committed to supporting the development and growth of synthetic biology companies, and their portfolio reflects their commitment to advancing the field and creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
hi5 Ventures
hi5 Ventures is a Kyiv-based Venture Capital firm focused on investing in Early Stage Eastern European Tech companies. They aim to empower these companies with a hands-on approach and access to Tier-1 EU/US investors. The firm emphasizes providing support and guidance to its portfolio companies, allocating a significant portion of their time to assisting them. Their investment strategy prioritizes companies with a strong team, crystallized vision, and proven business model. The firm targets fast-growing tech companies in Pre-Seed, Seed, and Pre-A rounds. They evaluate businesses based on their potential to generate revenue and the founder's ability to drive revenue growth. The firm provides average investment checks of $50K at the Pre-Seed stage, $100K at the Seed stage, and $200K at the Pre-A stage. hi5 Ventures also focuses on building a strong partnership ecosystem, leveraging its network of contacts to benefit its portfolio companies. They have established relationships with over 50 accelerators, 1000+ CEOs, 300+ experts, and 100+ mentors. The firm's values are built on honesty, clarity, precision, and a practical working style. They emphasize the importance of revenue generation and maintain an informal yet pragmatic approach. They explicitly state their intolerance for poor execution and their refusal to work with individuals who do not behave as partners.
i-Free
i-Free operates as a start-up studio, fostering a network of independent innovative companies primarily focusing on conversational AI, Foodtech, Fintech, and mobile gaming. They emphasize shared values and knowledge exchange within their community to facilitate success. Their core values include trust, responsibility, initiative, development, mutual attention, and support. They aim to support intrapreneurship, with a 20+ year history of backing ideas and people, currently supporting 10+ companies serving global customers. They invest in technologies across their focus areas and have a demonstrated history of M&A activity, indicating a willingness to exit investments when appropriate opportunities arise. i-Free's investment strategy seems centered on early-stage companies with high growth potential in specific technology sectors. The start-up studio model suggests they may take a more active role in helping these companies develop and scale. They focus on creating an ecosystem to help companies grow. Their portfolio highlights point to an active interest in AI, fintech, cloud infrastructure, and mobile entertainment. The mention of consulting companies within their portfolio indicates a value-add strategy, that provide support to IT businesses with legal, technical, and financial aspects of their businesses.
leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners
leAD Sports & Health Tech Partners is a global venture corporation focused on shaping the future of the sports and health tech industries. They operate with two business units: an institutional asset manager that builds a global family of funds, and an advisory arm specializing in strategic innovation and investment initiatives. Their investment strategy involves deploying capital across various stages, from Pre-Seed to Opportunistic, through their diverse fund portfolio, including LEAD ONE, Lake Nona Fund, ADvantage, and Locker Room. They actively seek to partner with companies that have bold visions, and the stamina to build future-oriented businesses, aiming to improve health and democratize coaching, demonstrating belief in the power of play. Their approach emphasizes a global ecosystem, leveraging their distributed team, shareholders, portfolio companies, and network partners to impact the industry worldwide. They prioritize impact over ego and are committed to offering more than just capital, providing thoughtful introductions, strategic advice, and support in various ways to their portfolio companies. This hands-on approach is evident in their engagement with portfolio companies like Bitewell, TAPPP, and Mustard, where they have played crucial roles in strategic initiatives and athlete recruitment. leAD distinguishes itself through a combined approach of investment funds and strategic advisory services. This enables them to offer portfolio companies a combination of capital investment and strategic guidance, from M&A to Venture Capital as a Service. This comprehensive approach positions them not only as financial backers but as active partners in the growth and development of their portfolio companies. Their value proposition is underscored by testimonials from founders within their portfolio, which reflect the transformative difference their investment and advisory expertise have made to businesses. This illustrates leAD's commitment to fostering long-term growth and impact, creating a supportive ecosystem for innovation and development within the sports and health tech sectors.
mpoweru
Mpoweru invests in early-stage startups with high growth potential, emphasizing disruptive technology, strong leadership, and alignment with sustainability and equality values. The firm leverages its deep regional expertise in the DACH market, rigorous due diligence, and post-investment support to drive portfolio success and deliver strong returns.
responsAbility
Invests in solutions addressing climate change, sustainable food systems, and inclusive economic opportunities in emerging markets, prioritizing measurable impact alongside financial returns.
saas.group
saas.group focuses on acquiring SaaS companies, particularly those with a 'bootstrapper mindset'. They aim to provide founders with a founder-friendly exit, financial freedom, and the opportunity to start new ventures. Their strategy involves improving the acquired product, scaling the team, and maintaining the original company identity that drove its success. They view acquisitions as a platform for founders to become part of something bigger, take risk off the table, and take business processes to a new level. saas.group values companies with a strong product-market fit and ARR between $2M and $10M. They are drawn to companies with product-led growth strategies, self-service models with limited operating costs, remote-first cultures, and international teams. They also consider VC-backed companies where there's potential for a bootstrapped "reboot". The firm emphasizes a transparent and streamlined due diligence process respecting the founder's time. They're interested in information about product, user base, financials, and legal status, and often gain direct access to key tools such as Stripe, Intercom, and Chargebee for deep-dive analysis. They champion a 'no jerk' policy, respecting the hard work of acquired companies and wanting to preserve their cultures. They aim to keep the acquisition process simple, supporting autonomy and mastery within acquired teams. They believe a successful exit goes beyond financial metrics, focusing on the founder’s happiness and future plans.
session.vc
Invests in tech-enabled growth companies that have achieved product-market fit. Provides hands-on operational support, including temporary executive roles, to help founders scale operations without relying on continuous fundraising.
she1K
she1K is an exclusive collective of corporate C-suite women globally, leveraging their industry expertise, networks, and career successes to invest in and mentor high-growth startups. The network emphasizes peer learning, sustainability, and innovation, with a focus on empowering women in leadership roles to drive scalable change.
torq.partners
torq.partners specializes in providing flexible, expert-led finance support to startups and companies, focusing on operational efficiency, investor readiness, and strategic financial guidance. Their team of 60+ finance professionals offers interim and fractional CFO services, finance operations setup, M&A advisory, fundraising support, and financial due diligence. They cater to diverse industries, helping companies optimize cash flow, improve reporting, and scale finance functions without long-term commitments.
vent.io
Vent.io is a corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Deutsche Leasing AG that aims to accelerate the growth of the German Mittelstand by investing in and building digital solutions. They focus on strengthening Deutsche Leasing AG's position as the financial backbone of the German Mittelstand by driving digitalization and innovation and creating long-term value for its customers. They operate two business areas: product engineering, which builds data-driven digital solutions, AI-powered products, and customer-centric portals for Deutsche Leasing Group, and corporate venture capital (CVC), which invests in B2B startups and connects them with the Deutsche Leasing ecosystem and customers through strategic partnering and pilot projects. Vent.io's investment strategy centers around data-driven B2B startups from seed to Series A. They leverage Deutsche Leasing AG's 60+ years of experience in the leasing business, its €40+ billion assets under management, and its extensive distribution network to benefit their portfolio companies. This network includes 341 savings banks and over 100 top-tier OEM partners. The firm emphasizes strategic relevance, long-term value creation, and strengthening the future of asset finance and asset-related services. They also prioritize venture partnering, assisting startups in developing needs-based strategies and identifying strategic customer fit within the Deutsche Leasing ecosystem. This includes facilitating access to customers and partners and helping startups expand their customer base through pilot projects with clear KPIs to validate business potential.
zVentures
zVentures is the early-stage venture arm of Razer, the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers. They invest in Seed and Series A start-ups globally that add strategic value to the Razer ecosystem. They leverage Razer's global ecosystem of hardware, software, and services to fuel the growth of companies across Gaming, Consumer, Deep Tech, and Sustainability. They aim to provide not only capital but also access to Razer's extensive global network of suppliers, OEMs, customers, and investors. Their portfolio companies also benefit from interfacing with in-house experts, like-minded founders, and influencers. The firm seeks to add strategic value to the companies it invests in, going beyond just providing capital. They have a broad view of relevant investments across Gaming including Esports and Streaming, Consumer including IoT, Entertainment and Communication, Deep Tech like AI, AR/VR and Blockchain, Sustainability like Renewable energy, Carbon and Plastic management, and potentially Fintech and other sectors. Their value add is amplified by their access to over 200M Razer users worldwide. They leverage Razer's expertise in design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution to provide expert advice and support. The firm positions itself as a partner that helps build global brands and guide companies through their journey with investors and partners.
Índico Capital Partners
Índico Capital Partners focuses on investing in globally promising tech and sustainable companies originating from Portugal, Spain, and Italy. The firm believes that these Southern European ecosystems possess strong engineering talent capable of building innovative businesses with global scalability. Due to the limitations of local markets, entrepreneurs in these regions are compelled to adopt an international mindset from the outset. Índico aims to provide this exceptional talent pool with the necessary capital and knowledge to facilitate their global expansion. The firm invests in technology companies across various sectors, including Software as a Service (SaaS), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Deeptech, Spacetech, Healthtech, Oceantech, Fintech, and Consumer. Investment sizes typically range from Pre-Seed to Series A (500k to 10M euros), with selective backing for Series B and C rounds. Índico also integrates sustainability considerations into all investments. A significant focus is placed on ocean-related startups and SMEs with headquarters or significant operations in Portugal, aiming to support companies that can positively impact marine ecosystems and expand their global footprint. In this area, investments range from 100k to 5M Euros per company. Índico's investment philosophy centers around supporting ambitious teams with exceptional execution capabilities who are willing to partner closely with the firm. They seek businesses with substantial potential addressable markets, particularly startups that can become global category leaders. For sustainable SMEs, they look for growth potential where expansion capital can significantly increase revenues and margins.
Ελληνική Αναπτυξιακή Τράπεζα-HDB
The Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) aims to promote sustainable and holistic development of the Greek economy. It facilitates access to bank financing for businesses, addressing market dysfunctions and inadequacies. The bank encourages investments and alternative funding sources to enhance business competitiveness. HDB manages loans exceeding 8 billion Euros. It designs and creates financial tools for national and international fund allocation, promotes innovation and digital transformation, supports SMEs and large enterprises in internationalization efforts, and facilitates large infrastructure investments. The bank also attracts capital to stimulate economic growth and job creation. HDB positions itself as a reliable entity that can effectively partner with international financing organizations, assisting Greek businesses in surviving and thriving in a competitive environment.
33N Ventures
33N Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on securing and evolving digital infrastructure through investments in B2B Cybersecurity and Infrastructure software technologies. Their mission is to support growth in these critical sectors by providing domain expertise, direct market access (via a network of CISOs, CTOs, and tech executives), and indirect market access (through reseller and partner networks). The firm aims to project disruptive companies across the globe, leveraging its presence in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, represented by the name "33N." With over a decade of experience in investing and operating tech services, 33N Ventures utilizes a differentiated approach that incorporates go-to-market and corporate partnerships to support portfolio companies. They position themselves as a European cybersecurity and infrastructure software specialist VC with a global investment scope. 33N Ventures emphasizes deep domain knowledge, understanding the market landscape and roadblocks to scaling within the cybersecurity and infrastructure software sectors. This expertise, coupled with their extensive network of industry professionals and partners, allows them to provide valuable insights and connections to their portfolio companies. This combination allows the firm to get founders in front of decision-makers for market access opportunities, and channel relationships that support growth and expansion. 33N offers access to an extensive network of over 30 specialized founders, experts, and decision-makers worldwide, spanning various industries. 33N invests globally in B2B Cybersecurity and Infrastructure software technology companies. They seem to provide a global network, access to CISOs/CTOs, and deep knowledge of the cybersecurity market and technologies.
Acton Capital
Backing companies ready to scale, built to last. Focus on optionality—unicorns or profitably growing ventures—with a long-term, mission-driven approach. Partnering with a select few founders annually to develop tailored growth strategies.
Adara Ventures
Adara Ventures is a European venture capital firm that partners with exceptional early-stage founders targeting global B2B markets. With 20 years of experience, they back teams with a proven product ready for rapid go-to-market strategies. Adara focuses on companies solving complex problems in the modern enterprise, with a strong emphasis on deep tech sectors. They aim to chart a path that accelerates each stage of their portfolio companies' growth, providing access to the entire Adara team and its extended network. The firm invests in areas including Cybersecurity, Energy Transition, Data and AI, Digital Health, Components, and Digital Infrastructure. They seek visionary founders capable of building global technology leaders and provide more than just financial investment, offering operational support and strategic guidance. Adara's strategy also includes offering a platform to connect founders and drive growth through their network, demonstrated by their "Big Dog" annual founders summit. They are also focused on being at the forefront of technological advancements as seen by their investment in AI centric companies and their partnership with NVIDIA's Inception VC alliance.