Once again, we had the pleasure of welcoming hundreds of VCs from across Europe to this year’s HHL SpinLab Investors Day in Leipzig. One of the highlights of the program was the reverse pitch session, but this time, it wasn’t startups on stage. Instead, investors took the spotlight to present their funds.
Multiple Capital is a Frankfurt-based investment firm that uses a fund-of-funds strategy for investing in early-stage technology. Rather than investing directly in startups, Multiple Capital invests in a carefully selected group of small venture capital funds, also known as micro-VCs. These funds support early-stage startups across Europe and beyond. Through these investments, Multiple Capital gains an insight to hundreds of startups working in areas such as AI, software, fintech and deep tech. To date, they have screened over 2000 funds and have more than 1500 portfolio companies.
'Deutschland, Europe, Wunderland' is the guiding motto of Wunderland Capital, a Germany-based VC fund of funds that invests in early- and growth-stage startups across the continent, aiming to highlight Europe’s strength as an independent location for innovation. They invest in three main areas: FinTech startups (Seed and Series A), B2B tech startups led by technical founders (Pre-Seed and Seed), and deep tech solutions (Pre-Seed and Seed). At the end of 2024, Wunderland Capital completed the first closing of its debut fund with €50 million. The fund is targeting a final close of €150 million by the end of 2025. Over the coming years, this capital will be allocated to 20 to 25 carefully selected VC funds across Europe.
AlphaQ Venture Capital (AQVC), a Berlin-based venture capital fund of funds, was founded in 2021 by a team of European startup founders and VC investors. The fund aims to raise half a billion euros, investing in both established and emerging VC funds. Their portfolio of financed funds includes Battery Ventures and Ribbit Capital, as well as companies such as Lieferando and N26. They focus on pre-seed, seed or series A investments in the deep tech and fintech sectors. The initial target fund volume is mainly intended for investments in Europe. This capital will be divided between 50-60 venture capital funds, each financing around 20 startups, so it is expected that the fund will invest in up to 1200 companies.
The SpeedUp Venture Capital Group is a Poland-based group of funds that invest in early-stage startups in the fields of consumer internet, fintech, martech, the Internet of Things (IoT) and hardware. They work with companies based on a 3-8 year investment horizon, investing between 50 thousand and 4 million euros. SpeedUp Ventures focuses on seed to Series A funding and aims to invest in startups in Central and Eastern Europe. To date, they have invested in over 100 companies providing them with not only capital, but also support in areas such as financial management, recruitment, team development, and achieving international visibility.
Freiraum Ventures, part of the Strascheg Center for Entrepreneurship (SCE) in Munich, invests in early-stage startups and teams, especially those with an academic background. Founded under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Falk F. Strascheg, an experienced venture capitalist, Freiraum focuses on seed investments ranging from €50k to €200k. They recently made an investment of €317.000 in Voda, a UK-based mental health app for the LGBTQIA+ community. Beyond funding, Freiraum offers founders coaching, expertise, and full access to SCE’s resources.
DEPO Ventures manages angel funds and an international network of angel investors with 25 portfolio companies. Headquartered in Prague, the fund focuses on supporting pre-seed and seed-stage tech startups in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. With more than 150 startups and investors in its ecosystem, DEPO Ventures has a strong track record of supporting startups from day one to successful outcomes.
JET Ventures is A €50 million venture capital fund launched by Czech-based Jet Investment. The focus is on companies specialising in AI, big data, machine learning, advanced manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), supply chains, robotics and cybersecurity across Czechia, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. They invest in companies with market-tested products and annual revenues of around EUR 1 million. These companies must also demonstrate solid year-on-year growth of at least 100%. Their minimal investment amounts to €200k.