We know from reports from the beginning of the year that VC investments are increasing again for European startups. And the wave of optimism seems to be continuing – at least for the continent’s deep-tech sector.
Munich-based Vsquared Ventures today announced the closing of a new €214 million fund for early-stage investments in deep-tech startups, reportedly the largest early-stage fund for this sector in Europe.
The venture capital firm will distribute its second fund to 25 deep-tech companies across Europe, distributing between €500,000 and €5 million, and reserving some funds for follow-on investments.
The fund targets six broad growth themes: next-generation AI and software, energy transition, new computing and sensor technologies, new space, robotics and manufacturing, and techbio (biotechnology that uses data-driven technologies to transform drug discovery and patient care).
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“There is a huge opportunity right now for Europe to become a global deep tech power – which is also imperative to secure the continent's sovereignty and future-proof it,” the VC said in a statement. “Companies that solve real problems with real technology on a global scale will succeed, and those are the companies we partner with.”
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The LPs of the new fund include Novo Holdings (the investment company of the Novo Nordisk Foundation), the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF) and the European Investment Fund (EIF).
Marjut Falkstedt, Managing Director of the EIF (with whom you can hear: an interview in the TNW podcast from the beginning of this year) has high hopes for the fund.
“Europe has leading research institutions and an incredible talent pool, and turning brilliant ideas into viable business propositions is high on our priority list. That’s why we are excited to support Vsquared, the deep tech experts, to continue channeling funding into the European deep tech ecosystem,” she said.
Vsquared's investment portfolio includes Finnish quantum computing hardware startup IQM, which just signed a deal with AWS to deploy the cloud giant's first quantum processor in the EU.
Also on the list are rocket launch and space technology startup Isar Aerospace from Germany, its compatriots, graphene-based superchip connector Black Semiconductor, cognitive robot assistant startup Neura Robotics and droplet microfluidics technology startup Atrandi Biosciences from Lithuania – to name a few.
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