Backbone Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Backbone Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Zurich, Switzerland, and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Founded in 2018, the firm started out investing deal-by-deal without a formal fund, backing 26-28 teams over its first four and a half years, mostly in Switzerland but also Germany, the US, and Israel. Since September 2022, Backbone has invested almost exclusively out of its Backbone Ventures 5502 Fund, a CHF/EUR 20m pre-seed vehicle with a strong geographic focus on Germany and Switzerland.
The firm's differentiated thesis is contrarian sourcing: the 5502 Fund deliberately targets "underrepresented outperformers" - first- and second-generation migrant founders, women in male-dominated industries, and founders from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The partners believe these founders disproportionately possess the resilience, work ethic, and ability to inspire that predict startup success, citing data that migrant founders and women receive a small share of VC dollars despite outsized representation among billion-dollar company builders. The fund's name, "5502," is the postal code of Pachacamita, Chile - partner Dr. Jan Claudio Muñoz's family hometown - and symbolizes the firm's shared values of hard work, ethical behavior, and humbleness.
Sector Focus
Backbone is a sector generalist by design - the founder-quality thesis takes priority over vertical specialization - though the portfolio skews toward B2B SaaS, HealthTech, FinTech, ClimateTech, DeepTech/Robotics, BioTech, and FoodTech. The firm does favor founders who already have domain experience in the industry they are disrupting.
Stage Focus
Backbone invests almost exclusively at pre-seed, occasionally seed. This is where the partners believe they add the most value and can be the first institutional check.
Check Size
Typical round size is below EUR 1m, with Backbone happy to lead at roughly EUR 300,000-500,000 per investment. The 5502 Fund plans to deploy into 25-30 teams over its investment period.
Lead Tendency
Backbone actively leads rounds at pre-seed, positioning itself as the first institutional investor in a company's life.
Recent Activity
As of March 2026, Backbone had made five new investments over the prior twelve months, continuing its historical pace. The most recent disclosed investment is Immitra Bio (2026), an ETH Zurich spin-off in CRISPR-based genetic medicine. Other 2025 investments include Reshape Systems (CERN spin-off, generative AI for engineering risk analysis), CROWN Procurement (e-auction procurement SaaS), Eternal AG (autonomous greenhouse harvesting robots), Zuba Technologies (African cross-border payments infrastructure), RTDT Laboratories (wind turbine blade sensor patches), Qala (data visibility/compliance SaaS), NextBusiness/Infinity.swiss (AI-powered Swiss bookkeeping), 8hours (D2C sleep and recovery supplements), and Syn2Core (AI smart-glasses platform preventing human error in industrial settings). The fund appears to be actively deploying.
Portfolio Highlights
Backbone's portfolio spans 44 companies since 2014. Notable exits include Spyce (Boston robotic-kitchen startup, acquired by Sweetgreen in 2021), Imburse (Zurich payments-integration SaaS for insurers, acquired by Duck Creek Technologies in January 2023), and Alaya (Lausanne employee-engagement SaaS, acquired by Benevity in December 2021). Other recognizable names include Flytrex (US/Israel autonomous drone delivery), SuperMeat (Tel Aviv cultivated-meat pioneer), Voliro (ETH Zurich aerial-robotics spinoff), Neon (Swiss mobile-only neobank), Threatray (Bern-based malware threat intelligence), and ImmunOs Therapeutics (Zurich immuno-oncology, the firm's oldest active investment from 2014).
Team
Backbone's investment decisions run through a four-person operating partnership, supported by a board of directors and a bench of venture partners who source and advise across specific geographies and technical domains.
- Philippe Bernet, Partner - Zurich-based; focused on business models with environmental or social impact, particularly the future of food.
- Miklos Stanek, Partner - Zurich-based former entrepreneur and operator; advises portfolio companies on sales and leadership.
- Dr. Jan Claudio Muñoz, Partner - Frankfurt-based former lawyer turned VC and a true generalist; the reason Backbone chose Frankfurt for the 5502 Fund's domicile.
- Louis-Paul Zuppinger, Partner - Former hedge fund professional; manages finance, operations, and the 5502 Fund's regulatory compliance.
- Mark Hoffmann, Board Member - 15+ years in digital business models (Turtle Entertainment, GIGA Television, Fyber); former CEO of meinestadt.de and co-founder of Vertical Media, sold to Axel Springer.
- Dr. Heinrich Baumann, Board Member - Former CEO of HSBC Guyerzeller Bank; former Julius Bär board member and Audit Committee chair.
- Josef Ming, Board Member - Partner and former global board member of Bain & Company; former CEO of KKR Capstone.
- Andreas Guggenbühl, Venture Partner - ETH robotics graduate; co-founded the ETH Entrepreneur Club and fashion-tech startup Selfnation; advises the ETH AI Center.
- Joel Roos, Venture Partner - ETH mechanical engineering graduate; co-founded VAY (acquired by Nautilus in 2021).
- Marcel Kubli, Venture Partner - Serial retail entrepreneur; ex-Digitec Galaxus and VIU; co-founded bestsmile (sold to Migros).
- Yannick Ritschel, Venture Partner - Finance background from HEC Lausanne and HSG; supports French-speaking Switzerland dealflow.
Decision Process
Investment decisions run through the four-partner partnership rather than a solo GP or large investment committee.
Founder Preferences
Backbone explicitly prioritizes founders who have "outperformed their competition despite being structurally underprivileged" based on gender, migration background, or socioeconomic origin, while stating clearly that non-underrepresented founders who share the same resilience, work ethic, and ability to inspire are equally welcome. The firm prefers founders who already have direct experience in the industry they are attacking.
Geographic Focus
Primary focus is Germany and Switzerland (DACH), with the mandate extending across Europe. Historic deal-by-deal investments (pre-2022) also reached the US and Israel.