Heliad Research
Investment Thesis
Heliad AG is Germany's only publicly-listed venture capital investment company (Frankfurt Stock Exchange, ticker A7A, ISIN DE0001218063), giving retail and institutional investors direct market access to a portfolio of early- and growth-stage technology companies. Heliad's roots trace back to entrepreneur Bernd Förtsch (founder of Börsenmedien AG and co-builder of flatex, now flatexDEGIRO), who remains the company's majority shareholder, mentor, and strategic advisor. Building on that entrepreneurial network, Heliad operates an early-stage investment arm, Collective Ventures, which it acquired in 2024 and which functions as one of the most exclusive entrepreneur-led angel syndicates in Germany. The combined platform's stated purpose is to "bridge the gap" between promising founders and the senior capital-markets expertise (venture debt, structured equity, M&A, and IPO preparation) that founders typically cannot access until much later in their growth. Heliad organizes its current thesis around six themes: European Resilience (defense/security tech), AI Agents & Robotics, Next-Gen Finance, AI Health, Energy Transition, and Seamless Mobility.
Stage Focus
Heliad invests across the full lifecycle, from pre-seed and seed checks through Collective Ventures (e.g., Sci2sci's €1.2m pre-seed, Bayshore AI's and Albacore's seed rounds) up through growth-stage follow-ons in its public-market-facing portfolio (FINN's €100m Series C, Enpal's Series D and C rounds, Nelly Solutions' €50m Series B). This all-stage posture is consistent with its structure as a listed investment vehicle that both originates early deals through Collective Ventures and holds larger positions in later-stage compounders.
Check Size
Individual check sizes are not consistently disclosed; press coverage describes Heliad's participation in ChefCoco's Pre-Series A and InstaFreight's $40m Series B as led positions, and its stake in WorkMotion's Series B and AI21 Labs as "mid-single-digit" and "low single-digit million" amounts respectively. Precise minimum/maximum check thresholds are not published.
Lead Tendency
Heliad shows both behaviors: it has led or co-led several rounds (ChefCoco Pre-Series A, InstaFreight's $40m Series B, Burnhard's follow-on financing, Tangany's €10m Series A via Heliad Crypto Partners), while more frequently participating alongside a lead investor in larger syndicates (Aikido's $60m Series B led by DST Global, ARX Robotics' €31m Series A, Lio's $30m Series A led by a16z, Enpal's rounds led by SoftBank and TPG Rise Climate).
Recent Activity
Heliad has been highly active through 2025 and into September 2026: Limetax's €36m round (Sep 2026, alongside Motive Partners and Activant), Dynamic Creatures emerging from stealth (Sep 2026), Sci2sci's €1.2m pre-seed (Sep 2026), Project Q's €15m Series A (Jul 2026), Bayshore AI's $8m seed and encosa's €25m raise (Jun 2026), Lio's $30m Series A (Mar 2026), GeneralMind's $12m raise (Jan 2026), and Aikido's $60m Series B that made it a cybersecurity unicorn (Jan 2026). This cadence indicates a fund that is actively deploying.
Portfolio Highlights
Current "Heroes" portfolio spans fintech (flatexDEGIRO, Raisin, Klarna, Tilt, lemon.markets), defense tech (ARX Robotics, Project Q, Albacore), health (Nelly Solutions, Gaia, StratifAI), climate/energy (Enpal, encosa), crypto (Kraken, Tangany), robotics (Sunrise Robotics), space infrastructure (Starcloud), and enterprise AI (Lio, GeneralMind, Aikido Security, Bayshore AI, Limetax, AI21 Labs). Notable milestones include CLARK's 2021 merger with finanzen Group to reach unicorn status and Boxine (tonies) completing its public listing via 468 SPAC I SE.
Team
- Falk Schäfers — Co-CEO; formerly co-built the DACH Corporate Finance business at Berenberg, worked on IPOs including HelloFresh and Delivery Hero
- Julian Kappus — Co-CEO since June 2022; previously led Bank of America's Continental Europe Structured Finance division; founding member of Collective Ventures
- Alexander Wagner — Platform; manages Heliad's investor, portfolio, and industry-partner relationships
- Ibrahim Köran — Head of GovTech / Investments; previously headed the GovTech division at PwC
- Can Kuloglu — Investments; prior experience across four startups and Antler Berlin
- Christopher Garlich — Investment Lead; former M&A roles at Berenberg, Morgan Stanley, and Raymond James
- Cecil von Croÿ — Venture Partner (Collective Ventures); Co-Founder/CEO of Alva Energie
- Dr. Nicolaus Berlin — Venture Partner (Collective Ventures); CEO of mute-labs, former Podimo Germany lead
- Margarita Zittel — Head of Finance; with Heliad since 2011, previously senior audit at EY
- Roland Kloesel — Finance & Support; 15 years with the Heliad ecosystem
- Peter Renato Schneider — Fund Operations; oversees SPV structuring and investor onboarding
- Volker Rofalski — Supervisory Board member; co-founder of WebStock AG and TradeCross AG
- Herbert Seuling — Supervisory Board member; tax advisory background
- Stefan Müller — Chairman of the Supervisory Board; former flatexDEGIRO executive roles
Decision Process
Heliad operates with a Co-CEO structure (Falk Schäfers and Julian Kappus) supported by an investment team (Investments, Platform, Fund Operations) and overseen by a Supervisory Board, consistent with its status as a listed AG. Collective Ventures deals are additionally sourced and vetted through its Venture Partner network of operator-entrepreneurs.
Founder Preferences
Heliad favors founders building in defense/resilience, AI infrastructure and agents, next-gen finance, health, energy transition, and mobility, and it explicitly markets access to "senior capital markets experts" for founders who will eventually need debt financing, M&A support, or IPO preparation — suggesting a preference for founders thinking about long-term capital-markets strategy, not just the next round.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Germany and wider Europe (Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt), with selective international exposure (Decart in Israel, Klarna in Sweden, Kraken and NewtonX in the US, Starcloud in the US).