High-Tech Gründerfonds Research
Investment Thesis
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) is Germany's most active early-stage investor and one of Europe's leading seed funds. Founded in 2005 in Bonn as a public-private partnership, HTGF's mission is to strengthen Germany's technological backbone by backing the most ambitious tech founders at the very earliest stages. HTGF invests in tech founders who have the courage to shape the future, providing capital, deep technical expertise, and a vast network spanning German industry, science, and the European VC ecosystem. The stated goal: to help portfolio companies become international market leaders.
HTGF operates as a genuine multi-stage platform — it enters at pre-seed or seed and supports portfolio companies through follow-on rounds via its Opportunity Fund (up to €30 million per company in growth phases). This architecture allows HTGF to act as a sustained partner across a company's entire journey from founding to exit or IPO.
In February 2026, HTGF integrated the DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF) under its umbrella, creating a joint public-private VC platform with combined fund volume exceeding €3 billion. HTGF also received a mandate from the German Federal Government to launch a fifth generation seed fund, scheduled for mid-2027, immediately following the investment period of the current HTGF IV. Fund investors include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), KfW Capital, and 45 private companies from German industry and the Mittelstand (Fund IV). The total volume of HTGF funds currently exceeds €2 billion.
Sector Focus
HTGF invests across three primary verticals:
Industrial, Climate and Deep Tech
- Climate technology: energy storage, renewable energy, virtual power plants, hydrogen/eFuels, circular economy
- Industrial technology: robotics and automation, advanced manufacturing, sensor technology, drones and logistics
- Deep Tech: quantum computing, photonics and optics, semiconductors and advanced materials, new space
- AgTech: agricultural and food technologies
Life Sciences and Chemistry
- Oncology and drug delivery (antibody-drug conjugates, immunology, gene therapy)
- Medical technology: surgical devices, diagnostics, digital health, cardiovascular
- Industrial biotech and bio-based chemistry
- Precision medicine and R&D tools
- Agricultural biotech and animal health
Digital Tech
- Enterprise software: ERP, GRC, compliance, productivity tools
- IT security and cybersecurity
- EdTech and HR solutions
- FinTech and InsurTech
- PropTech and ConTech
- Marketing and AdTech, AI-native business applications
Artificial intelligence is a strong horizontal across all three verticals. HTGF named Axel Nitsch as Partner specifically for Digital Tech and AI in July 2026, underscoring this commitment.
Stage Focus
HTGF is exclusively a pre-seed and seed investor for initial investments. The initial investment sweet spot is €800,000+, with flexibility based on startup needs. For portfolio companies in growth rounds, HTGF can invest up to €30 million via its Opportunity Fund.
Eligibility criteria (hard requirements):
- Company must be no older than 3 years since incorporation
- Headquarters must be in Germany, or the company must have a German base of operations
- Active in digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry, or related areas
Check Size
- Initial investment: €800,000 to approximately €3,000,000 (pre-seed and seed)
- Follow-on (Opportunity Fund): up to €30,000,000 per portfolio company in growth phases
- Total private capital mobilized across 20+ years: more than €8 billion
Lead Tendency
HTGF consistently leads or co-leads its initial investments and sources co-investors from its national and international network. As Managing Director Romy Schnelle has stated: "HTGF is more than an investor. Together with the founding teams and co-investors, we form an alliance for success and long-term collaboration."
Recent Activity (2024-2026)
2024 was a record year for HTGF follow-on financing, with portfolio companies securing over €1 billion in follow-on rounds. HTGF also celebrated its first unicorn with EGYM. The Cardior acquisition by Novo Nordisk (up to €1.025 billion) was a landmark exit.
Key recent milestones:
- July 2026: Led €1.3M pre-seed in Auxilius (AI-native GRC automation)
- July 2026: Participated in Pixel-Flo's £5.25M seed (MicroLED manufacturing, University of Sheffield spinout)
- July 2026: Led pre-seed investment in reverse.fashion (textile waste sorting)
- July 2026: Portfolio company Proxima Fusion closes €411M round backed by RWE, Google, XTX Ventures — Europe's largest-ever fusion financing, €2.4B valuation
- July 2026: Axel Nitsch and Johannes Weber named Partners
- June 2026: Portfolio company JUPUS raises €13M Series A
- May 2026: Avelios Medical wins Fresenius as customer to build AI-native digital health ecosystem
- February 2026: HTGF integrates DTCF, combined fund volume exceeds €3B
- October 2025: Sebastian Borek joins as Managing Director (Digital Tech)
- April 2024: Proxima Fusion raises €20M seed round
- Early 2024: Cardior acquired by Novo Nordisk (up to €1.025B valuation)
- 2024: EGYM becomes German unicorn (secured approximately $200M growth capital)
Portfolio Highlights
HTGF has backed 800+ companies since 2005 with 200+ exits and IPOs. Notable portfolio companies include:
Active companies:
- Proxima Fusion — Stellarator fusion energy, raised €411M (July 2026); backed by RWE, Google, XTX Ventures; €2.4B valuation
- EGYM — Corporate wellness and smart fitness (unicorn, $200M growth round, 2024)
- Instagrid — Advanced portable power solutions for professionals; raised $95M Series B
- SimScale — Cloud-native simulation software, market leader in CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering)
- VMRay — Advanced malware analysis and phishing detection (IT Security)
- Avelios Medical — Next-generation hospital information system; raised €30M from Sequoia Capital
- Plancraft — Software for tradespeople; raised €38M Series B with Creandum
- doinstruct — Digital training platform for frontline workers; raised €7.6M with Creandum
- Auxilius — AI-native Governance, Risk and Compliance automation (pre-seed 2026)
Notable exits:
- Cardior — Acquired by Novo Nordisk (up to €1.025B, 2024)
- Next Kraftwerke — European market leader in virtual power plants (acquired by Shell)
- Hornetsecurity — European champion in cloud security (exit)
- Enscape — Real-time visualization for architects and designers (exit)
- MYR GmbH — First-in-class hepatitis Delta treatment (exit)
- SIRION Biotech — Gene therapy vectors (exit)
- c-LEcta — Industrial biotech leader (exit)
- Quentic — Compliance and safety software (exit)
- Tubulis — Antibody-drug conjugates for cancer treatment (Gilead acquisition)
Team
Managing Directors:
- Romy Schnelle — MD since May 2023, leads Industrial, Climate and Deep Tech. Co-founded Fraunhofer spin-off IOSONO with mp3 inventor Prof. Karlheinz Brandenburg. HTGF since 2008. (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/romyschnelle)
- Sebastian Borek — MD since October 2025, leads Digital Tech. 25+ years in digital business models, serial founder, established Founders Foundation and Hinterland of Things conference. NYU undergraduate, MBA from University of St. Gallen. (LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastianborek)
- Dr. Achim Plum — MD since January 2025, leads Life Sciences. PhD in genetics. 20+ years in life sciences at early- and growth-stage companies and global tech corporations. Track record includes two IPOs.
- Anne Ossenbühl — CFO
Partners (Investment):
- Dr. Tanja Emmerling — Partner
- Dr. Angelika Vlachou — Partner
- Yann Fiebig — Partner
- Dr. Bernd Goergen — Partner
- Gregor Haidl — Partner
- Markus Kreßmann — Partner
- Klaus Lehmann — Partner
- Axel Nitsch — Partner (Digital Tech and AI, named July 2026). 10+ years at HTGF, prior 6 years at T-Venture (Deutsche Telekom CVC). 100+ financing rounds across 26 companies.
- Dr. Nikolaus Raupp — Partner
- Frank Kerim Reinecke — Partner
- Dr. Ulrich Schmitt — Partner
- Johannes Weber — Partner (Industrial, Climate and Deep Tech, named July 2026). Former founder: built and sold a measurement-tech startup to Drager. Key investments include Traceless Materials, Instagrid, and Proxima Fusion.
- Marco Winzer — Partner
- Curtis MacDonald — Venture Partner
Total investment team includes 13+ principals, 15+ senior and investment managers, and 10+ analysts.
Decision Process
HTGF operates through a structured investment committee process with multiple managing directors and partners involved. Given the institutional scale, investment decisions involve a panel of sector-specific investment professionals. HTGF does not require a warm introduction — founders can submit directly via the public pitch deck upload page at htgf.de. The fund actively supports companies post-investment through board seats or observer positions.
Geographic Focus
HTGF invests exclusively in companies headquartered in Germany or with a German base of operations. The fund actively supports international scaling and expansion of German portfolio companies.
Fund Status
HTGF is actively deploying Fund IV (approximately €494 million, backed by 45 private investors plus BMWE and KfW Capital). Fund V has been commissioned by the German Federal Government and is scheduled to launch mid-2027. With the DTCF integration completed in February 2026, the combined platform manages more than €3 billion. HTGF has mobilized more than €8 billion in private capital across its 20-year history.