HV Capital Research
Investment Thesis
HV Capital (formerly Holtzbrinck Ventures) is one of Europe's oldest and largest independent venture capital firms, founded in 2000 in Munich. The firm's philosophy centers on backing "uncomfortably new" ideas, summarized in their own words as "too new is our baseline, too bold is our reason, too complex is our edge." HV explicitly seeks founders building category-defining companies who embrace complexity as a competitive advantage rather than an obstacle, and commits to long-term partnerships from first check to global scale.
Stage Focus
HV Capital operates two dedicated, complementary strategies:
- Venture Fund: Seed and Series A rounds
- Growth Fund: Series B and beyond, including late-stage growth rounds
Together these give the firm the ability to back a company "from first cheque to global scale," and it frequently continues investing in its own portfolio across multiple later rounds.
Check Size
- Venture strategy: approximately EUR 500K to EUR 10M per initial investment
- Growth strategy: up to EUR 60M in Series B and later rounds, with follow-on capital reserves reaching EUR 100M for a single company over its lifetime
Lead Tendency
HV Capital predominantly leads rounds, especially at the early stage, and has a long track record as first institutional investor into category-defining European companies (Zalando and Depop among them). It also participates in growth-stage syndicates through its Growth strategy alongside other lead investors.
Recent Activity
HV has remained highly active through 2025 and into 2026, deploying from a fund base with total AUM of roughly EUR 2.89 billion:
- Led ARX Robotics' EUR 31M Series A (April 2025) for autonomous unmanned ground systems, backing a European defence-tech company alongside NATO Innovation Fund and Omnes Capital
- Co-invested in Fifth Dimension AI's EUR 22M Series A (2026) for AI decision intelligence for real assets
- Participated in SPREAD AI's $30M Series B alongside Salesforce Ventures and DTCP
- Opened a first office outside Germany in London in 2025, hiring Lina Chong (ex-Target Global) and Mina Mutafchieva (ex-Dawn Capital) as the firm's first two female partners
- Promoted Felix Klühr and Barbod Namini to General Partner in autumn 2025, alongside existing GPs Rainer Märkle, Christian Saller, and David Kuczek
As of mid-2026, HV Capital has made roughly 11 new investments this year following 31 in 2025, indicating continued active deployment.
Portfolio Highlights
HV Capital's portfolio spans 150+ companies across its 26-year history. Standout names include:
- Zalando (IPO) - HV was the first investor in the European e-commerce giant
- Delivery Hero (IPO)
- Depop (acquired by Etsy)
- Scalable Capital - leading European digital wealth manager
- n8n - workflow automation platform
- Framer - website design and publishing platform
- NEURA Robotics - humanoid robotics, raised at a $1.4B valuation
- Quantum Systems - defence drone technology, raised at a $1.2B valuation
- Isar Aerospace - European orbital launch company (EUR 270M raised)
- Upvest - investment infrastructure API
- Enpal - residential solar and clean energy
- Marvel Fusion - nuclear fusion energy
- ARX Robotics - autonomous defence ground systems
- Exein - embedded IoT cybersecurity
- Nabla - clinical AI documentation
Team
HV Capital has 60+ team members across Munich, Berlin, and London. Key investment team members include:
- Rainer Märkle, General Partner (Munich) - founding partner and long-time GP
- David Kuczek, Managing Partner (Munich) - core leadership
- Lars Langusch, Managing Partner (Munich) - core leadership, growth strategy
- Christian Saller, General Partner (Berlin)
- Felix Klühr, General Partner (Berlin) - focus on B2B marketplaces and vertical software, promoted autumn 2025
- Barbod Namini, General Partner (Munich) - focus on fintech and B2B software, promoted autumn 2025
- Lina Chong, Partner (Berlin/London) - joined 2025 from Target Global to help lead the new London office
- Jan Miczaika, Partner (Berlin)
- Christian Saller and other partners drive a partner-led investment committee with sourcing led across the Munich, Berlin, and London offices
Decision Process
HV operates a partner-driven investment committee model with sourcing led across its three offices (Munich, Berlin, London). Decisions reflect conviction-driven, long-term commitments rather than a solo-GP or purely consensus-driven model.
Founder Preferences
HV Capital seeks founders pursuing "uncomfortably new" ideas with bold, category-defining ambition. The firm favors technical and market depth, is comfortable backing complex or hard-tech categories (deep tech, defence, fusion energy), and looks for founders capable of building "lasting value" through responsible, sustained growth rather than short-term hype cycles.
Geographic Focus
HV Capital invests exclusively in Europe, with deep strength in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) given its Munich and Berlin roots, and an expanding UK/London presence since 2025. The firm backs "European founders with global ambitions" across the continent.