PSV Hafnium Research
Investment Thesis
PSV Hafnium is Denmark's first dedicated deep-tech early-stage venture fund, launched in 2024 by Marianne Hyltoft, Anders Kjær and Jakob Rybak-Andersen as one of three units under the PSV Venture House (alongside PSV Tech, a Nordic generalist tech fund, and PSV Foundry, DTU's own startup funding arm). The fund's stated belief is that "meaningful innovation takes time, proximity to knowledge and patient capital." PSV Hafnium exists to close a gap in the Nordic ecosystem by providing early-stage capital that helps scale technological breakthroughs into globally competitive companies, explicitly targeting scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs bridging the gap between laboratory research and commercial markets. The fund sits physically on the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) campus in Kongens Lyngby, giving it dense proximity to university spinouts and deep scientific talent.
Stage Focus
PSV Hafnium invests at pre-seed and seed stage, explicitly positioning itself to go in "before others" when the commercial path for a deep-tech breakthrough is still forming. It aims to build a portfolio of roughly 25-30 companies from its first fund.
Check Size
Exact check-size figures are not disclosed publicly. As an early-stage-focused fund with an ~€60M vehicle targeting 25-30 companies, typical initial checks are inferred to sit in the low-single-digit-million-euro range, though this is not confirmed.
Lead Tendency
Not confirmed from public sources; the fund positions itself as an early, foundational backer of DTU and Nordic deep-tech spinouts but specific lead/follow behavior across rounds is not documented.
Recent Activity
PSV Hafnium announced a first close of €38.2M (later reported as €51.6M) in October 2024, then closed its debut fund on an oversubscribed final basis at €60M (against a DKK 600M / ~€80M cap) in December 2025, backed by anchors including the European Investment Fund (EIF), EIFO, PSV Foundry, Nordea-fonden and the Danish Society of Engineers, alongside roughly 40 deep-tech LPs. Its most recent disclosed investment is Thiax, a DTU deep-tech spin-out building non-destructive 3D X-ray inspection of polymer and composite parts, announced 23 February 2026.
Portfolio Highlights
Disclosed PSV Hafnium portfolio companies include Solinide Photonics (datacenter interconnects/photonics), Acodyne (unmanned eVTOL cargo aircraft), Thiax (non-destructive 3D inspection of composites), Enerin (high-temperature heat pumps), and Elea & Lili (cellulose-based materials). Several additional unnamed portfolio companies are referenced on the firm's site under advanced detection, energy efficiency, and electrification categories but were not identified by name.
Team
- Marianne Hyltoft - Founder & Managing Partner, 20+ years as an engineer, emphasizes technical acumen paired with strategic foresight
- Anders Kjær - Founder & Managing Partner, 8+ years in VC with 30+ startup investments, deep-tech veteran
- Jakob Rybak-Andersen - Founder & Managing Partner, 25+ years in startup/venture/PE with multiple exits and board positions
- Maria Emilie Kath Danø - Managing Partner, physics PhD (Higgs particle discovery background), green transformation consultant
- Søren Jessen Nielsen - Operations Partner, two-time VC operator, angel investor in fintech/AI/deep-tech, rocket-engineering background
- Frederik Heugh Dabelsteen Wandall - Venture Analyst, physics student focused on lab-to-market technology scaling
- Susanne Palsten Buchardt - Venture Partner, 20+ years in greentech/biosolutions (Novozymes, Ørsted)
Decision Process
Structured as a founder-led partnership of three Managing Partners plus additional Managing/Venture/Operations Partners, consistent with a partnership-style decision process rather than a solo-GP model.
Founder Preferences
Scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs building science-based, engineering-heavy companies, particularly university (DTU) spinouts translating lab research into commercial deep-tech products.
Geographic Focus
Primarily Denmark, with a broader Nordic mandate and global ambitions for portfolio companies.
Sector Focus
PSV Hafnium invests across deep-tech categories including industrial biotech, new energy, new materials, future of compute, new space, health tech, and resilience. At least 65% of portfolio investment is targeted at companies working on climate action and environmental sustainability.