Redalpine

Redalpine Research

Investment Thesis

Redalpine is a thesis-driven multi-stage venture capital firm headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, founded in 2006 by Peter Niederhauser (software entrepreneur) and Dr. Michael Sidler (molecular biologist). The firm's core investment philosophy centers on the convergence of software and science — backing companies where deep engineering foundations meet scientific breakthroughs. Redalpine describes its mission as empowering GameChangers who are disrupting industries for good and shaping a better world for all.

The firm operates as a pan-European investment advisor with Swiss roots, focusing on technology companies that solve the world's most pressing challenges. A defining trait is the team composition: approximately half are scientists (physicists, biologists, medical doctors), and half are operators and entrepreneurs. This dual profile enables Redalpine to engage deeply with highly technical founders and assess both scientific validity and commercial potential on equal footing.

Focus Areas

Redalpine organizes its investment thesis around six core verticals:

• Frontier Technology and Science: Deep tech and university spinouts where the primary risk is technical and market risk is lower due to clear societal value. Covers AI-enabled scientific tools, genomics, synthetic biology, and hardware.
• Digital Health and MedTech: Healthcare is described as one of the world's largest and least-digitalized sectors, poised for radical transformation in diagnostics, treatment, healthcare delivery, and patient care.
• AI and Automation: AI-native applications that reimagine entire workflows, products, and services. Redalpine believes automation will revolutionize decision-making for people, organizations, and robots across all industries.
• FinTech and Financial Infrastructure: Smart technologies re-thinking traditional financial processes, services, and the underlying infrastructure that powers financial systems.
• Synthetic Biology: Using digital tools to reprogram nature — where the genetic code becomes a customizable script — to engineer organisms with precision and purpose.
• Climate and Sustainability: Groundbreaking innovation across energy, cleantech, foodtech, and mobility, from renewable energy and circular economy solutions to alternative proteins and sustainable transportation.

Stage Focus

Redalpine operates as a multi-stage fund across the full venture lifecycle:

• Primary entry point: Pre-Seed to Series A for early-stage European startups, making five to ten investments per year selected from over 5,000 screened opportunities annually
• Growth-stage follow-ons: Via the Summit Fund (Europe's first evergreen VC fund), doubling down on portfolio superstars at later stages once early-stage funds are fully committed
• Later-stage investments: The Summit Fund also makes direct later and growth-stage investments in leading European software and science companies

Check Size

Initial check size ranges from $500K to $5M for early-stage investments. The RAC VII fund ($200M, closed August 2024) targets 15 to 20 early-stage companies, implying average initial deployment of approximately $2M to $4M per company with reserves for follow-on.

Lead Tendency

Redalpine leads and co-leads rounds at early stage. This is confirmed by co-leading Tokura's seed round (June 2026) alongside Heal Capital and by their characterization of early-stage fund investing as taking first institutional investor positions. They describe their early-stage funds as making highly curated investments selected from 5,000+ screened opportunities.

Recent Activity

RAC VII, Redalpine's seventh early-stage fund, closed at $200M in August 2024 in an oversubscribed raise, accompanied by the opening of a new London office. The fund targets 15 to 20 early-stage European companies in biotech, AI, and climate tech. Redalpine's portfolio companies collectively raised more than $500M in 2024 alone.

In 2026, Redalpine has made at least five investments per Tracxn data, including:

• Apoha ($36M Series A, June 2026) — molecular science platform backed since its 2023 seed round, led by Singular with Draper Associates; Redalpine participated
• Nscale ($2B Series C, March 2026, Europe's largest ever) — AI infrastructure hyperscaler, valued at $14.6B; Redalpine invested via the Summit Fund
• Tokura (seed round, June 2026, co-led alongside Heal Capital) — ambulatory surgery infrastructure for Germany
• Helical (May 2026) — bio foundation models company enabling reproducible drug discovery

Portfolio Highlights

With 87+ portfolio companies, Redalpine has an exceptionally broad and deep portfolio spanning Europe. Notable investments include:

• N26 — Digital banking unicorn; raised $900M+ Series E
• Klarna — Leading global buy-now-pay-later company
• Mistral AI — European frontier large language model company
• Nscale — AI infrastructure hyperscaler, valued at $14.6B after the March 2026 Series C
• Taxfix — German mobile-first tax assistant
• Sennder — Digital freight forwarder
• Zenjob — On-demand staffing platform; raised $50M growth round in 2024
• Proxima Fusion — Nuclear fusion energy startup
• Inkitt — Reader-powered book publisher; raised $59M Series B

Notable exits include Robinhood (Nasdaq IPO), Lakera (AI safety, acquired), Araris Biotech (acquired), Teads (global media platform, exited), Bexio (Swiss accounting software, acquired), Lunaphore (spatial biotech, acquired), and Biognosys (proteomics platform, acquired).

Team

• Peter Niederhauser, Founding Partner: Software entrepreneur who founded an enterprise software company in the late 1990s that grew to several hundred employees and went public in 1999. Became an angel investor post-dotcom and co-founded Redalpine in 2006.
• Dr. Michael Sidler, Founding Partner: PhD in molecular biology; former BCG consultant; early angel investor who lost money in the dotcom bubble but deepened his conviction in startups. His passion for science, entrepreneurship, and finance defines Redalpine's identity.
• Daniel Graf, General Partner: 25+ years in technology leadership; VP of Product at Uber (led team of 1,000+); co-developed Google Maps and Google Local Search; founded and sold Kyte (digital media platform, acquired 2011); angel investor in 60+ startups and 20+ VC funds. Swiss, based in Silicon Valley.
• Dr. Harald Nieder, General Partner: Theoretical physicist (CERN, University of Tel Aviv); seven years in London banking; early supporter of equity crowdfunding platforms including Crowdcube.
• Sebastian Becker, General Partner: University of St. Gallen (B.A./M.A.); AI research at Stanford University; former management consulting at Horvath & Partners; former investment team member at Project A Ventures; operated at Rocket Internet.
• Bettina Curtze, Partner
• Manuel Ottinger, Partner & CFO
• Mira Kamp, Principal & Managing Director Germany
• Dr. Marc Moesser, Principal
• Philip Kneis, Investment Manager
• Dr. Florian Bieberich, Associate
• Dr. Luca Del Medico, Associate
• Margaux Foster, Analyst

Decision Process

Redalpine operates as a multi-partner firm with five general partners and multiple partners and principals, each with defined sector expertise. Investment decisions are made through partnership review. The team of scientists and operators evaluates both technical feasibility and commercial potential. Offices are in Zug (HQ), Berlin (Germany), and London (opened 2024 alongside RAC VII), with GP Daniel Graf based in Silicon Valley.

Founder Preferences

Redalpine is drawn to technical founders from scientific and engineering backgrounds with deep domain expertise. They describe their team as being able to speak to founders on eye level due to scientific and operational backgrounds. They emphasize co-creating with founders from day one and providing strategic and hands-on support through to exit. They favor companies where the primary risk is technical rather than market, and where the scientific or engineering foundation is genuinely defensible and not easily replicated.

Geographic Focus

Pan-European with strong presence in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. The opening of a London office in 2024 signals growing ambition in UK deep tech. Selective exposure to the US (Robinhood, Ethos, Pave) and a Silicon Valley presence through Daniel Graf bridges the US-European tech ecosystems. Investment criteria explicitly focus on highly scalable European startups.