Tenet Capital Research
Overview
Tenet Capital is a Berlin-based investment firm founded in early 2026 by four General Partners — Martin Janicki, Alexander Maly, Sahil Patwa, and Simon Lohmann. The firm positions itself as "the first investment firm purpose-built for AI-powered market transformations," with a singular focus on backing AI roll-up founders at inception. Tenet launched publicly in February 2026 with a debut fund targeting €80 million.
Investment Thesis
Tenet's thesis centers on a structural gap in European markets: while approximately 60% of small US businesses use vertical SaaS solutions, adoption remains in single digits across large parts of Europe. The firm's investment strategy — branded AIPRO (Artificial Intelligence Powered Roll-Out) — backs founders who are acquiring and consolidating fragmented professional service businesses and transforming them into scalable, AI-native platforms.
Unlike traditional venture capital (which backs pure software companies), Tenet operates at the intersection of VC, growth equity, and micro-private equity. They target "AI roll-ups" at inception — before those platforms have achieved meaningful scale — providing flexible capital that supports both venture-style and PE-style growth paths. The firm believes AI can automate 50%+ of knowledge work in service industries, fundamentally transforming low-margin services businesses into software-scale operations.
Stage and Check Size
Tenet invests exclusively at inception stage (equivalent to pre-seed/seed) with check sizes of approximately €5 million per company (~$5.4M USD). This check size addresses a structural "capital mismatch gap" — traditional VC checks of €1–3M are insufficient for founders who must simultaneously develop AI capabilities, acquire service businesses, and establish a path to sustainability. Tenet's capital structure is flexible, designed to serve the business rather than impose rigid fund-model constraints.
Geographic Focus
The firm is headquartered in Berlin and invests exclusively across Europe, with particular emphasis on Germany, the UK, and Central Europe. Their focus is on European SMB and Mittelstand markets, where large-scale digitization shortfalls create significant AI roll-up opportunities. The team points to the digital adoption gap between the US and Europe as a defining tailwind for their thesis.
Sector Focus
Tenet targets fragmented, service-heavy industries where SaaS has historically failed to penetrate at scale:
- Accounting and tax advisory (their first investment, Taxforce, is in this vertical)
- IT services for SMBs
- Insurance (administration, underwriting support)
- Property management
- Engineering offices
- Any professional business services sector susceptible to AI-driven automation of knowledge work
The firm explicitly avoids pure software companies; investees must combine AI capabilities with operating asset acquisition (the roll-up component).
Team
Tenet's four General Partners bring complementary backgrounds spanning early-stage VC, growth equity, and micro-PE — collectively more than 25 years of investing experience:
Martin Janicki (General Partner): Former Partner at Cavalry Ventures (now NAP), a prominent Berlin early-stage VC. Left Cavalry in July 2024 to co-found Tenet. Deep European early-stage VC network and startup ecosystem knowledge.
Alexander Maly (General Partner): Brings private equity expertise from Clearsight Investments AG, a Swiss FINMA-regulated asset manager with ~USD 1bn AUM focused on turnaround and restructuring across Europe. Provides buy-and-build and M&A operational expertise critical to the roll-up thesis.
Sahil Patwa (General Partner): Former Principal at Unbound, a London-based venture firm. Actively publishes on the AI roll-up thesis via Substack. Bridges VC/technology perspective with the firm's European services consolidation strategy.
Simon Lohmann (General Partner & COO): Formerly at Atlantic Labs (Berlin VC) and served as Head of Investor Relations at Food Labs. Handles fund operations, LP relations, and execution.
The firm is also supported by an advisor network of founders from active European AI roll-ups including Arbio, Buena, and Zinco — giving Tenet operational credibility and network reach in the emerging category.
Portfolio
Taxforce (taxforce.ai) — Tenet's inaugural investment, announced in February 2026. Taxforce is a German AI-native tax advisory platform specializing in accounting, tax, and payroll services for doctors and medical practices. Founded by Burkhard Reffeling (former Head of Engineering at Klarna, scaled consumer banking to 140+ engineers) and Caspar Gerleve (fintech entrepreneur, previously Francisco Partners, Goldman Sachs). Tenet led a €5M seed financing round. Taxforce's technology reduces routine bookkeeping time by over 70%, enabling advisors to focus on high-value client work.
Fund Status
Tenet launched in February 2026 with a debut fund targeting €80M. At launch, approximately one-third (~€26.7M) had been raised, with a secured anchor investor. The fund is actively deploying capital with ~€5M checks per company.
Decision Process
With four General Partners, Tenet makes investment decisions as a partnership. The firm emphasizes flexible, aligned capital structures tailored to each company's specific needs rather than forcing investments into standard VC or PE templates.
Anti-Thesis
Tenet explicitly avoids pure SaaS/software startups and classical tech companies. They focus on the convergence of AI capabilities with operating asset acquisition. Traditional SMB software or pure marketplace plays without a services consolidation component are not within scope.