Vanagon Ventures Research
Investment Thesis
Vanagon Ventures is a Munich-based (pre-)seed fund founded in 2023 that backs European deep tech and AI-native founders from day one. Its core claim is that Europe does not have an innovation problem but a commercialisation problem, and that the steepest value creation in the AI era has moved to the earliest stages. The firm argues that legacy VCs rely on SaaS playbooks that do not fit deep tech and avoid pre-seed, so it positions itself as purpose-built for the pre-seed gap. The stated mission is the European Advantage: sectors where Europe holds a structural edge and can extend it globally.
Sector Focus
The firm describes its key verticals as deep tech and AI-native companies in:
- Advanced manufacturing and autonomous manufacturing
- Future materials
- Geospatial intelligence
- Artificial intelligence and industrial AI
- Next-generation computing, including quantum and deep software
- Robotics
Its About page frames this as sovereign-edge technology in Industrial, Nature and Digital Infrastructure, which it sizes as a EUR 3T European deep tech opportunity.
Stage Focus
Vanagon is a pre-seed and seed investor. It says most early-stage funds are not built for pre-seed and that they talk conviction but wait for proof. It backs founders leaving a lab, leaving a job, or starting again, and helps them through to Series A and beyond. In at least one case (Particula) it was the first investor at pre-seed and later participated in the seed round.
Check Size
Initial tickets are up to EUR 500k in first rounds. As lead investor, the firm says it unlocks additional funding from its close network. Fund I is expected to back about thirty startups.
Lead Tendency
Vanagon states that it leads first rounds and mobilises co-investors. Beyond Germany it likes to partner with mission-aligned co-investors. In the Particula seed it was named as a leading investor alongside SixThirty Ventures.
Recent Activity
In January 2026 Vanagon announced the final close of its EUR 20M Fund I. Reported investments include a financing round in Holy Technologies (over EUR 4.3M total, advised by Bird & Bird in October 2025), the Particula seed round (May 2025), Ewigbyte, 36ZERO Vision, The Landbanking Group and Neuramancer. The firm says it is actively investing and runs an open pitch submission form.
Portfolio Highlights
- Holy Technologies: autonomous factory for lightweight components
- Ewigbyte: optical data storage that engraves data into glass with ultrafast lasers
- 36ZERO Vision: AI-powered autonomous quality inspection
- The Landbanking Group: turns natural capital into investable assets
- Tentris: hallucination-free enterprise AI
- Evasive Robotics: real-time, multi-robot factories
- Neuramancer: forensics against disinformation
- Particula: AI-driven risk intelligence
Team
- Axel Roitzsch, General Partner: former VC-backed technology entrepreneur turned investor, with a record of founding, scaling and exiting companies
- Susanne Fromm, General Partner: former management consultant, corporate executive and venture capitalist, and CEO of a listed frontier tech investment firm
- Sandro Stark, General Partner: ex-Microsoft technology strategist, founder of a parametric climate insurance company
Decision Process
Three equal General Partners run the fund as a partnership. All three come from non-legacy VC backgrounds, which the firm presents as a deliberate edge: it says most VCs fund familiarity while Vanagon looks for divergence.
Founder Preferences
Relentless, purpose-driven founders on a life's mission to build a legacy-defying company. Vanagon backs scientists, engineers and operators commercialising breakthrough technology, and says it works sleeves up alongside them.
Support Beyond Capital
The firm helps with fundraising from pre-seed to Series A, round and cap table structuring, and runs a dedicated WhatsApp group with each portfolio team. It also references a Deepdrive platform led by unicorn founders and claims to have helped 200+ ventures across the partners' careers.
Geographic Focus
Primarily DACH, with Munich as its home base and deep tech hub. It partners with co-investors beyond Germany for follow-on rounds.