ZOHO.VC Research
Investment Thesis
ZOHO.VC is the venture arm of ZOLLHOF - Tech Incubator, a Nuremberg-based incubator affiliated with the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg and designated a "Startup Factory" by the German Federal Government. The firm describes itself as co-investing 200k checks in the next generation of early-stage B2B tech founders, backing mission-critical deeptech startups in hardware and software, both from the ZOLLHOF programs and beyond. Its self-stated identity is three lines: roots in incubation, backers who are industry experts, and a mission to "materialize the missing". The homepage tagline is "founders at the core, industries in sight."
Stage Focus
Pre-seed and seed. The fund pairs capital with technical expertise and access to ZOLLHOF's network of corporate partners, technology experts and co-investors. Its strategy targets early-stage companies connected to the ZOLLHOF ecosystem, including startups emerging from its incubation programme, plus selected co-investment opportunities outside it. University spin-offs are a particular focus.
Check Size
The website states 200k checks. No range is published, so check size min and max are both set to 200,000 with moderate confidence.
Lead Tendency
The firm describes itself as a co-investor, and its homepage lists about 20 co-investors it has invested alongside, including Bain Capital, HTGF, Bayern Kapital, DN Capital, Faber VC, Vsquared Ventures, Quantonation, the OpenAI Startup Fund, Gigahertz Ventures, better ventures and Superangels. That pattern points to a follower or co-investor role rather than a lead, though pre-seed rounds such as All About Accuracy may differ.
Fund Status and Recent Activity
In January 2026 ZOHO.VC announced the first close of its debut fund at roughly 7 million euros, which is 70 percent of a 10 million euro target, ten months ahead of the final close. Limited partners include entrepreneurial families and startup founders. The partners plan to expand the fund beyond its original target during 2026. At announcement the team had already completed five investments, including Merge Labs. The fund is actively deploying. The homepage also lists upcoming event appearances: Engaged Investments Conference in Prague (October 21-22, 2026) and Slush in Helsinki (November 18-19, 2026).
Portfolio Highlights
The homepage names nine investments, of which eight are named and one is an undisclosed EdTech stealth company:
- All About Accuracy: deeptech spin-off that raised a seven-figure pre-seed round with ZOHO.VC participating
- dehaze
- Hiber
- Merge Labs
- Neuramancer AI
- Munich Quantum Instruments
- Quint Computing
- Scavenger AI
- A stealth EdTech company
The mix leans toward quantum computing, AI and deeptech hardware from German university and research ecosystems. No exits are disclosed.
Team
- Dennis Kirpensteijn, General Partner: co-leads the fund; has worked on building ZOLLHOF for about three years with Benjamin Bauer; also an advisory board member and angel investor.
- Benjamin Bauer, General Partner: co-leads the fund alongside Kirpensteijn and led ZOLLHOF's development.
- Nicolas Sievers, Principal: runs deal flow and day-to-day investing.
- Dr. Judit Klein, Venture Partner: supports investment decisions and startup programs; some third-party directories list her as Head of Startups.
Some press describes the three of Kirpensteijn, Bauer and Sievers as Managing Partners; the firm's own site uses the titles above.
Decision Process
The fund is run by a small partnership of two General Partners and a Principal, with a Venture Partner supporting decisions. Decisions appear to be made by the partners jointly. No timeline is published.
Founder Preferences
Technical founders building mission-critical B2B deeptech, especially university spin-offs and teams passing through ZOLLHOF's incubation programs. The firm values founders who combine technical depth with an industrial customer angle, and offers access to corporate partners and technology experts.
Geographic Focus
Germany first, centered on Bavaria and the Nuremberg-Erlangen-Munich region, with co-investors from across the German regional funds (Bayern Kapital, Brandenburg Kapital, BMH Hessen) and pan-European funds. Warm introductions through the ZOLLHOF network or co-investors are likely the most effective route in, though this is not stated by the firm.
Gaps
No public check-size range beyond the 200k figure, no published stage by company, no dates for individual investments on the site, and Merge Labs' domain could not be confirmed from the site link (it points to a blog page), so it is left blank.