Speedinvest

Looking for some summer reading, podcast, and video recommendations? We’ve got you covered! Our team has been busy the past few weeks sharing their expertise & knowledge on stages, podcasts & print. 👀 WATCH: Our GP Marie-Helene AMETSREITER joined a panel discussion at Hinterland of Things focused on the 2024 Venture Capital Landscape alongside Carsten Gjoertler Salling, GP at Dreamcraft Ventures & Florian Heinemann, Founding Partner at Project A. Nadine Schimroszik from Handelsblatt moderated. 📖 READ: Our Partner Rick (Jingchun) Hao, who oversees our Deep Tech investment team, shared his thoughts on what VCs and Europe can do to strengthen the continent's spinout ecosystem with TNW. 👂 LISTEN: Our Founding Partner, Daniel Keiper-Knorr, joined TNW Podcast to share his take on the current state of VC and startup funding in Europe. 👀 WATCH: Our Partner Markus Lang, who oversees our SaaS & Infra investment team, hosted a virtual workshop for SaaStr on how founders can scale their startups from Seed to Series A.    Head to the comments section to watch, listen, and read their insights ⬇ #venturecapital #startupfunding #tech #investing

WATCH: An exclusive tour of Breathe Battery Technologies London-based lab ⬇️ Developing sustainable batteries and reducing the risk of exacerbating battery waste is essential with the proliferation of consumer electronics and the growing importance of electric vehicles. This is where Breathe Battery Technologies comes in. The London-based deep tech startup is ‘Making Batteries Better’ with their patented technology platform, PHI X2, which helps the world’s most iconic electric vehicle and consumer electronics brands do more with the power they have. The result? Faster charging, greater cycle life batteries with zero compromise on safety. Founders Dr. Ian Campbell and Dr. Yan Z. recently took us behind the scenes at their headquarters to show us how they’re building the batteries of the future. Watch the full lab tour below and head to our blog for more on the company’s plans for the future (link in comments) ⬇ #batterytech #electricvehicles #sustainability #uktech #venturecapital

planqc raises €50 million Series A to take on global competitors with their “Made in Germany” quantum computers. The European leader in digital atom-based quantum computing, founded in 2022 by scientists from Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and LMU Munich – Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, has successfully scaled the number of neutral atoms utilized as qubits to 1,200. Reaching this industry milestone in qubit numbers paves the way for fault-tolerant – and practically useful - quantum computers. Scaling to 10,000 or even 100,000 qubits is expected in the next couple of years - making it possible to tackle previously unsolvable problems. Rick (Jingchun) Hao Hao, Partner with our Deep Tech team, says, “Quantum computing will impact a variety of industries and we believe that neutral atoms are a more promising way to scale quantum computers. Planqc's unique technology has the potential to leapfrog the quantum competition. We are very pleased to continue supporting the Planqc team in this crucial phase of building a global market leader.” Speedinvest continues supporting founders Alexander Glätzle, Sebastian Blatt, and Johannes Zeiher alongside lead investors CATRON Holding and the DTCF | DeepTech & Climate Fonds, with participation from Bayern Kapital, the Max-Planck Foundation, UVC Partners, private investors, and a non-dilutive grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany. Links to the press release & media coverage in the comments 🔽

Even Great Things Come to an End: General Partner Mathias O. is Leaving Speedinvest After Seven Successful Years A personal message from our CEO & Managing Partner Oliver Holle ⬇️ After seven very intensive, successful, and exciting years, the Speedinvest partnership is changing. Mathias Ockenfels, General Partner leading our Marketplaces & Consumer investment team, has decided to embark on a new professional chapter. During Mathias’ tenure, Speedinvest has grown substantially, becoming one of Europe’s leading early-stage venture capital funds. Mathias’ incredible network, passion for venture capital and marketplace startups, and a keen eye for spotting winning companies from day one have played a decisive role in that growth and success. ⦾ Mathias set up our Berlin office in 2017, which has grown to 15 employees; ⦾ Under his leadership, our Marketplaces & Consumer investment team was established in Berlin and quickly expanded to Munich & London;  ⦾ Mathias led the establishment of two dedicated funds for digital marketplace models at Speedinvest, raising more than €100M in capital and investing in more than 70 portfolio companies, which have gone on to raise billions in follow-on capital; ⦾ He’s led multiple successful investments at Speedinvest, including TIER Mobility, CoachHub - The digital coaching platform, Schüttflix, and Planetly; ⦾ and he and his team created the now highly successful The Marketplace Conference – a leading event in the European start-up ecosystem held annually in Berlin. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to personally thank Mathias for his extraordinary and immeasurable contributions to building and establishing Speedinvest. Without him, we would not be the VC we are today, and we are especially grateful for the role he played in establishing our now widely respected and successful vertically-focused investment model.  His vision and leadership have been instrumental in our achievements, and we are committed to building upon the strong foundation he helped establish. After seven years, however, change is inevitable, and we respect Mathias' decision to take a short break for his growing family and to pursue new challenges in the future. But he won’t be leaving us just yet! While Mathias decided not to participate as a General Partner in our next generation of funds, I am pleased to share that he will continue to use his expertise to support his portfolio companies and marketplace funds after a well-deserved short paternity leave. In closing, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge that, for Speedinvest, this change represents a new chapter for us. We have achieved an enormous amount together with Mathias, and for that, we are proud and above all grateful. Be assured that the entire Speedinvest team remains fully committed to ensuring the continued success of our funds and portfolio companies. Our partnership may be changing but our bold vision for the future of Speedinvest never will 🚀

Apiday raises a €10m Series A to become the European leader in ESG reporting for private equity funds & SMI companies 💪 The Paris-based sustainability reporting company’s innovative platform offers a comprehensive suite of corporate sustainability reporting tools – helping clients compile bespoke sustainability reports and comply with CSRD and SFDR regulations. With a growing portfolio of more than 100 clients in 23 countries, Edouard Audi, Charles Moury, and the team will use the funding to strengthen its technology stack, integrating AI and expanding its team from 40 to 70 ESG experts in the next 12 months. Speedinvest is excited to continue our support by joining the round led by daphni with participation from AENU, SWEN Capital Partners, Galion.exe, and existing investors Revent. Read more about the round and Apiday’s plans for the future in TechCrunch (link in comments) ⬇️ #esg #sustainability #frenchtech #startupnews #venturecapital

Our monthly newsletter is here: https://lnkd.in/ez5dktm7 Featuring Cobee, Prewave, forward earth, Rivia, Alinia AI, Haaven, Sylvera, Yokoy, Doccla, Kittl, CoachHub - The digital coaching platform, Flowdesk, Primer, Seqera, TWAICE, Upvest, Gitpod, a deep dive into deepfakes, Africa's current state of startups and VC funding, and much more! #startups #technews #europeantech #venturecapital

12 of the 100 most promising B2B startups in Europe are Speedinvest portfolio companies! Sylvera, Yokoy, Doccla, Kittl, Prewave, CoachHub - The digital coaching platform, Flowdesk, Primer, Seqera, TWAICE, Upvest, and Gitpod all made the Sifted & Sapphire Ventures B2B SaaS Rising 100 list. Congratulations to all on the well-earned recognition! Link to the full B2B SaaS Rising 100 list in the comments ⬇️ #b2bsaas #software #startups #venturecapital

Prewave raises $67m Series B to deliver the world’s first supply chain superintelligence platform. Vienna-based Prewave's AI-driven supply chain risk intelligence platform is used by major corporate clients, including Lufthansa, Toyota, Ferrari, and Dr. Oetker, to minimize supply chain risk and build resilient operations despite the ever-growing complexity in supply chains. This new funding, led by Hedosophia, will fuel Prewave’s global expansion on the back of rapid growth in Europe and a threefold increase in revenue in 2023 alone. Markus Lang, Partner with our SaaS & Infra investment team, says, “Lisa and Harald have impressed us since day one with their mission to build a supply chain superintelligence platform. With a unique combination of proprietary AI technology and a world-class team fueled by a strong sense of purpose, Prewave meets a growing market need as thousands of businesses face multiplying supply chain challenges. We believe that this is just the beginning, and we’re delighted to continue partnering with Prewave as it scales to become a global category leader.” Learn more about the round we joined with fellow existing investors Creandum, Ventech, KOMPAS VC, and Working Capital Fund, and Prewave’s plans for the future in Handelsblatt. https://lnkd.in/evuYK8dT

The Marketplace Conference is awarding one marketplace startup a €1M investment! Will your company win? 💰 For the first time, we’re hosting a pitch competition during our annual Marketplace Conference this September in Berlin, and we’ve partnered with DFF (Dutch Founders Fund), FJ Labs, and VOY to offer the winning startup a €1M prize! Applications are open until August 2 and the most promising startups will pitch on stage at the conference on September 24. Mathias O., Jeroen Arts, Maximilian Wilhelm, Katharine Spooner, Victor H., and Marc Mühling of our Marketplaces & Consumer team can’t wait to see your pitch. Apply now ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/d2yUFE_k BONUS: The top 50 startups will receive free tickets to the conference! #marketplaces #startups #pitch #venturecapital

forward earth’s AI-powered environment software is driving the decarbonization of the global supply chain. Increased commercial pressure and stricter regulations in the EU, UK, and the US have companies scrambling to better track and monitor their environmental data. Berlin-based forward earth enables businesses to integrate their easy-to-use, AI-powered environmental management software into existing ESG, GSC, and supply chain software – enabling a complete overview of compliance, risk management, and supply chain data. Frederik Hagenauer, Partner with our SaaS & Infra team, says, “Dr. Micha Schildmann, Cari Davidson, Giuseppe Gentile, and the forward earth team bring an absolutely unique wealth of experience from our former portfolio company, Planetly, to tackle a still unsolved problem. forward earth’s product will unlock detailed carbon and environmental data for anyone offering ESG, GRC, or supply chain intelligence globally.” We’re excited to lead forward earth’s €3.2M round with participation from Revent, Lucid Capital, serial entrepreneurs Anna Alex and Benedikt Franke, and the European Union Regional Development Fund. Finance Forward has more on the round and forward earth’s plans for expansion across Europe, the US, and Asia. Links to media coverage in comments ⬇️ #supplychain #esg #climatetech #saas #venturecapital