Are you planning a fundraising campaign? These 12 VCs are currently giving out money

1.2 billion euros (1.3 billion USD) the investors of the London-based VC firm Balderton Capital collected from their LPs. The money is divided into two pots: 56 million euros (615 million USD) go to the Early stage funds IX and 63 million euros (685 million USD) in the Growth Fund II. Both funds are intended to finance European startups at different stages.

With 25 years on the market, Balderton Capital is one of the oldest European VCs. The current portfolio includes companies such as Revolut, Contentful, Wayve. Balderton invests primarily in technology areas such as AI, fintech, B2B SaaS, digital health, mobility, gaming and marketplaces.

In addition, eleven other VCs have announced in recent weeks that they are ready to invest in promising startups with new funds. You can read here what these are, how the market is changing and what startups need to be able to do to be attractive to top investors.

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Better times for startups: investment climate improves

The fact that there is currently a lot of capital for startups again was unanimously heard at every scene event in recent weeks – and there were, as we know, many. After investors held back considerably in 2023, there were more and larger financing rounds in the first half of 2024. Sunfire received 315 million euros, Finn a whopping 100 million, Instagrid 89 million. Enpal and Everphone reported huge borrowings – things are happening again in the German and European startup landscape in general. But there is still a certain caution in the investments that are now being made. VCs have become more selective, it is often said, they look even more closely and expect more, putting quality before speed, is the tenor.

Gut feeling and what people say about flying food is actually reflected quite well in numbers in this case. A look at the KPMG Venture Pulse Report Europe for the first quarter of 2024 reveals: The volume of VC investments made in Europe rose from 15.1 billion US dollars (about 14 billion euros) in the last quarter of 2023 to 17.9 billion dollars (16.7 billion euros) in Q1 2024. In contrast, the number of deals fell (from 2491 to 1798). This suggests that on average there were larger rounds for fewer startups – that is, the selection was more precise. “VC investors are focusing their funds on the most promising startups,” the report says.

Germany has not yet fully recovered

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Nevertheless, the climate is getting warmer again here too, which can be seen from the fact that in the spring and first summer months of 2024 many venture capital firms announced: We have a new fund! In other words: There are again pots of money, of varying sizes, from which companies – only the best, of course – will be invested. There will soon be more of them too: In the first half of 2024, the number of new companies founded rose by 15 percent compared to the second half of 2023. This is shown by the latest data from the report series “Next Generation – New startups in Germany”, published by the Startup Association and startupdetector.

If you look at the figures for Germany alone, the picture is not quite so rosy: Investments in this country fell slightly, from 1.9 billion US dollars (1.8 billion euros) in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 1.8 billion US dollars (1.7 billion euros) in Q1 2024. The authors of the report see the reasons for this in the “macroeconomic uncertainties that continued to pose a challenge for both startups and mature companies.” While inflation fell and interest rates stabilized, high energy costs, concerns about global competitiveness and increasing geopolitical uncertainties continued to mean that many VC investors in Germany remained cautious. And then there is the issue of exits. The lack of exits. For a long time and in large numbers.

These eleven other German VCs are currently looking for startups

Index Ventures

• Headquarter: San Francisco, USA, and London, United Kingdom
• Geographical focus: Europe, USA and Israel