Are you planning a fundraising campaign? These 11 VCs are currently giving out money

To get straight to the point: The renowned VC Index Ventures has announced new funds with a total volume of 2.3 billion dollars (equivalent to 2.1 billion euros). This sum is divided into two separate funds: one Growth Fund of $1.5 billion, a Risk capital fund of 800 million dollars, plus an existing Seed-Fonds of $300 million. With the new funds, Index Ventures plans to continue investing in promising startups in Europe, the US and Israel.

The company already has a considerable track record with investments in well-known companies such as Adyen, Dropbox and Roblox. In Germany, the VC is involved with the software unicorn Personio and the Cologne-based AI company Deepl. With Katharina Wilhelm, the investor also has a partner in Berlin. Since its founding almost 30 years ago, Index says it has attracted a total of around 15 billion dollars to its funds, and 108 supported companies have become unicorns.

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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.

You can read here which VC firms have fresh capital available, in which industries, business models and phases they invest, and which startups have a good chance of getting financing:

These ten other German VCs are currently looking for startups

Vsquared Ventures

• Headquarter: Munich, Germany