We have closed Fund V at the hard cap of EUR 150m, our largest fund to date. The raise marks a major milestone in our 25-year history. With Fund V, we are accelerating the next wave of European tech leaders by backing founders building scalable, defensible technologies and digital business models from the earliest stages.

Fund V is our largest early-stage fund to date. We plan to make around 35 new investments and continue a track record shaped by 25 years of consistent early-stage investing, including 11 IPOs and at least one unicorn per fund.

A founder-centered model built for long-term support

At the core of our model is a founder-centered philosophy rooted in long-term support. Building on a consistent investment strategy, Fund V continues our intergenerational model, in which founders can become investors after exiting their companies and pass on their experience, networks, and the flow of capital and knowledge to the next generation. Our resilience over five fund generations underlines the strength of this long-term, community-driven approach.

An investor base built on long-term relationships

Fund V is backed by a mix of long-standing and new limited partners, including family offices, institutional investors, and high-net-worth individuals. Many have supported us across multiple fund generations, reflecting strong confidence in our long-term model, track record, and mission to back the strongest European founders building transformative companies.

We are particularly pleased to welcome new institutional investors such as asset manager Flexstone, Swiss pension fund Stiftung Abendrot, as well as b2venture portfolio entrepreneurs and operators such as Thomas Hagemann (SevenSenders) and many long-term Super Angels like Joachim Schoss.

We systematically integrate our community of more than 350 experienced angel investors into every stage of our partnership with founders. These founders, operators, and industry leaders contribute capital and deep domain expertise drawn from building and scaling companies themselves. We treat this combined institutional-and-angel approach as an artisanal craft focused on precision, patience, and conviction rather than quantity.

25 years of early-stage investing shaped by community and continuity

“b2venture to us quite literally means we are here to venture. We've been committed to venture since the year 2000. Ever since, b2venture has stood for a consistent investment philosophy: backing exceptional founders early and supporting them over the long term. Fund V reflects the next chapter of this approach and also stands for our intergenerational continuity of investors working hand in hand with our decades-long experience. This allows us to bring b2venture to the next level, while staying true to our principles and our community-based investment approach,” said Florian Schweitzer. “We are very much looking forward to partnering with another 35 entrepreneurial teams — all aiming to build category-defining companies in the next decades.”

Over the past two decades, we have supported companies such as DeepL, 1KOMMA5°, Raisin, SumUp, Nelly, and Urban Sports Club. Across our history, we have backed at least one unicorn per fund, celebrated 11 IPOs, completed more than 30 trade sales, and supported hundreds of founders in building sustainable businesses. In 2025, we celebrated one IPO (Navan) and successfully sold seven other portfolio companies such as Araris Biotech, Beekeeper or lately Neptune to OpenAI.

Early investments from Fund V

Fund V will invest in around 35 early-stage startups across Europe, following an industry-agnostic approach with a focus on scalable, defensible technologies. The fund has already made several investments, including:

• Nautica Technologies – autonomous swarm robots delivered as a subscription service for ship-hull cleaning
• Hive Robotics – the operating system for autonomous systems across air, land, and sea
• Augmented Industries – an AI-powered training platform helping manufacturers close critical workforce and skills gaps
• Assemblean – a production-as-a-service platform enabling faster, more cost-effective manufacturing of complex products

These investments reflect our focus within deep technology, AI, robotics, manufacturing, automation, and infrastructure companies building Europe’s future.

“Venture Capital is ultimately a people business,” added Jan-Hendrik Bürk. “What sets us apart is the depth of our angel community that helps us source, select and support founders building category-defining companies. With Fund V, we are strengthening this model to support the next generation of European tech champions with true domain knowledge, not just capital.”

Welcoming Mathias Ockenfels & marking the next leadership chapter

Last year, we welcomed Mathias Ockenfels as Partner, bringing his long-standing expertise in marketplaces, platforms, and network-effects businesses and further strengthening the firm’s fund investment team. His appointment marks a significant step in the firm’s intergenerational transition.

At the same time, long-standing Partner Jochen Gutbrod will now transition into our exclusive set of Super Angels. Since joining in 2014, he has played a key role in shaping our investment philosophy, with early investments in companies such as Raisin and Blacklane. The b2venture team expresses its deep gratitude for his leadership and lasting contributions.

Founded in the Alpine corridor and anchored in Swiss values and the principles of an “ehrbarer Kaufmann”, we have navigated multiple market cycles: from the first internet wave to the rise of AI, while remaining guided by the same principles: loyalty, continuity, and consistency. Fund V carries this approach forward, focusing on long-term partnerships built on trust and patience.

Find the full coverage of Fund V in Handelsblatt and Sifted.

Handelsblatt: https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/start-ups/start-ups-ist-der-fundraising-winter-zu-ende/100189726.html

Sifted: https://sifted.eu/articles/b2venture-150-fifth-fund-deeptech

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