Ninepointfive Ventures

Who they are

Elisa Vlerick is Founding Partner at Ninepointfive (9.5 Ventures) — co-founded Europe's first VC firm built solely around co-investing with corporates, launching the Ninepointfive Tidal Fund for maritime and offshore energy transition.

Person

Elisa Vlerick co-founded Ninepointfive in Antwerp in 2019 alongside partner Bart Houben and Pieter Van de Velde — building what the firm describes as Europe's first VC focused exclusively on co-investing with corporate partners from pre-seed through to maturity. The firm's thesis sits at the intersection of industrial digitization and energy transition, two themes she returns to consistently in public. She spoke at IMD Geneva in 2022 on corporate venturing and financing models, has appeared on the EU CVC podcast discussing blended structures for innovation, and joined a PwC Belgium podcast on what happens after a corporate venture unit is built. She also spoke at the Global Corporate Venturing Symposium in London and the Green Business Building Summit in Berlin. Possibly — her long tenure running a single firm from founding suggests she thinks in fund cycles rather than quarters, building relationships with the same corporate partners over years.

Company

Ninepointfive operates a distinctive co-investment model: corporates — including Beiersdorf, Agfa, and Telenet — invest alongside the fund rather than separately, which gives portfolio startups both capital and a built-in industrial customer or distribution partner. The firm runs at least two vehicles: Fund One (launched 2019), targeting the digitization of Europe's industrial value chain, and the Ninepointfive Tidal Fund, focused on energy transition in maritime, ports, and offshore sectors. The corporate partner roster spans consumer goods (Beiersdorf), imaging and materials (Agfa), and Belgian telecoms (Telenet), giving the firm cross-sector reach into industrial incumbents. The model positions Ninepointfive as a bridge between early-stage tech founders and the large corporates who are their most likely first customers or acquirers.

Market

Ninepointfive plays in the European corporate venture capital space, a segment that has grown as large industrial companies seek structured access to startup innovation beyond pure in-house R&D. Its differentiation is the co-investment structure — corporates sit inside the fund rather than running parallel CVC units — which puts it in contrast to traditional CVC arms at companies like Siemens or Airbus. Industrial digitization and energy transition are both highly active deal categories in European venture right now, drawing competition from generalist funds, specialist climate funds, and the in-house CVC arms of the very corporates Ninepointfive courts as partners.

Network

The named partners at Ninepointfive are Elisa Vlerick, Pieter Van de Velde, and Bart Houben — all three have appeared on public stages representing the firm, including the EU CVC podcast. Corporate co-investors Beiersdorf, Agfa, and Telenet are the most visible institutional relationships in the network.

How they likely show up

  • Co-founded and has run the same firm since 2019 (long-tenure signal) → likely thinks in multi-year fund cycles and relationship arcs, not short-term deal flow.
  • Speaking circuit spans IMD Geneva, London, Berlin, and EU CVC podcast → comfortable in academic, corporate, and practitioner rooms simultaneously.
  • The co-investment model is structurally unusual (corporates inside the fund, not alongside) → suggests an appetite for redesigning standard templates rather than adopting convention.
  • Possibly — content themes cluster tightly around industrial digitization and energy transition → probably engages most when a conversation has a specific sector thesis, not just a general startup narrative.
  • Launched a second thematic fund (Tidal) for maritime/offshore energy → willing to go narrow and specialized when the thesis warrants it.

Conversation tips

  • → Come with a view on the structural difference between a corporate co-investment model and a standard CVC arm — she has clearly thought hard about it and will engage if you have a specific angle.
  • → Reference one of her named corporate partners (Beiersdorf, Agfa, Telenet) and ask about how the relationship dynamic differs across sectors — it's a concrete thread into how the model actually works.
  • → If you're a founder in industrial tech or maritime energy, lead with the sector fit, not the fundraising ask — the fund thesis is specific and she'll want to know you understand it.
  • → Mention the Tidal Fund specifically if maritime, ports, or offshore energy is relevant — it signals you've done more than glance at the homepage.

Toolbox

Openers

  • Open on the Ninepointfive Tidal Fund — a dedicated vehicle for energy transition in maritime and offshore is a narrow, specific bet, and asking what shaped that thesis is a genuine conversation starter.
  • Reference the PwC Belgium podcast episode 'So you build a corporate venture, what happens next?' — she joined to discuss what comes after the structural setup, which is where most CVC conversations stop.
  • Mention the EU CVC podcast appearance on blending structures for innovation — it's a specific piece of content that signals you engaged with the firm's thinking, not just its website.

Discovery questions

  1. With corporates like Beiersdorf and Agfa sitting inside the fund rather than running their own CVC arms, how do you manage divergence when a portfolio company's direction conflicts with a corporate partner's strategic interest?
  2. The Tidal Fund focuses specifically on maritime, ports, and offshore — what was the gap in the market that made a dedicated vehicle necessary rather than investing through Fund One?
  3. At IMD you spoke on corporate venturing and financing models — what's the most common structural mistake you see companies make when they try to build a corporate venture unit?

Avoid

Don't treat the co-investment model as a variation of standard CVC — she built it as a structural alternative and conflating the two will signal you haven't engaged with the actual thesis.

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Sources

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources on July 26, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →