Freigeist Capital

Quick read

Freigeist Capital is a seed-stage VC founded in 2010, headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The firm co-invests alongside founders from day zero — often pre-incorporation — across deep tech, hardware, AI, and enterprise software. It's best known for early bets on Lilium, RobCo, Kraftblock, and EnduroSat, with notable exits including Wunderlist (Microsoft), MyTaxi (Daimler), and kaufDA (Springer).

Key facts

Founded

2010

Founders

Frank Thelen, Marc Sieberger, Alex Koch

Employees

11-50

Sectors

hardware, ai, generalist

Website

freigeist.com

Investment thesis

Freigeist backs European deep tech founders at seed stage — often pre-incorporation — across hardware, AI, robotics, energy, and enterprise software, taking a co-founder-style approach with hands-on operational support through Series A.

Recent activity

• Apr 2026investment
  Freigeist invested in BioThrust as part of a Pre-Seed II round, its most recent recorded investment per CB Insights. cbinsights.com
• Jan 2026press
  Crunchbase recorded a news item referencing Freigeist activity on 14 Jan 2026; full details are paywalled. crunchbase.com
• Jan 2026investment
  Portfolio company United Manufacturing Hub (UMH) raised €5 million to expand its manufacturing data platform, with Freigeist as a backer. eu-startups.com
• Feb 2025investment
  Freigeist invested in Collie, a smart GPS-collar startup that lets farmers manage cattle grazing without physical fences. de.linkedin.com
• Feb 2025investment
  Tracxn noted Freigeist had made 2 investments in the first two months of 2025, against a typical pace of 1 per year, suggesting a busier deployment period. tracxn.com
• Jan 2026investment
  Portfolio company United Manufacturing Hub (UMH) raised €5 million to address data integration challenges in global manufacturing. eu-startups.com
• Feb 2025investment
  Tracxn data shows Freigeist made 2 investments in 2025 as of February, following 1 investment in 2024, bringing the total portfolio to 40 companies. tracxn.com
• 2022investment
  Freigeist invested in PROSION, a biotech developing small-molecule drugs targeting proline-rich-motif binding proteins linked to cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease. freigeist.com
• Feb 2025investment
  Freigeist Capital invested in Collie, contributing to the startup's funding round. crunchbase.com
• Feb 2025press
  Tracxn reported Freigeist as an active investor with 2 new investments made in early 2025, out of a total portfolio of 40 companies. tracxn.com
• 2024investment
  Freigeist invested in United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), a provider of open-source industrial automation software, connecting with the company at Hannover Messe. linkedin.com
• 2024investment
  Freigeist backed Build.One, a cloud platform for business application development where applications are stored as data rather than code. linkedin.com

Notable investments

• BioThrustPre-Seed IIApr 2026cbinsights.com
• United Manufacturing Hub (UMH)undisclosedJan 2026eu-startups.com
• CollieundisclosedFeb 2025de.linkedin.com
• United Manufacturing Hub (UMH)Undisclosed (€5M raised)Jan 2026eu-startups.com
• CollieSeed2024de.linkedin.com
• BioThrustSeed2024de.linkedin.com
• PROSIONSeed2022freigeist.com
• Build.OneSeedUndisclosedlinkedin.com
• EnduroSatSeedUndisclosedendurosat.com
• United Manufacturing Hub (UMH)Seed2024linkedin.com
• RobCoSeedlinkedin.com
• KraftblockSeedlinkedin.com

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

• Frank Thelen · Founder & CEO
  LinkedIn
• Marc Sieberger · Partner
  LinkedIn
• Alex Koch · Partner & CTO
• Marcel Vogler · Team Member
• Niklas Hebborn · Team Member
• Domenico Cipolla · Team Member

Sources

• Freigeist Capital – Official Website
• Freigeist | LinkedIn
• Freigeist Capital – Tracxn Profile 2025
• Freigeist Capital – Crunchbase
• Freigeist Capital GmbH – Bloomberg Markets
• Freigeist Capital Joins EnduroSat
• https://www.eu-startups.com/tag/freigeist-capital/
• https://freigeist.com/portfolio/
• https://www.cbinsights.com/investor/e42-ventures
• https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/e42-ventures/investor_summary/overview_timeline
• https://de.linkedin.com/company/freigeistcap

Other VCs in Germany

• Earlybird Venture Capital · Multi-stage VC, Berlin·
• Project A Ventures · Early-stage VC, Berlin·
• Cherry Ventures · Early-stage VC, Berlin·
• Point Nine Capital · SaaS-only VC, Berlin·
• High-Tech Gründerfonds · Seed VC, Bonn·
• HV Capital · Multi-stage VC, Munich (ex-Holtzbrinck Ventures)

Explore VCs by sector

• Hardware in Germany
• AI in Germany

Globally

• Hardware worldwide
• AI worldwide

Frequently asked