High-Tech Gründerfonds

Quick read

High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), a public-private seed VC, was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany, with additional offices in Berlin and Munich. It's Germany's most active seed investor — over 700 investments since inception and roughly €2 billion under management across four funds, including the HTGF Opportunity Fund launched in 2024. HTGF backs high-tech startups across industrial tech, deep tech, climate tech, digital tech, life sciences, and chemistry, typically writing ~€1 million seed cheques.

Key facts

Founded

2005

Employees

141

Sectors

generalist, ai, healthcare, climate, hardware

Website

www.htgf.de

Investment thesis

HTGF provides seed capital — typically ~€1 million — to high-tech startups in Germany and Europe at the earliest stage, covering industrial tech, deep tech, climate tech, digital tech, life sciences, and chemistry. As a public-private partnership, it targets companies up to three years old with high growth potential, then supports them with its network of industrial co-investors and follow-on funds.

Recent activity

• Jul 2026leadership
  HTGF promoted two investment managers to partner: Axel Nitsch takes the Digital Tech & AI portfolio, drawing on 16 years in VC and 10 years at HTGF with investments including Make.tv and Graylog. Johannes Weber, a founder himself, leads Industrial, Climate & Deep Tech, with investments including Traceless Materials, Instagrid, and Proxima Fusion. linkedin.com
• Apr 2026investment
  HTGF co-invested €2.2 million in Qurie, a Freiburg-based startup building electrocaloric cooling systems, alongside Technology Transfer Fund TT49 and Aepikur GmbH. leadiq.com
• 2026investment
  HTGF led a €2 million seed round for brainjo, a Regensburg-based digital health startup, with business angels including Andreas Weinhut and better ventures also participating. leadiq.com
• 2026investment
  HTGF co-led a €1.4 million pre-seed round for FION Energy, a Berlin-based cleantech startup, alongside Norrsken Evolve and business angels. leadiq.com
• May 2026press
  HTGF Family Day 2026 returns to STATION Berlin on May 11–12 under the theme 'New Wirtschaftswunder,' expecting 1,300 attendees, 4,000+ meetings, and 40+ speakers covering energy infrastructure, quantum computing, space technology, AI industrial productivity, and biotechnology. techfundingnews.com
• Feb 2026leadership
  HTGF's management team took over responsibility for the Deep Tech and Climate Fonds (DTCF), a government-backed growth vehicle, creating an integrated public-private VC platform spanning pre-seed to scale-up. techfundingnews.com
• Feb 2026leadership
  Sebastian Borek joined HTGF, taking a Managing Director role alongside his position at Deep Tech. linkedin.com
• Jan 2026press
  HTGF published its 2026 outlook, with partners Tanja Emmerling, Gregor Haidl, and Dr. Nik Raupp calling 2026 a 'reality check' year — prioritising AI as a productivity tool, capital-disciplined growth, and European tech sovereignty over hype-driven expansion. htgf.de
• 2025press
  HTGF co-organised Digital Health Pitch Day 2025 alongside Brainlab and Plug and Play Tech Center. de.linkedin.com
• May 2026press
  HTGF hosted its annual Family Day 2026, a two-day event bringing together founders, investors, and policy figures. Sessions covered AI as a productivity engine, European tech sovereignty, deep tech commercialisation, and a sneak preview of a new Deep Tech Report. linkedin.com
• Feb 2026investment
  HTGF made its most recent tracked investment into nuuEnergy, a B2C services company, on 17 February 2026. pitchbook.com
• 2024fundraise
  HTGF launched its fourth fund, bringing total assets under management to approximately €1.4 billion, and separately launched the HTGF Opportunity Fund, pushing the overall fund volume past €2 billion. en.wikipedia.org

Notable investments

• QurieSeedApr 2026leadiq.com
• brainjoSeed2026leadiq.com
• FION EnergyPre-Seed2026leadiq.com
• Marble ImagingSeed (€5.3M, oversubscribed, HTGF-led)2025de.linkedin.com
• EvlaBioSeed (€21M, led by Kurma Partners; HTGF participated)2025de.linkedin.com
• nuuEnergySeedFeb 2026pitchbook.com
• INLEAP PhotonicsSeedpitchbook.com
• Twogee BiotechSeedpitchbook.com
• PrimogeneSeedzoominfo.com
• VREYSeedzoominfo.com
• InstagridSeedbe.linkedin.com
• EGYMSeedbe.linkedin.com

Key people

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

• Alex von Frankenberg · Managing Director
• Romy Schnelle · Partner
• Caroline Mücke · Investment Director

Sources

• High-Tech Gründerfonds – Wikipedia
• High-Tech Gründerfonds investment portfolio | PitchBook
• HTGF | High-Tech Gründerfonds | LinkedIn
• HTGF Family Day 2026 – LinkedIn Post
• High-Tech Gründerfonds – ZoomInfo
• HTGF Investor Profile | OpenVC
• https://techfundingnews.com/htgf-family-day-2026-europe-deep-tech-wirtschaftswunder/
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/high-tech-gruenderfonds_sebastian-borek-will-join-htgf-high-tech-activity-7361260270893027328-UF58
• https://www.htgf.de/en/2026-is-not-a-hype-year-its-a-reality-check-for-startups/
• https://de.linkedin.com/in/achim-plum-5692aa26/en
• https://www.linkedin.com/posts/high-tech-gruenderfonds_two-investors-who-have-helped-shape-htgf-activity-7477964452227760128-URhu?utm_source=social_share_send&utm_medium=member_desktop_web&rcm=ACoAAGrhP9cBjNhL5Wfoz0uVaJJJjyfQpHPwncc
• https://leadiq.com/c/high-tech-gr%C3%BCnderfonds/5a1d9fc52300005e00907ea9

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