HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds) is a public-private

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

investment firm based in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, with additional offices in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. As an early stage

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

investor, HTGF focuses on high potential high-tech

startups A startup or start-up is a company or project undertaken by an Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur to seek, develop, and validate a scalable business model. While entrepreneurship includes all new businesses including self-employment and businesses tha ...

in industrial tech, deep tech, climate tech, digital tech, life sciences and chemistry. HTGF is among the most active venture capital investors in Europe.

Foundation and Fund Investors

High-Tech Gründerfonds is a 

public–private partnership A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sectors, private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Revie ...

and was founded in 2005 to address a funding gap in early stages and foster growth in high-tech startups. Across its four generations of seed funds, investors include the

Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (, ; abbreviated BMWE, formerly BMWi) is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was previously known as the "Ministry of Economy". It was recreated in 2005 as "Minis ...

, the KfW Banking Group owned by the federal government, and industrial groups of ALTANA,

BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...

, B.Braun,

Robert Bosch Robert Bosch (23 September 1861 – 12 March 1942) was a German business magnate, engineer and inventor, founder of Bosch (company), Bosch. Biography Bosch was born in Langenau, Albeck, in the Swabia, Swabian Highlands near Ulm. He was one of t ...

, BÜFA, CEWE,

Deutsche Post DHL Deutsche Post AG (), trade name, trading as DHL Group, is a German multinational corporation, multinational package delivery and supply chain management company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is one of the world's largest courier companies ...

, Dräger, Drillisch AG,

EVONIK , products = Chemicals , revenue = {{Decrease €15.2 billion (2024){{cite web , url= https://www.evonik.com/en/investor-relations/Reporting.html#tabs-b118b10b7a-item-2d4ab0c2ad-tab , title=Evonik Financial Report 2024 , publisher=Evonik Industri ...

, EWE AG, Haniel, Hettich,

Knauf Knauf Group is a multinational, family-owned company based in Iphofen, Germany, well known for drywall gypsum boards, founded in 1932. The company is a producer of building materials and construction systems comprising construction materials fo ...

, Körber,

LANXESS Lanxess AG is a German specialty chemicals company based in Cologne, Germany. It was founded in 2004 after Bayer AG spun off its chemicals division and parts of its polymers business. History The company's roots trace back to 1863, with the fou ...

, media + more venture Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG,

PHOENIX CONTACT Phoenix Contact, headquartered in Blomberg, Ostwestfalen-Lippe, Germany, is a manufacturer of industrial automation, interconnection, and interfaces. The company develops terminal blocks, relays, connectors, signal conditioners, power supplies, ...

, Postbank,

QIAGEN QIAGEN N.V. is a German-founded multinational provider of sample and assay technologies for molecular diagnostics, applied testing, academic research, and pharmaceutical research. The company operates in more than 35 offices in over 25 countries ...

RWE RWE AG is a German multinational energy company headquartered in Essen. It generates and trades electricity in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the United States. In July 2020, RWE completed a far-reaching asset swap deal with E.ON first ...

Generation SE,

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...

Schufa Schufa Holding AG (; English: ''General Credit Protection Agency''), proper spelling SCHUFA, is a German private credit bureau supported by creditors. It has its headquarters in Wiesbaden. Schufa's purpose is to protect its clients from credit r ...

Schwarz Gruppe The Schwarz Group () is a German multinational retailer that operates stores under the Lidl and Kaufland brands. With revenues of €167.2 billion in fiscal year 2023, Schwarz Group is the largest European retailer and the fourth-largest retai ...

STIHL Andreas Stihl AG & Co. (commonly referred to as Stihl and styled as STIHL, , ) is a German manufacturer of chainsaws and other handheld power equipment including trimmers and blowers headquartered in Waiblingen, Baden-Württemberg, near Stutt ...

, Thüga,

Vector Informatik {{Infobox company , name = Vector Informatik , logo = , type = GmbH , slogan = , foundation = April 1, 1988, location = Stuttgart, Germany, key_people = Managing directors * Dr. Thomas Beck * Dr. Matthias ...

und WACKER. HTGF has a fund volume of over 2 billion euros across all funds, including the HTGF Opportunity Fund launched in 2024.

Investments

HTGF provides seed financing to allow startups to take their ideas through the prototyping phase up to the market launch. Usually, High-Tech Gründerfonds invests about €1,000,000 in the seed stage. HTGF is able to contribute significantly in later financing rounds. High-Tech Gründerfonds has approximately 790 companies in its portfolio. The portfolio includes companies from the fields of Industrial Tech, Life Sciences, Climate Tech, and Digital Tech. Among them is Proxima Fusion, which is working on technologies for controlled nuclear fusion, as well as ATMOS Space Cargo, which develops return systems for space cargo. In the area of recycling, EEDEN focuses on chemical upcycling of textile waste. Other examples include doinstruct, a provider of mobile learning solutions for industrial workers, and Plancraft, which offers software solutions for craft businesses. In the field of medical technology, Argá Medtech develops catheter systems for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, while Tubulis works on antibody-drug conjugates for oncology. In the energy sector, instagrid provides mobile battery systems. SimScale offers a web-based platform for engineering simulations, and VMRay develops analysis tools for detecting IT threats. The portfolio also includes EGYM, a provider of digitally connected fitness solutions.

References

External links

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Portfolio companiesLogo
Venture capital firms of Germany {{Germany-company-stub