With the newly launched Fund VIII, HV Capital intends to broaden its position in the future and complement existing financing in the early-stage and growth segments with growth investments in new companies. In this way, the venture capitalist aims to strengthen its position as a long-term partner for startups in all growth phases.
As before, the investor says that with the new Fund VIII, it is pursuing the strategy of leading early investment rounds for startups, typically Seed or Series A. The goal is to build long-term partnerships. The venture capitalist will continue to support these early-stage investments with follow-on financing, with up to €50 million available per startup. In addition, with the new fund, which is oversubscribed due to high investor interest, HV Capital also intends to make new investments in Series B or Series C rounds in companies already in the growth phase.
Expanded investment focus & new brand name
"The core of our investment strategy remains to invest in the most promising digital startups at early stages, i.e., Seed and Series A, and then accompany them throughout their entire growth path. In addition, Fund VIII also enables us to make new investments in Series B and C rounds with investment amounts of €7 million to €25 million."
explained Christian Saller, General Partner at HV Capital, the new opportunities the fund offers the VC. Saller will now be responsible for Growth Investment.
After twenty years on the market, the investor is also changing its company name. Founded in 2000 by the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group as a corporate VC, the investor has now operated independently for ten years. In addition to broadening its investment focus, the new brand name, HV Capital, is intended to emphasize this independence.
Trust from the scene
"The startup industry is different today than it was when HV was founded twenty years ago. We, too, have changed and steadily broadened our investment focus. The positive reception our engagement has received within the startup scene is further demonstrated by the fact that around 50 of the leading founders from the HV portfolio and network, including founders of Zalando, Flixbus, and Trivago, are supporting our new fund with a total of €20 million. The trust the scene is placing in us is naturally a boost."
supplemented Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital.
According to the investor, the companies financed by HV Capital over the past 20 years are now worth a total of around 75 billion euros. Recent investments in Munich-based startups include Seed financing in the eco-cleaning startup Everdrop and a two million euro investment in the Edtech startup Simpleclub.
