The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances technology startups with growth potential and has supported nearly 700 startups since 2005. The volume of the third fund generation of €319.5 million was exceeded by more than 50 percent in the fourth fund generation, at €493.8 million.
The HTGF also reportedly increased the number of private investors compared to fund generation three. In addition to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) and KfW Capital, 45 private companies in the fundLarge corporations and family offices are also among the investors. Alexa Gorman represents the private investors in the new fund. As Senior Vice President of SAP.io, Gorman oversees all SAP startup activities worldwide and is considered a recognized expert in corporate venture capital.
Simplified investment criteria
With the new generation of funds, HTGF aims to make investments even more flexible and faster, and simplify the investment criteria. Startups simply need to be less than three years old and have their headquarters in Germany or a German branch if the company is based outside of Europe.
In addition, the fund will be able to provide more capital per startup in the future: up to one million euros is possible in the seed round. This means that the HTGF can invest up to four million euros in a startup across all financing rounds.
Hidden Champions & Large Corporations
Alex von Frankenberg, Managing Director of the High-Tech Gründerfonds, says:
“We are proud that, despite an extremely difficult environment, the number of private investors in HTGF IV to have significantly expanded its portfolio. In addition to the excellent economic performance of the first three funds, the diverse added value for private investors is crucial. The investor base of HTGF IV reflects the strengths of the German economy: In addition to the majority of hidden champions, selected large corporations, the Fraunhofer Society, and, for the first time, five family offices are participating as investors in HTGF IV.
And Guido Schlitzer, Managing Director of High-Tech Gründerfonds, adds:
"The highly successful fundraising enables us to continue financing a large number of startups with groundbreaking innovations. Thanks to our fund investors, we can deploy more capital per investment. This is a significant change in this market phase."
