Berlin-based venture capital firm Cherry Ventures is launching Cherry V with the goal of supporting European tech. The firm has raised $500M in new funds, divided between an Early Stage fund and an opportunity fund for Series B and beyond portfolio companies.
The firm aims to fund the creation of the first trillion-dollar company in Europe.
Despite the current pessimism surrounding European technology, with many citing challenges in venture capital and competition from the US, Cherry Ventures is confident in the region’s potential.
The firm says, “Europe’s foundation is strong. We have 35,000 early-stage startups – more than any other region – and our tech workforce has grown 7x since 2015 (State of European Tech, 2024). We have all the right ingredients: world-class talent, research depth in critical technologies, and thriving tech hubs – but our culture of innovation must change.”
“With new world leaders in power and strong mandates for the tech sector, it’s imperative that Europe takes charge of its own destiny in the global tech race.”
Cherry Ventures adds, “If Europe is to build on its first wave of success stories to create the next, on a bigger scale – we all need to play our part. We must foster collaboration between policymakers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and investors to make Europe the best place in the world to build a tech company.”
All of Cherry Ventures’ investors are former operators with experience in building companies like Zalando, Spotify, and Uber. The firm is focused on sharing knowledge and supporting founders to achieve greater success.
The firm’s network includes successful founders such as Ilkka from Supercell, Miki from Wolt, and Jochen from Flix, who are committed to the Cherry V vision.
Brief about Cherry Ventures
Cherry Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Filip Dames and Christian Meermann, initially as an angel fund. The firm is based in Berlin, London, and Stockholm and focuses on investing in startups across Europe.
The team consists of former entrepreneurs and operators who have built companies like Zalando, Spotify, and Uber. Cherry Ventures typically invests between €2M and €7M in early-stage companies, often as a founder’s first institutional investor.
With more than 130 companies backed, the firm prioritises long-term partnerships and follow-on financing to support founders through their growth journey. It invests across various sectors, including B2B software, fintech, industrials, healthtech, climate tech, and consumer.
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