Germany’s HV Capital closes Fund IX at €710M; to invest in tech disruptors across Europe

Munich-based HV Capital, an early-stage and growth venture capital investor in Europe, announced  on Thursday the close of its largest fund yet, the HV Capital Fund IX, at €710M. 

Institutional investors from Europe and the United States backed the fund.

This latest fundraise will further expand the firm’s ability to invest in technology disruptors across all growth phases, from Seed to Series D and beyond.

HV Capital Fund IX

HV Capital Fund IX will be split into two vehicles, Fund IX Venture and Fund IX Growth, to target companies across sectors. 

HV Capital’s team will focus on identifying high-growth companies across Europe where they believe there is significant potential for growth.

The new fund will allow HV to continue on its 23-year investment track record. 

It includes the €535M HV Capital Fund VIII launched in 2020, as well as the €430M continuation fund “HV COCO” from 2022, to target the next generation of high-growth companies across markets with a focus on a broad range of sectors. 

Fund IX builds on the VC’s commitment to advancing ESG in the venture capital ecosystem, with commitments made under Article 8 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). 

In line with this, the VC is targeting 33 per cent female representation in C-Suite level positions across the portfolio, as well as having 30 per cent of the funds allocated to companies aligned with the Climate Action & Environmental Sustainability criteria of the European Investment Fund (EIF) by the end of the fund’s lifecycle.

Already, HV Capital has made four investments from Fund IX focused on product intelligence, data analytics, energy transition management, and ClimateTech:

• Berlin-based SPREAD 
• Berlin-based Polyteia 
• Munich-based ecoplanet 
• Copenhagen-based Agreena

HV Capital

Since 2000, HV Capital (formerly HV Holtzbrinck Ventures) has backed Internet and technology companies through various generations of funds and is one of the most successful and financially strongest early-stage and growth venture capitalists in Europe. 

HV’s funds have already been invested in around 225 companies, including Zalando, Delivery Hero, FlixBus, and SumUp. The total of all HV‘s funds amounts to €2.7B to date. 

The company supports startups with capital between €500,000 and €60M. 

Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital says, “We are very excited to announce the close of HV Capital Fund IX today, a record fundraise which will open new opportunities for us to invest in the next generation of disruptive ideas.” 

“Fund IX will allow us to partner with outstanding entrepreneurs, who from every industry and market across the continent, are making incredible differences in the way we live our lives. We look forward to helping them unlock opportunities for growth so that they can scale sustainably and build the next great European winners,” adds Märkle.