German VC firm First Momentum Ventures has closed a €35 million fund to fuel a new wave of deeptech investment, targeting Europe’s most technically ambitious startups. This second fund is a big step up from its €4 million debut in 2018 — a clear sign of rising confidence in hard tech innovation across the continent.
Backing Scientists from Lab to Launch
Europe’s deeptech landscape is booming, but early-stage founders still struggle to find investors who understand complex science and slow-to-market innovations. First Momentum is solving that gap by investing at the pre-seed stage, offering cheques between €200,000 and €1 million to research-driven B2B startups.
These companies often emerge from top-tier universities and institutes, working on hard problems in infrastructure, automation, and energy. First Momentum’s new fund will back up to 35 startups, with 20 already in the portfolio. Backed by a mix of family offices, industrial players, and public institutions, the fund signals strategic alignment with Europe’s innovation priorities.
An Engineering-Led Approach to Early-Stage VC
What truly sets First Momentum apart is its technical team. Partners Andreas Fischer and Sebastian Boehmer come from strong academic backgrounds, with experience at institutions like MIT, KIT, and the Max Planck Institute. Their engineering mindset informs the fund’s sourcing, due diligence, and founder support.
The firm also leans on a network of more than 100 venture scouts — many embedded in Europe’s leading research ecosystems — to surface promising technologies before they hit the mainstream.
Investing in Real Solutions, Not Hype
While deeptech covers a broad range of innovations, First Momentum steers clear of overhyped segments like humanoid robots or speculative applications of large language models. Instead, they focus on tangible technologies with clear commercial potential.
Notable portfolio companies include:
- Daedalus – Autonomous AI-powered manufacturing
- SDA – DevOps tools for industrial automation
- Atlas Bio – AI-driven drug discovery
- Unikraft – Lightweight OS for high-performance cloud computing
- Quantum Diamonds – Quantum sensing for semiconductor fabrication
- ISPTech – Satellite propulsion for in-space mobility
- Forward AM – Advanced materials for additive manufacturing
Each of these startups addresses a real industrial, medical, or environmental challenge — grounded in science, not speculation.
Betting on Resilient Innovation Amid Global Headwinds
The fundraising process began in 2022, a period marked by geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty, and shifting global supply chains. But First Momentum is betting that these conditions will amplify the need for local, resilient deeptech solutions.
The firm is particularly bullish on grid infrastructure, energy storage, and advanced materials — sectors critical to Europe’s transition toward autonomy in energy and manufacturing.
Looking Beyond Software for the Next Unicorns
In a world obsessed with software, First Momentum sees massive opportunities in reengineering the physical world. From how we produce goods to how we store energy, deeptech startups are reshaping our industrial backbone. The next wave of European unicorns, the firm believes, will emerge from labs and manufacturing lines — not from incremental app development.
As Andreas Fischer puts it, “The future belongs to founders with deep technical insight. This is the decade to rethink atoms, infrastructure, and electrons. That’s where we’re investing.”
