Almost 500 million for investments in start-ups: Final closing exceeds expectations for HTGF

February 28, 2023

• High-Tech Gründerfonds’ fourth fund (HTGF IV) reaches a final volume of 493.8 million euros.
• This makes it the biggest fund generation in the seed investor’s history.
• Alexa Gorman, Senior Vice President SAP.iO at SAP SE, is to become deputy chair of the investor advisory board.
• Alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and KfW Capital, 45 private companies have invested in HTGF IV.

Bonn, 28 February 2023 – High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) has attracted a total volume of 493.8 million euros for its fourth fund generation at final closing. This makes HTGF IV its biggest ever fund.

The seed investor, which invests in technology start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences and chemistry, has supported more than 690 start-ups since its foundation. The volume of the fourth fund generation is more than 50 percent larger than the previous fund generation (319.5 million euros).
HTGF has also seen a considerable increase in the number of private investors compared with HTGF III. Alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and KfW Capital, 45 private companies have invested in the fund. The majority of the private investors are either market-leading medium-sized companies or hidden champions. A number of corporations and family offices are also among the investors.
Overview of the fund investors

Alexa Gorman will represent the private investors in the new fund. As Senior Vice President and Global Head of SAP.iO, Gorman is responsible for all start-up activities at SAP SE. She is a proven expert in the field of corporate venture capital.

The first investments of the fund have already been made, including in Reflex Aerospace (individual and high-performance satellites), Phialogics (biologics that rebalance the immune response in acute and chronic inflammation) and VisioLab (AI-based check-out solutions).

With its new fund generation, HTGF will be able to make even quicker and more flexible investments, while investment criteria have now also been simplified. Start-ups need only to have been founded in the last three years and they must either be headquartered in Germany or, if they are based elsewhere in Europe, have business premises in Germany.
The fund will also be able to make more capital available for each start-up in future. Up to one million euros can be invested in the seed round. In total, HTGF will thus be able to invest up to four million euros in a start-up across all financing rounds.

We are very proud to significantly increase the number of private investors in HTGF IV despite an extremely challenging environment. In addition to the very good financial performance of the first three funds, the significant value add for private investors made the difference in the very successful fundraising. HTGF IV’s investor base reflects the strengths of the German economy: Alongside a majority of hidden champions, the investors in HTGF IV include several large corporates, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and, for the first time, five family offices.

Dr. Alex von Frankenberg, Managing Director of HTGF

The very successful fundraising allows us to carry on financing a large number of start-ups with pioneering innovations. Thanks to our fund investors, we are able to provide more capital per investment. This is a crucial change in this market phase.

Guido Schlitzer, Managing Director of HTGF

About High-Tech Gründerfonds  
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances tech start-ups with growth potential and has supported almost 700 start-ups since 2005. With the launch of its fourth fund, HTGF now has about 1.4 billion euros under management. Its team of experienced investment managers and start-up experts support young companies with expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion. HTGF’s focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected more than 4.5 billion euros of capital into the HTGF portfolio via more than 2,000 follow-on financing rounds. In addition, HTGF has already successfully sold shares in more than 160 companies.

Fund investors in this public-private partnership include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, KfW Capital and 45 companies from a wide range of industries.

www.htgf.de/en

Contact Media
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Stefanie Grüter, Partner Communications & Relations
T.: +49 228 82300 188
s.grueter@htgf.de

Contact Investors
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Dr. Alex von Frankenberg, Managing Director
a.frankenberg@htgf.de