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Blog
22. March 2023

HTGF’s 700th investment: How oculai is revolutionising the construction industry

Marking High-Tech Gründerfonds’ 700th investment, the start-up oculai is revolutionising the construction industry with its innovative AI technology. Four of Germany’s five largest construction companies are already working with the construction tech start-up. We sat down for a chat with oculai founder Constantin Kauffmann and HTGF Senior Investment Management Dominik Lohle. Constantin, congratulations on the successful financing round. Can you explain what oculai does exactly?
 
Blog
22. February 2023

Start-up Stories: From student to CEO

Get started. Just do it. Don’t let the possible consequences put you off. These are important first steps when transforming your idea into a business model. This is something Julius Harling knows all about. Julius is the CEO and founder of Graswald, a start-up that specialises in the digitalization of plants, trees and other natural elements. For example, game developers and programmers can reproduce entire ecosystems in detail – for movies, for games and for the metaverse. Julius
 
Blog
22. February 2023

Space for new ideas: investment in new space

In his earlier career, Christian Ziach used to work on space missions. Now, he’s investing in start-ups taking off into space. The HTGF Principal is viewed as an expert in the field of new space. In this interview, he talks about his latest investment, sheds light on the commercial use of space, highlights opportunities for start-ups, and he also reveals how he once helped to bring a rock sample from space down to Earth. Christian, where does your fascination with space travel com
 
Blog
12. January 2023

MedTech Pitch Day 2023: Connecting Startups with Industry Leaders, Investors, and Decision-Makers

The MedTech Pitch Day, organised by HTGF, Dräger, B.Braun, Techniker Krankenkasse and the Health Innovation Port, is just around the corner. What can founders expect at the event and why should they definitely apply? We spoke to Anke Cassing, Principal at HTGF, and Jakob Lilienweiss, Investment Analyst at HTGF, to find out. The MedTech Pitch Day will take place on March 29th in Berlin. Can you tell us more about the event and what founders can expect? Anke: The event has develop
 
Blog
12. January 2023

Start-up stories: From science to business

Their first pitch deck didn’t contain a business slide. And there wasn’t any information on market potential. These were things that Dr Isabel Schellinger and Dr Uwe Raaz simply hadn’t thought of. After all, their focus was on their research, on the amazing opportunities made possible thanks to science, and on a medical solution to an aortic disorder in humans that they had developed. This is their passion and their field of expertise. Pitching to investors and founding a start-up were
 
Blog
20. December 2022

2022 – High-Tech Gründerfonds end-of-year review

We’d like to begin this end-of-year review by saying thank you to all those who support us, enable us to do our work and place their trust in us. This particularly applies to the founders, numerous co-investors and shareholders of our portfolio companies as well as our fund investors. This year saw the launch of our fourth fund, HTGF IV, which more than 40 private companies have invested in alongside the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and KfW Capital. Among t
 
Blog
19. December 2022

2022 review and 2023 preview from our investment teams

What opportunities and challenges did we face in 2022? And what trends and technologies can we expect to see next year? Our three investment teams – industrial tech, life sciences & chemistry, and digital tech – reflect on an eventful year and look ahead to 2023. Industrial tech The effects of the climate crisis continue to place huge challenges on society. HTGF aims to be part of the solution. Since 2005, we have invested in around 60 climate tech companies and are well-placed
 
Blog
19. December 2022

What have you learnt? Episode 4 with Prashanth Makaram of Crocus Labs

What have you learnt? This is a question we’re putting to company founders from our portfolio. Because if you found a start-up, run a company, make investments or work in management, you are learning something new every single day. You also have to deal with new situations. And continue to develop new skills. To cover the latter aspect, we expanded the HTGF Academy this year to offer a comprehensive programme for company founders. And because we firmly believe in the power of peer-to-p
 
Blog
17. November 2022

FundaMental Pharma launches with EUR 10 million in Seed financing led by BGV and Thuja Capital to advance a First-in-Class neuroprotectant

Heidelberg, Germany – 17 November 2022 – FundaMental Pharma GmbH (“FundaMental”), a preclinical neuroscience company spun out of Heidelberg University, today announces that it has launched with EUR 10 million in seed financing led by BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) and Thuja Capital, with participation from other investors, including coparion and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). Built on the pioneering research of Professor Hilmar Bading and Dr. Jing Yan published in Science[1],
 
Blog
16. November 2022

How do you sell solutions to the public sector as a start-up?

Large parts of our school system are stuck in the 20th century. It’s a reality that we’ve certainly come to understand since the pandemic, if not before. Many schools found it really tough to make the switch to remote teaching, often due to a lack of digital infrastructure. HTGF portfolio company Sdui has a solution to overcome this issue, as it also targets the public sector – and mainly the bodies funding schools – in its sales. Sdui is our guest in this episode of the HTGF Start-u
 
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Triacca Valentina
16. November 2022

What have you learnt? Episode 3 with Lymphaticas Valentina Triacca

What have you learnt? This is a question we’re putting to company founders from our portfolio. Because if you found a start-up, run a company, make investments or work in management, you are learning something new every single day. You also have to deal with new situations. And continue to develop new skills. To cover the latter aspect, we expanded the HTGF Academy this year to offer a comprehensive programme for company founders. And because we firmly believe in the power of peer-to-p
 
Blog
13. October 2022

Built on a firm belief: The greentech node.energy

“To achieve success, you need perseverance.” It’s a phrase you might hear in the world of professional sport, but it’s also true for entrepreneurs, says Matthias Karger. The former professional volleyball player is now Co-Founder and Managing Director of HTGF portfolio company node.energy. The greentech’s software-as-a-service solution helps companies with their own wind turbines and solar panels to keep on top of their administrative duties and get the most out of their power gene
 
Blog
13. October 2022

What have you learnt? Episode 2 with finmarie’s Rica Klitzke

What have you learnt? This is a question we’re putting to company founders from our portfolio. Because if you found a start-up, run a company, make investments or work in management, you are learning something new every single day. You also have to deal with new situations. And continue to develop new skills. To cover the latter aspect, we expanded the HTGF Academy this year to offer a comprehensive programme for company founders. And because we firmly believe in the power of peer-to-p
 
Blog
13. September 2022

Episode 1 : What have you learnt? With Miriam Mertens and Peter Goeke from DeepSkill

What have you learnt? This is a question we’re putting to company founders from our portfolio. Because if you found a start-up, run a company, make investments or work in management, you are learning something new every single day. You also have to deal with new situations. And continue to develop new skills. To cover the latter aspect, we expanded the HTGF Academy this year to offer a comprehensive programme for company founders and others. And because we firmly believe in the power o
 
Blog
13. September 2022

Our mission? To help more people!

Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer of the female genital organs. In Germany, there are more than 4,600 new cases of women affected by this tumour each year, according to the German Cancer Society (DKG). Conventional testing procedures are very unreliable. The team at HTGF portfolio company oncgnostics has therefore developed GynTect, a procedure that considerably improves the diagnosis of cervical cancer. The product was recently also approved in China – an important milesto