Deep tech companies often require large capital investment and lengthy research & development periods making it an unpopular sector among investors who often have to wait longer for the companies to eventually commercialize.
However, in 2020 there was a significant spike in the number of VCs playing in this space. Investor interest in this space has continued to grow post 2020 with investors now looking for companies focused on technologies that solve deeper problems and founding teams with domain expertise.
In 2021, European deep tech companies raised an astounding $20billion in the first nine months as per Atomico’s State of European Tech Report, a figure which was double the total investment made in European deep tech in the entire 2020.
With interests in European deep tech companies expected to continue to increase in the coming years, these are the top deep tech investors in Europe.
SOSV
SOSV is a global capital firm that provides multi-stage investment to help founders develop and scale their big ideas for positive change. SOSV invests in about 150 startups per year and have made 2000+ investments (938 as lead investor), 352 diversity investments and had 56 exits since its founding in 1994. Notable exits include Roadie, Motiv, Shaper and Leapmotion.
SOSV most recent investment was in Voilà For Influencers’ $6m Series A round led by Sinovation ventures and included Fosun Rz Capital and Artesian.
SOSV invests between $250,000 – $500,000 in 100 new deep tech companies every year through HAX and IndieBio. Their main themes are Human Health and Climate tech. They have made over 400 deep tech investments since being founded.
Amadeus Capital Partners
In May 2021, Amadeus announced Amadeus V Technology fund which would be invested in seed and series A deep tech startups. The fund focuses on early-stage startups in AI, machine learning, cyber security, autonomous systems, quantum technologies, enterprise SaaS and digital health.
Amadeus capital has made 254 investments (72 as lead investor) and had 49 exits including IndiaMart, Forescout and Iyzico.
Amadeus capital invests in early-stage companies with a great team and competitive edge operating in a growing market with under-served customers.
They most recently participated in a $42.5M Series B round for Nuclera that included 6 other investors.
Verve Ventures
Verve ventures invests in promising European startups that change the world through science and technology. With over 150 portfolio companies, 32 lead investments and 12 exits, Verve was listed as the 4th most active European deep tech investor in 2021.
Verve focuses on digital, tangible and health technologies and invests from seed stage upward.
Some Verve portfolio companies include AlgoTrader, Got Courts, SCRONA Inc and Hylomorph.
Angular Ventures
Angular ventures is a venture capital company based In the UK. It was founded in 2019 by former DFJ Espirit Partner Gil Dibner and invests in early-stage deep tech and enterprise companies with origins in Europe & Israel.
Since being founded in 2019, Angular Ventures has raised 3 funds worth $122.5m and has made 26 investments, 12 of which they led. Angular most recently invested $3.5m in Israeli startup Forwrd, an AI driven company that aims to make every corporate employee data-driven.
Some other notable portfolio companies of Angular Ventures include Aquant, Firebolt, Levity, Datos Health, Vault, Dust Identity and Trellis.
Octopus Ventures
With over 5 investments in 2022 already, London-based VC Octopus ventures invests in early-stage companies in fintech, health, deep tech, consumer and b2b software.
Octopus has invested in deep tech companies like Orbex, Altitude Angel, WaveOptics, iSIZE and XYZ.
Octopus Ventures has made 302 investments and had 43 exits including Cambridge based UltraSoC that was acquired by Siemens.
Speedinvest
Speedinvest is a capital fund based in Vienna investing in pre-seed, seed and early-stage European tech startups. They focus on deep tech, fintech, health, industrial tech, marketplaces, SaaS and infra.
Some deep tech companies in their portfolio include Bitmovin, Porotech, Kets quantum and Scalarr.
Speedinvest invests between €200k – €2m in early-stage European deep tech companies and have raised 8 funds worth $628.4m. They have also made 312 investments and 20 exits since being founded in June 2011.
Kima Ventures
Named one of the most active investors in the world, Kima ventures backs 2 startups per week with money and care as per their website. The Paris based firm that was founded in 2010 has made a mind-blowing 625 investments and had 81 exits.
In their portfolio are companies like Zenley, Transferwise, Payfit and Carta.
Some other top European deep tech investors include: