Founderful
Founderful is Switzerland's leading dedicated pre-seed venture capital firm, headquartered in Zurich and founded in 2019 (originally as Wingman Ventures). It leads first financing rounds for Swiss technology startups, manages approximately $230 million across two funds, and runs the Founderful Campus student VC program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersZürich, Switzerland
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Founderful does
Founderful AG is a privately held Swiss venture capital firm headquartered in Zurich, founded in 2019 (originally as Wingman Ventures) by Pascal Mathis (co-founder of GetYourGuide), Alex Stöckl (formerly lead at Creathor Ventures Switzerland), and Lukas Weder (co-founder of EAT.ch). The firm specializes exclusively in pre-seed investments in Swiss technology startups, making it Switzerland's first dedicated independent pre-seed fund. It has backed more than 50 startups and 120 founders, with portfolio companies including Wingtra, DePoly, Ethon AI, Corintis, Oxyle, Mimic Robotics, 8inks, and ZuriQ. In February 2024 the firm rebranded to Founderful and subsequently closed Fund II at $140 million in November 2024 (exceeding an initial $120 million target), bringing total assets under management to approximately $230 million across the two funds.
Founderful's core offering is its venture fund vehicle, which leads the first institutional financing round for Swiss-based technology founders and provides hands-on operational support across finance, legal, people and culture, marketing, and branding. Layered on top of the fund are three named programs: Founderful Campus, a student-led VC initiative at ETH Zürich, EPFL, and the University of St. Gallen providing CHF 25,000 initial checks to student-led startups; the Founderful Family, a curated portfolio community of 50+ backed startups and 120+ founders; and the annual Swiss Deep Tech Report, co-published with Dealroom.co, Startupticker, Kickfund, and Deep Tech Nation Switzerland. The firm operates a Luxembourg affiliate (Founderful Sàrl) for cross-border data compliance.
The business model is standard venture fund economics: recurring management fees on committed capital under management (drawn from institutional investors, family offices, and founder-LPs including backers such as Duolingo, Climeworks, GetYourGuide, Delivery Hero, Scandit, and Proton founders), plus carried interest from successful portfolio exits. Disclosed exits to date include Insightness (acquired by Sony) and Bring! Labs (acquired by Swiss Post), with two further B2B software exits reportedly in the pipeline.
Founderful firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Founderful
- Legal name
- Founderful AG
- Website
- https://founderful.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Founderful is Switzerland's leading dedicated pre-seed venture capital firm, headquartered in Zurich and founded in 2019 (originally as Wingman Ventures). It leads first financing rounds for Swiss technology startups, manages approximately $230 million across two funds, and runs the Founderful Campus student VC program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Founderful industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pre-Seed Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Where Founderful is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Zürich
- HQ country
- Switzerland
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
Founderful business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Venture fund management fees: Founderful raises venture funds (Fund I: ~$90M closed in 2020; Fund II: $140M closed in 2024 with initial target of $120M) from institutional investors, family offices and founder-LPs, and earns recurring management fees on committed capital under management.
- Carried interest from exits: As a venture capital firm, Founderful earns a share of profits (carried interest) on successful exits from portfolio companies. Stated exits include Insightness (acquired by Sony) and Bring! Labs (acquired by Swiss Post), with two further B2B software exits reported as in the pipeline.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Venture fund terms — private LP commitments (not publicly disclosed) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Founderful product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Founderful is a Switzerland-based venture capital firm that invests as lead investor in the first (pre-seed) financing round of technology startups based in Switzerland with global potential. The firm manages venture capital funds (Fund I $90M closed 2020; Fund II $140M closed November 2024) backed by institutional investors, family offices and unicorn founders, and complements the capital with in-house operational support in finance, legal, people and culture, marketing and branding. Adjacent offerings include the Founderful Campus student-led VC initiative at ETH Zürich, EPFL and HSG, and the annually co-published Swiss Deep Tech Report.
Product overview
Founderful is a Swiss venture capital firm rather than a software product company, and its offering is structured around a core platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the Founderful Fund II, a $140M pre-seed venture capital vehicle that leads first financing rounds for Swiss-based technology startups, supported by an in-house team of experienced entrepreneurs and operators providing expertise in finance, legal, people and culture, marketing, and branding. On top of this core fund, Founderful offers three named programs: Founderful Campus, a student-led VC initiative at ETH Zürich, EPFL, and the University of St. Gallen providing CHF 25,000 initial capital and hands-on training; the Founderful Family, a curated portfolio community of 50+ backed startups and 120+ founders giving portfolio companies access to a network of category-defining entrepreneurs; and the annual Swiss Deep Tech Report research publications (2025 and 2026 editions) co-produced with Dealroom.co, Startupticker, Kickfund, and Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, which document the Swiss deep tech ecosystem and reinforce Founderful's brand authority in the market.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Founderful Campus: Student-led venture capital program established by Founderful, empowering students from ETH Zürich, EPFL, HSG and other Swiss universities to invest CHF 25,000 initial capital per startup, combined with hands-on workshops and access to the Founderful network.
Products and services
- Founderful Fund II A $140M venture capital fund launched in 2024 to back pre-seed technology startups based in Switzerland with global potential. Founderful invests as lead investor in the first financing round and offers operational support across finance, legal, people and culture, marketing, and branding.
- Founderful Fund I The original $90M pre-seed venture capital fund launched under the Wingman Ventures brand in 2019-2020 and deployed across roughly 40 Swiss technology startups and 109 founders. Backers included industrialist Michael Pieper (Franke) and founders of unicorns Duolingo, Climeworks, GetYourGuide, Delivery Hero and Scandit.
- Founderful Campus A student-led venture capital initiative established by Founderful to empower students from Swiss universities such as ETH Zürich, EPFL, and the University of St. Gallen by bridging academia with the tech industry. Students either invest or receive CHF 25,000 in initial capital, attend hands-on workshops, and gain access to a network of founders and investors.
- Founderful Family portfolio community The Founderful portfolio ecosystem comprising 50+ backed startups and 120+ founders, including companies such as Wingtra, DePoly, Ethon AI, Archlet, Corintis, Oxyle, Mimic, and Soverli. Founders gain access to a community of investors made up of category-defining entrepreneurs from Duolingo, Climeworks, Scandit, Delivery Hero, Proton, and others.
- Swiss Deep Tech Report 2025 The first edition of an annual deep tech ecosystem report co-published by Founderful with Dealroom.co, Startupticker, and Kickfund. Documents Switzerland's deep tech startup landscape, venture capital allocation, and spin-off activity from ETH Zurich and EPFL.
- Swiss Deep Tech Report 2026 The second edition of the annual Swiss deep tech ecosystem report, co-published by Founderful alongside Deep Tech Nation Switzerland, Kickfund, Startupticker.ch, and Dealroom.co. Launched at VivaTech in Paris.
Companies that use Founderful
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles3 records
Founderful technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Founderful partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Founderful competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Acequia Capital: Early-stage venture capital firm investing in European deep tech founders. Directly comparable to Founderful given repeated co-investments in Corintis, Snipd, and Adaptyv at the pre-seed stage.
- Speedinvest: European pre-seed and seed venture capital firm with offices in Vienna and across Europe. Directly comparable to Founderful in stage focus, check size, and pan-European orientation, and has co-invested alongside Founderful in Mimic Robotics.
- Creathor Ventures: Switzerland- and Germany-based early-stage VC that invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in technology and healthtech. Directly comparable to Founderful given Alex Stöckl's prior role there and overlapping European deep tech orientation.
- Earlybird: European early-stage venture capital firm investing at seed and Series A across technology verticals. Directly comparable to Founderful given overlapping stage focus and co-investment in Ethon AI.
- HV Capital: European venture capital firm historically focused on seed and early-stage technology investments. Directly comparable to Founderful given co-investment in Archlet and similar European pre-seed/seed orientation.
- Senovo: European early-stage venture capital firm that participates in seed and Series A rounds for B2B SaaS startups. Directly comparable to Founderful given co-investment in Archlet and shared focus on early-stage European software companies.
- Elaia: European deep tech and SaaS venture capital firm investing at seed and Series A. Directly comparable to Founderful given co-investment in Mimic Robotics and overlapping deep tech seed orientation.
- another.vc: European deep tech pre-seed and seed investor. Directly comparable to Founderful given co-investments in Mimic Robotics and IsoSpec Analytics and shared focus on European deep tech at the earliest stage.
Broad incumbents
- Index Ventures: Global venture capital firm that invests from seed to growth stage in technology companies. Broad incumbent comparable to Founderful given follow-on investment in Ethon AI, though Index operates at a much larger AUM and broader stage range.
Regional players
- Swisscom Ventures: Corporate venture capital arm of Swisscom, investing in Swiss and European technology companies from seed to growth. Regional player comparable to Founderful given shared Swiss focus and follow-on investment in Kyan Health.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Founderful social profiles
Digital presenceFounderful financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Founderful leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Founderful subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Founderful funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Founderful M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments97 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Founderful
What does Founderful do?
Founderful is a Switzerland-based venture capital firm that invests as lead investor in the first (pre-seed) financing round of technology startups based in Switzerland with global potential. The firm manages venture capital funds (Fund I $90M closed 2020; Fund II $140M closed November 2024) backed by institutional investors, family offices and unicorn founders, and complements the capital with in-house operational support in finance, legal, people and culture, marketing and branding. Adjacent offerings include the Founderful Campus student-led VC initiative at ETH Zürich, EPFL and HSG, and the annually co-published Swiss Deep Tech Report.
Is Founderful a public or private company?
Founderful is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Founderful founded?
Founderful was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Founderful based?
Founderful is headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, in the Europe region.
How does Founderful make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Venture fund management fees are the primary driver. The others are carried interest from exits.
Who are Founderful's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Acequia Capital, Speedinvest, Creathor Ventures, Earlybird, HV Capital, Senovo, Elaia and another.vc. Index Ventures is listed as a broad incumbent. Swisscom Ventures is listed as a regional player.
Does Founderful have an API?
No public API is recorded for Founderful.
What industry is Founderful in?
Founderful's product category is Pre-Seed Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed), with a secondary code of FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 523940 and its SIC code is 6282.