What Capnamic does

Capnamic is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2013 in Cologne, Germany, that invests in tech startups across the German-speaking (DACH) region from Pre-Seed through Series A, with reserved follow-on capital. The firm manages multiple investment vehicles, most notably the USD 215 million Capnamic III fund (closed in 2022) and a regionally-focused Bremen Specialty Fund launched in 2024, alongside an earlier fund base representing EUR 140 million of AUM. Its product set spans Pre-Seed/Seed capital, Series A rounds, follow-on investments, and an integrated portfolio support layer that includes the Founders Development Program, regular Portfolio Workshops, a Notion-based Fundraising Playbook, and in-house finance/marketing/PR hands-on assistance. Beyond capital, Capnamic leverages a network of more than 100 Limited Partners — comprising founders of category-defining companies (Lieferando, Mister Spex, Signavio, Instana, idealo, Chrono24) and large corporates (AXA, Cisco, NZZ, KfW, Helaba) — to source deals, open enterprise customers for portfolio B2B companies, and provide strategic mentorship.

The firm operates from offices in Cologne (headquarters), Berlin, Munich, and Bremen, with a team of approximately 15 investment and operating professionals led by four Managing Partners (Christian Knott, Christian Siegele, Jörg Binnenbrücker, Olaf Jacobi) plus Prof. Dr. Christian Horneber heading the Bremen specialty fund. Capnamic's revenue model rests on conventional VC economics: recurring management fees on capital under management plus performance-based carried interest on exits. The firm has realized multiple high-profile exits, including SAP's acquisition of LeanIX (2023), AppLovin's acquisition of Adjust (2021), Thales' acquisition of OneWelcome (2022), Appian's acquisition of Lana Labs (2021), PwC Germany's acquisition of Statice (2021), BOSCH's acquisition of COBI.Bike, and Strava's acquisition of FATMAP (2023), demonstrating a credible track record of supporting companies Seed through exit. As of recent reporting, the firm holds 18 active investments and its portfolio companies have collectively raised EUR 359 million in follow-on capital.

Name

Capnamic

Legal name

Capnamic Ventures

Website

https://capnamic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Capnamic is a Cologne-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2013 that invests in tech startups across the DACH region from Pre-Seed through Series A, supporting founders with capital, a 100+ LP network, and hands-on operational programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Other Financial Vehicles (525990)

akta.pro primary industry

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Venture Capital Fund-of-Funds / Multi-Manager Platforms (FSANAAAJ)

Keywords

• Early-stage venture capital
• Tech startup investment
• Venture capital funding
• Portfolio support services
• Growth capital investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Recurring management fees earned on capital under management across Capnamic's venture capital funds, including the closed USD 215 million fund (Capnamic III) for early-stage investments in German-speaking countries.
2. Carried Interest (Fund Performance): Performance-based carried interest earned on successful exits and realizations from portfolio investments. Capnamic has supported companies from Seed right through to IPO and exit (e.g., SAP's acquisition of LeanIX, AppLovin's acquisition of Adjust, Strava's acquisition of FATMAP, PwC Germany's acquisition of Statice, Appian's acquisition of Lana Labs, BOSCH's acquisition of COBI.Bike).

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

Capnamic is a Cologne-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests capital in tech startups in the German-speaking (DACH) region from Pre-Seed through Series A, with follow-on capacity. The firm combines financial investment with hands-on operational support including a Founders Development Program, portfolio workshops, a Notion-based Fundraising Playbook, and in-house finance, marketing and PR support. Capnamic manages a USD 215 million fund (Capnamic III) backed by more than 100 Limited Partners, and operates a Bremen-focused specialty fund as well.

Product overview

Capnamic offers an integrated suite of early-stage venture capital products and founder-support services rather than a single unified software product. The core offering consists of investment vehicles spanning Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, and Follow-on rounds, complemented by the Bremen-focused Capnamic Specialty Funds. The investment products are wrapped with a portfolio support service layer — including the Founders Development Program, Portfolio Workshops, the Capnamic Fundraising Playbook (a Notion-based resource), Finance/Marketing/PR hands-on support, and recruiting and mentoring assistance — designed to help turn outstanding German-speaking tech teams into category leaders. Together, these offerings form a platform-plus-modules architecture where the underlying investment funds are the core financial product, and the named support programs (Founders Development Program, Portfolio Workshops, Fundraising Playbook, Finance/Marketing/PR Support, Capnamic Specialty Funds Bremen) act as integrated modules supporting portfolio companies from pre-product stage through scaling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Capnamic Pre-Seed / Seed Investment Early-stage venture capital investment offering for German-speaking tech founders at the pre-product, MVP, or first-revenue stage. Capnamic invests before teams turn into companies, providing financial backing, network, experience, and guidance.
• Capnamic Series A Investment Series A venture capital investment program for B2B and SaaS companies with strong foundations. Supports category-defining startups through first executive hires, finance department setup, and growth-stage decisions.
• Capnamic Follow-on Investment Follow-on investment program providing continued capital support to portfolio companies across subsequent funding rounds, ensuring founders keep growing with Capnamic's continued backing.
• Capnamic III Venture Capital Fund USD 215 million venture capital fund (Capnamic III) closed for early-stage investments in German-speaking countries. New fund vehicle expanding Capnamic's capital base for Pre-Seed to Series A investments.
• Capnamic Specialty Funds Bremen Regionally-focused venture capital fund targeting startups from and for Bremen. Operated as Capnamic's first specialty fund on the Weser with Prof. Dr. Christian Horneber as Managing Partner Bremen.
• Founders Development Program Tailored coaching and learning program for Capnamic portfolio founders, leveraging world-class external coaches to support leadership growth from company inception through scaling phases.
• Capnamic Fundraising Playbook Notion-based fundraising guide provided to portfolio companies covering timing of fundraising, pitch building, documentation, and introductions to follow-on investors.
• Capnamic Portfolio Workshops Regular knowledge-exchange workshops for portfolio companies featuring external speakers on topics including finance, marketing, product management, and fundraising.
• Capnamic Finance, Marketing & PR Support In-house expert support offering portfolio companies hands-on help with controlling, financial modeling, brand building, and writing press releases from Capnamic's finance and marketing team members.

Quantifiable outcome

• 359 million EUR of funds raised by Capnamic portfolio companies
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and major.

• Rewe GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2014Rewe Group acquired a majority holding in online pet product retailer Zooroyal in 2014. The DuMont Venture investment fund, managed by Capnamic Ventures, retained its interest in Zooroyal GmbH alongside co-founder Jürgen Grohs.
• SAPflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAP acquired Capnamic portfolio company LeanIX in 2023. Cited as an example of a portfolio exit. SAP is also referenced as a strategic enterprise for many Capnamic portfolio companies (e.g., Staffbase, Innoactive, Embold, Rencore, Workpath, Embold).
• PwC GermanyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPwC Germany acquired Capnamic portfolio company Statice in 2021 as a strategic partner. The transaction is highlighted as a portfolio exit.
• FraunhofermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapnamic's portfolio company Logistikbude was founded in 2021 by former Fraunhofer researchers. Fraunhofer Technologie-Transfer Fonds is also a co-investor in Logistikbude. Capnamic taps into Fraunhofer's research talent and IP.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage VC with sector-focused funds. Comparable as a DACH-headquartered early-stage fund with Pre-Seed through Series A orientation and similar fund vintage scale.
• UVC Partners: Munich-based early-stage VC investing in European tech and deep tech startups. Comparable as a DACH early-stage fund with similar stage focus and ticket size; named co-investor with Capnamic in Capmo and Rencore.
• Project A Ventures: Berlin-based early-stage VC with an operating platform model. Directly comparable to Capnamic in stage (Pre-Seed through Series A), regional focus, and the value-add 'platform' approach to portfolio support.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based early-stage VC investing across European tech. Comparable as a DACH-headquartered, early-stage-focused fund with similar ticket sizes and stage orientation; named co-investor with Capnamic in GetSafe.
• Point Nine Capital: Berlin-based early-stage SaaS-focused VC. Comparable to Capnamic in stage (Seed/Series A), B2B SaaS tilt, and DACH/European focus, with similar fund sizes in recent vintages.
• HV Capital: Cologne-based early- and growth-stage VC. Comparable as a DACH-headquartered early-stage fund investing across multiple sectors and stages, with similar portfolio construction orientation.
• HTGF (High-Tech Gründerfonds): Germany's leading seed-stage VC fund. Directly comparable to Capnamic at the Seed/Pre-Seed layer with similar DACH focus; named co-investor with Capnamic in Userlane.
• Notion Capital: London-based early-stage B2B SaaS-focused VC. Comparable to Capnamic in stage focus, B2B SaaS tilt, and 'operator-led' support model for European founders.

Regional players

• Creandum: Nordic-focused early-stage VC investing across Northern Europe. Comparable in stage and European focus to Capnamic, though operating in a different geography (Nordics vs DACH) rather than head-to-head competition.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: London-based, founder-led European technology investment firm. Comparable as a European tech investor with broad stage coverage; named co-investor with Capnamic in Dexory. Larger scale than Capnamic, providing useful reference for the next fund vintage.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Capnamic
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capnamic-ventures
• Facebookfacebook.com/capnamic

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments138 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Capnamic