What HV Capital does

HV Capital is a Munich-headquartered, European all-stage venture capital firm founded in 2000, originally within the Holtzbrinck publishing group and independent since 2010. The firm manages over €2.8bn in assets under management across nine fund generations, structured as a multi-vehicle platform: Fund IX Venture and Fund IX Growth (€700m+ closed in 2023, both SFDR Article 8 classified), Fund X Ventures and Fund X Growth (launched 2025-2026), and the HV COCO Growth continuation fund (€430m+, 2022) — the first of its kind in the German tech sector. Operations are run through HV Capital Manager GmbH, an Authorized Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) regulated by BaFin and registered at the Munich Commercial Register (HRB 230558), with offices in Munich, Berlin, and London.

The firm deploys capital across the full lifecycle — leading pre-seed through Series A rounds at €0.5–10m checks, Series B+ growth rounds up to €60m, and follow-on investments up to €100m per company. It maintains 10+ year holding periods and applies an ESG by Design framework (with St. Gallen University's Rose Framework) embedded into Fund IX and Fund X vehicles as binding Article 8 commitments, including a 30% CA&ES-aligned capital target and 33% female senior-management representation goal. The proprietary differentiation rests on its proprietary multi-stage fund architecture, the first German continuation fund, and integrated ESG due diligence across 250+ portfolio companies since inception.

HV Capital generates revenue through standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed/invested capital across the Fund I through Fund X vintages plus the HV COCO continuation vehicle, and carried interest on profitable exits. Its limited partners are top-tier institutional investors globally (specific composition not disclosed). Customer segments span early-stage and growth-stage founders across six investment verticals: Consumer/Marketplace (Zalando, HelloFresh, Delivery Hero, FlixBus, Tourlane, Urban Sports Club), Fintech & Enterprise Software (SumUp, Scalable Capital, Upvest, sennder, Storyblok, Complyance, Midas), Climate Tech (Enpal, Agreena, ecoplanet, PACT), FrontierTech/DeepTech (Isar Aerospace, AMI Labs, Hades Mining, Quantum Systems, Neura Robotics, K2 Space), Healthcare, and Frontier AI (n8n, Flank). Notable outcomes include backing Zalando seed-to-IPO and HelloFresh from seed (2011) to its 2017 IPO; the firm ranks among the top four most active VC investors in Germany per CB Insights.

Name

HV Capital

Legal name

HV Capital Manager GmbH

Website

http://www.hvcapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HV Capital is a Munich-headquartered European all-stage venture capital firm managing over €2.8bn across nine fund vintages, investing from seed to growth in consumer, fintech, climate, and deeptech founders with offices in Munich, Berlin, and London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Early-stage funding
• Growth-stage capital
• Startup investments
• Portfolio management

Headquarters

HQ city

Munich

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Management Fees and Carried Interest on Fund Vehicles: Standard VC fund economics: management fees on committed/invested capital across multiple fund vintages (Fund I through Fund IX plus Fund X Ventures, Fund X Growth, and the HV COCO Growth continuation fund), plus carried interest on profitable exits from portfolio companies. Backed by top tier institutional LPs from around the world.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HV Capital is a Munich-headquartered venture capital firm that invests capital in European digital and technology startups from pre-seed/seed through growth stages via dedicated fund vehicles (Fund IX Venture, Fund IX Growth, Fund X Ventures, Fund X Growth) and a continuation fund (HV COCO Growth). The firm manages over €2.8bn in assets, leads early-stage rounds of €0.5–10m, growth investments of up to €60m, and follow-on investments up to €100m per company, providing 10+ year founder partnerships alongside ESG-integrated portfolio support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HV Capital Fund IX Venture Early-stage venture capital fund vehicle targeting investments in internet, technology, software, mobile and digital media markets at angel, seed and Series A stages, with checks typically from €0.5–10m. Classified as an SFDR Article 8 fund promoting environmental and social characteristics.
• HV Capital Fund IX Growth Growth-stage venture capital fund vehicle targeting Series B and later stages in internet, technology, software, mobile and digital media, with growth investments of up to €60m and follow-on investments up to €100m per company. Classified as an SFDR Article 8 fund promoting environmental and social characteristics.
• HV COCO Growth (Continuation Fund) Continuation fund created in 2022 (over €430m), the first in the German tech sector, designed to continue supporting portfolio companies from existing HV funds and to capture further growth opportunities facing them.
• HV Capital Fund X Ventures Early-stage venture capital fund vehicle covering internet, technology, health, deeptech, software, mobile and digital media markets at pre-seed, seed and Series A stages. Carries SFDR Article 8 classification with binding investment exclusions.
• HV Capital Fund X Growth Growth-stage venture capital fund vehicle covering internet, technology, health, deeptech, software, mobile and digital media markets at Series B, C, D and later stages. Carries SFDR Article 8 classification with binding investment exclusions.
• HV Capital ESG Program (Rose Framework) ESG-by-Design integration program partnering with St. Gallen University to roll out the Rose Framework across 20 portfolio companies, integrated with ESG due diligence, portfolio quarterly reporting, and an ESG Guide for Startups distributed to over 100 portfolio companies.

Named customers18 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kinnevik

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• EQT Ventures: Stockholm-based venture firm backed by EQT AB, with strong Northern European footprint and growth-stage focus. Comparable in stage range and DACH/Nordics deal activity; co-invests with HV (ecoplanet Series A).
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Europe's largest early-stage and growth investors, headquartered in Berlin with strong DACH roots and active across multiple sectors including fintech, enterprise software, and industrials. Highly comparable to HV Capital in geography, stage, and DACH focus.
• Index Ventures: Pan-European venture firm with multi-stage strategy and offices in London, San Francisco, and Geneva. Comparable multi-stage model, pan-European footprint, and similar appetite for both early-stage and growth investments as HV Capital.
• Accel: Leading global venture firm with strong European presence, particularly in London. Co-invests with HV Capital (notably in n8n Series C). Similar early-to-growth stage approach, founder-friendly brand, and category-defining consumer/SaaS track record.
• Balderton Capital: London-based early-stage venture firm focused on European technology startups. Direct competitor for European seed/Series A deals, frequently co-invests with HV Capital (voize Series A). Comparable founder-friendly approach and stage focus.
• Lakestar: European venture firm founded by Klaus Hommels with offices in Zurich, London, Berlin, and Stockholm. Active in early and growth stages with similar DACH and pan-European orientation; co-invests with HV Capital in deeptech/AI (Isar Aerospace).
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based early-stage venture firm with sector-specialized funds (fintech, deeptech, climate, health, etc.). Direct competitor for DACH seed/Series A deals, frequently co-invests with HV Capital (Fifth Dimension, Flinn.ai, Complyance).
• Project A: Berlin-based early-stage venture firm with operational support platform. Direct DACH competitor for seed/Series A; co-invested with HV Capital in sennder Series A and Hades Mining seed.
• Acton Capital: Munich-based growth equity firm focused on internet-enabled consumer and B2B businesses in Europe. Comparable in DACH focus and growth stage, with a portfolio philosophy centered on category leaders (Fabian Gruner, now HV Partner, previously at Acton).
• Atomico: London-based venture firm founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström, with pan-European and global investment focus. Comparable in pan-European multi-stage strategy and consumer/SaaS investment thesis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HV_Capital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hvcapital

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles20 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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

M&A

Investments516 records

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

Frequently asked questions about HV Capital