NAP
NAP is a Berlin-based European pre-seed and seed venture capital firm investing €1–3M into vertical AI startups founded by domain experts across high-stakes industries, supported by a 250+ LP operator network and a portfolio of 30+ companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersBerlin, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What NAP does
NAP (NAP Investment Management GmbH, formerly Cavalry Ventures) is a Berlin-based European venture capital firm that operates as "The Expert Founder Fund." The firm invests exclusively at pre-seed and seed stage — often pre-product and pre-revenue — writing initial cheques of €1–3M with follow-on capacity into vertical AI startups building for high-stakes industries such as advanced manufacturing, energy, logistics, compliance, construction, and healthcare. Its stated thesis targets "expert founders" (or "Nerds And Pioneers") — domain insiders with deep technical expertise — on the premise that only 3–5 credible founding teams per vertical exist across Europe, making early identification the firm's primary competitive function.
Operationally, NAP is registered as an alternative investment fund manager under the German KAGB and the EuVECA Regulation, supervised by BaFin, and benefits from support under the European Union's InvestEU Fund. The firm runs a deliberately lean team of six investors and a senior operations function (IR, Legal, Finance & Compliance, Admin) with no platform team. It is supported by a curated network of 250+ LPs composed of entrepreneurs, Mittelstand executives, family offices, and corporate investors who actively open doors for portfolio companies. NAP also operates a proprietary in-house sourcing tool (sourcing.nap.vc) and supplements capital deployment with content and ecosystem assets: the "Big Bets on Cheap Chairs" podcast, the NAP Log Substack, and the Automate VC community.
The firm earns revenue through traditional venture fund economics — management fees on committed/invested capital from its 250+ LP base and carried interest on fund profits — though exact fee, carry, and AUM figures are not publicly disclosed. The portfolio spans 30+ named companies across Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, the UK, Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Bulgaria, with notable positions including Aleph Alpha, Usercentrics (consent management on 2.3M websites), PlanRadar (construction SaaS across 170,000+ sites), AMPECO, Deltia/Almetra, SPREAD, VoiceLine, and others. Realised exits include Delivery Hero (Frankfurt IPO, DHER), Planetly (acquired by OneTrust), WhenThen (acquired by Mangopay), and Loctax (acquired by Tax Systems/Providence Equity Partners).
NAP firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NAP
- Legal name
- NAP Investment Management GmbH
- Website
- https://nap.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- NAP is a Berlin-based European pre-seed and seed venture capital firm investing €1–3M into vertical AI startups founded by domain experts across high-stakes industries, supported by a 250+ LP operator network and a portfolio of 30+ companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NAP industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Early-Stage Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Financial Vehicles (525990)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA)
Keywords
Where NAP is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Berlin
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
NAP business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Fund Management (AIFM) Revenue: NAP is a registered alternative investment fund manager under KAGB and the EuVECA Regulation, managing capital on behalf of 250+ LPs. Revenue is generated through traditional VC fund economics — management fees on committed/invested capital and carried interest on fund profits. The exact fee/carry split is not publicly disclosed.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Pre-seed / seed equity investment: €1–3M initial check plus follow-on capital |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels10 records
NAP product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NAP is a Berlin-based European venture capital fund (NAP Investment Management GmbH, formerly Cavalry Ventures) that invests pre-seed and seed equity of €1–3M (plus follow-on) into expert founders building vertical AI for high-stakes industries such as advanced manufacturing, energy, logistics, compliance, construction, and healthcare. The fund is led as a Europe-only vehicle by a deliberately small team and supplements capital with operator-network support from 250+ LPs.
Product overview
NAP (NAP Investment Management GmbH) is a venture capital firm — described as "The Expert Founder Fund" — rather than a software product company. Its core offering is the NAP Fund itself: a Europe-focused pre-seed and seed vehicle that writes €1–3M initial checks (with follow-on capacity) into expert founders building vertical AI for high-stakes industries such as advanced manufacturing, energy, logistics, compliance, construction, and healthcare. Around this core fund, NAP operates a small set of supporting offerings: the Big Bets on Cheap Chairs podcast, the NAP Log Substack newsletter, the Automate VC community, and a proprietary internal sourcing tool (sourcing.nap.vc) used to identify investment targets. The portfolio of backed companies — including Aleph Alpha, Usercentrics, PlanRadar, Deltia, SPREAD, Logistica OS, VoiceLine, be-Sirius, Verna, Grand, and UniteLabs — represents the realized output of the fund rather than separate NAP products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Expert Founder Fund: Brand positioning used alongside the NAP name ('NAP – The Expert Founder Fund') to describe the firm's strategy of backing domain-insider founders building vertical AI.
- Big Bets on Cheap Chairs (BBoCC)
- NAP Log
- Automate VC
Products and services
- NAP Pre-Seed and Seed Venture Capital Fund Europe-focused pre-seed and seed equity investment vehicle writing €1–3M initial checks plus follow-on capital into expert founders building vertical AI in high-stakes industries; primarily leads rounds, with daily investment committee and term sheets possible within days.
Quantifiable outcome
- €1–3M initial check plus follow-on at pre-seed/seed
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use NAP
Customer profileNamed customers20 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
NAP technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
NAP partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
NAP competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based early-stage European VC with deep-tech and enterprise focus across multiple funds. Comparable to NAP in stage band, geography, and Berlin-rooted German industrial network, though much larger AUM and broader sector mandate.
- Speedinvest: Vienna-headquartered European pre-seed/seed investor with sector-specialized funds (fintech, industrial tech, deep tech). Closest direct peer to NAP on stage, geography, and sector-specific fund structure, including thematic vertical mandates.
- Cherry Ventures: Berlin-based pre-seed/seed fund with concentrated bets on European technical founders. Comparable to NAP in stage, geography, and operator-led partnership model, though without NAP's vertical-AI thematic focus.
- Point Nine Capital: Berlin-based early-stage SaaS investor writing initial checks into European founders. Direct peer on stage, geography, and check size, with overlap on backing portfolio companies that may also fit NAP's vertical-AI thesis.
- Project A: Berlin-based early-stage VC with an in-house operational platform team. Comparable to NAP on stage, geography, and German industrial network, but contrasts with NAP's deliberately small/no-platform model.
- Creandum: Nordic-European early-stage VC backing tech founders from seed onwards. Comparable stage band and European geography; less overlap on vertical-AI industrial focus but similar founder-led approach.
- HV Capital: Munich-based early- to growth-stage European investor with a long German track record. Comparable geography and pre-seed-to-growth band; relevant peer for cross-stage co-investment dynamics with NAP portfolio.
- La Famiglia: Berlin/Munich-based early-stage fund focused on European founders with industrial-DNA. Closely comparable to NAP on stage, geography, and operator-network thesis (La Famiglia's LP base is similarly industry-operator heavy).
Broad incumbents
- Index Ventures: Global multi-stage VC with strong European roots and active participation in NAP portfolio follow-on rounds. Broad incumbent rather than direct peer on stage, but the most relevant downstream co-investor for NAP winners.
- Atomico: London-based European technology investor founded by Skype's Niklas Zennström. Operates as a broader incumbent with later-stage capability than NAP, but a relevant peer given its pan-European stage-inclusive mandate.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NAP social profiles
Digital presenceNAP compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
NAP financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NAP leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
NAP funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NAP M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments112 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NAP
What does NAP do?
NAP is a Berlin-based European venture capital fund (NAP Investment Management GmbH, formerly Cavalry Ventures) that invests pre-seed and seed equity of €1–3M (plus follow-on) into expert founders building vertical AI for high-stakes industries such as advanced manufacturing, energy, logistics, compliance, construction, and healthcare. The fund is led as a Europe-only vehicle by a deliberately small team and supplements capital with operator-network support from 250+ LPs.
Is NAP a public or private company?
NAP is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was NAP founded?
NAP was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is NAP based?
NAP is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does NAP make money?
One revenue line is on record: fund Management (AIFM) Revenue.
Who are NAP's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Earlybird Venture Capital, Speedinvest, Cherry Ventures, Point Nine Capital, Project A, Creandum, HV Capital and La Famiglia. Broad incumbents are Index Ventures and Atomico.
Does NAP have an API?
No public API is recorded for NAP.
What industry is NAP in?
NAP's product category is Early-Stage Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAA, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed). Its NAICS code is 525990 and its SIC code is 6282.