EMH Partners
EMH Partners is a Munich-based growth investment firm that takes minority and majority equity stakes (€10–100m) in profitable, technology-enabled Mittelstand SMEs across the DACH region, managing €1.5bn+ across two funds.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersMunich, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What EMH Partners does
EMH Partners is a Munich-based growth investment firm founded in 2010 by entrepreneurs Maximilian and Sebastian Kuss. The firm partners with profitable, technology-enabled SMEs in the German Mittelstand (DACH region: Germany, Austria, Switzerland), taking both minority and majority equity stakes of €10–100m per transaction. Its core proposition is positioning between venture and traditional buyout capital, combining growth equity with digitalization expertise, operational support, and an industrial advisory network for proprietary deal sourcing. The firm commands €1.5bn+ in committed capital across two funds: the EMH Digital Growth Fund (€350m, 2017) and EMH Growth Fund II (€650m, 2020), with approximately 30 investment and operations professionals.
EMH's portfolio spans roughly a dozen-plus active holdings across medtech (Brainlab, Snke OS, VisionTree, Level Ex, Mint Medical, medPhoton, Dr. Langer Medical), digital commerce and subscription billing (Cleverbridge), digital music production (Native Instruments / Soundwide), IT orchestration and automation (Stonebranch), brand experience and retail (AVANTGARDE, Liganova Group), premium lighting and home automation (Occhio, Basalte), performance marketing (Smarketer), AI content governance (Markup AI / Acrolinx), and FX swaps technology (DIGITEC). Notable exits include the sale of Brainlab's orthopaedic business to Smith & Nephew (2019), AVANTGARDE Experts to YER Group (2024), and Design Offices to IWG (2026).
EMH generates revenue through management fees on committed capital across its funds and carried interest on successful exits. Distribution to LPs is handled through direct institutional relationships and placement agents (Rede Partners for Fund II), with a globally diversified LP base spanning pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, foundations, family offices, and endowments. The firm holds UNPRI and EDCI signatory status and operates from its Munich headquarters (Alter Hof, Dienerstr. 12) with a secondary London presence established in 2017.
EMH Partners firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EMH Partners
- Legal name
- EMH Partners GmbH
- Website
- https://emh.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- EMH Partners is a Munich-based growth investment firm that takes minority and majority equity stakes (€10–100m) in profitable, technology-enabled Mittelstand SMEs across the DACH region, managing €1.5bn+ across two funds.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
EMH Partners industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Equity / Growth Capital
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity (FSANACAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Equity (FSANACAB)
Keywords
Where EMH Partners is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Munich
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
EMH Partners business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Management Fees: EMH earns annual management fees on committed capital under management across its funds (EMH Digital Growth Fund at €350m and EMH Growth Fund II at €650m, plus co-investment programs), providing a steady base revenue stream.
- Carried Interest (Carry): Performance-based carried interest on fund returns upon successful portfolio company exits, representing the primary upside for the GP. EMH holds investments for approximately five years on average before exiting.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
EMH Partners product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EMH Partners is a founder-led growth investment firm that deploys minority and majority equity stakes of €10–100m in fast-growing, profitable European SMEs—primarily in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)—with a focus on technology businesses and digitization potential. The firm manages over €1.5bn in committed capital across its EMH Digital Growth Fund (€350m, 2017) and EMH Growth Fund II (€650m hard cap, 2020), partnering with entrepreneurs to scale internationally with average five-year hold periods and earning revenue through management fees plus performance-based carried interest on exits.
Product overview
EMH Partners is a leading growth investment firm that partners with technology businesses and entrepreneurs in the German Mittelstand. Rather than operating a single unified product, EMH's portfolio comprises multiple technology companies across diverse sectors including medical technology (Brainlab with surgical navigation and Snke OS platform), digital music production (Native Instruments), ecommerce and subscription management (Cleverbridge), brand experience (AVANTGARDE, Liganova), home automation (Basalte, Occhio), IT automation (Stonebranch), and enterprise content governance (Acrolinx, Markup AI). The portfolio represents investments in established technology businesses rather than products built by EMH itself.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- EMH Digital Growth Fund: First growth fund launched in 2017 with €350 million committed capital
- EMH Growth Fund II
Products and services
- EMH Digital Growth Fund (Fund I) EMH Partners' first growth equity fund closed at €350m in June 2017 with a €350m co-investment programme (€700m total). The fund invests minority and majority equity stakes of €10–100m in fast-growing, profitable European SMEs with technology expertise and digitization potential, primarily in the DACH region.
- EMH Growth Fund II EMH Partners' second growth equity fund closed at the €650m hard cap in October 2020, bringing total committed capital under management to over €1bn. The fund invests €10–100m minority and majority equity stakes in profitable, fast-growing technology businesses in the DACH Mittelstand, with broader European exposure and an average ~5 year hold period.
- Strategic Capital & Portfolio Value Creation Beyond capital, EMH Partners delivers ongoing strategic and operational support to portfolio companies including digitalization expertise, industry network access via an industrial advisory board, talent and organizational development support, and guidance on international expansion, bolt-on acquisitions, and IPO preparation.
Quantifiable outcome
- EMH Growth Fund II was oversubscribed and closed at €650m hard cap, nearly double the €350m predecessor fund, demonstrating strong LP confidence in the strategy.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use EMH Partners
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
EMH Partners technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability8 records
EMH Partners partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- IWGminorEMH and AIRE announced the strategic sale of Design Offices to IWG (a global flexible workspace provider) in March 2026, marking a successful exit for EMH Partners from its 2018 investment in Design Offices. IWG acquired the leading German provider of flexible offices and co-working spaces.
- AdyencoreCleverbridge (EMH portfolio company) and Adyen formed a strategic partnership to power next-generation Global Commerce Solutions. The partnership combines Cleverbridge's subscription management and billing platform with Adyen's global payments infrastructure, enabling software companies to scale internationally with seamless payment processing.
- YER Group (Inflexion)minorEMH Partners sold AVANTGARDE Experts (a subsidiary of AVANTGARDE Group) to international recruiting company YER Group. The transaction valued AVANTGARDE Experts at approximately €100m revenue. EMH Partners remains majority shareholder of AVANTGARDE Group. YER Group gained large-scale access to the German market through the acquisition.
- Artificial Rome (Patrik de Jong, Dirk Hoffmann)minorLIGANOVA Group (EMH portfolio company) acquired a majority stake in Artificial Rome, a Berlin-based studio for immersive and meta experiences. The founding team (Patrik de Jong, Dirk Hoffmann, Torsten Sperling-Ufer, Jochen Watral) continues to lead the business, bringing expertise in virtual worlds, VR, AR, NFT, and Web3 experiences.
- nonplusultra Founders (Benjamin Gehring, Florian Hutterer)minorAVANTGARDE Group acquired a majority stake in retail growth agency nonplusultra, founded by Benjamin Gehring and Florian Hutterer. The agency enables international tech brands (including Meta, Ring/Amazon, SumUp) to launch and grow in European retail.
- iZotope / SoundwideminorNative Instruments (EMH portfolio company) joined forces with iZotope and later Plugin Alliance, Brainworx, and Sound Stacks to form Soundwide in 2022. Native Instruments became part of this broader audio technology ecosystem focused on making music creation more accessible.
- Slash.Digital Founders (Tim Schlöder, Joe Butler)minorAVANTGARDE (EMH portfolio company) acquired a majority stake in Slash.Digital. Founders Tim Schlöder and Joe Butler retained significant ownership and continued managing the digital agency, which specializes in neuroscientific approach to digital marketing. The agency moved into AVANTGARDE's Munich headquarters.
- Smith & NephewminorSmith & Nephew acquired Brainlab's orthopaedic joint reconstruction business in March 2019. The two companies also entered a strategic collaboration for future development of technology for digital surgery, with Brainlab deploying its digital surgery products to ambulatory surgery markets through Smith's distribution network.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
EMH Partners competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cipio Partners: Munich and Luxembourg-based growth capital investor specializing in technology and software companies across Europe. Directly comparable investment focus and DACH-centric operations to EMH.
- Acton Capital Partners: Munich-headquartered growth equity firm investing in consumer, software, and digital business models across Europe. Targets profitable growth-stage companies in similar ticket sizes to EMH, with comparable founder-friendly partnership approach.
- Verdane: Nordic-European growth equity firm focused on technology-enabled and sustainable businesses. Makes minority and majority growth investments in profitable scale-ups with similar partnership-oriented approach to EMH, though concentrated more in Northern Europe.
- Genui Partners: Hamburg-based private equity firm focused on profitable mid-market technology companies in German-speaking regions. Frequently co-invests with EMH (Acrolinx/Markup AI round) and shares similar Mittelstand technology thesis.
- Main Capital Partners: Dutch-headquartered growth equity firm focused on software and technology companies across the Benelux and DACH regions. Similar sector specialization in B2B software and enterprise technology as several EMH portfolio companies.
- Digital+ Partners: Bonn-based growth equity firm investing in profitable, technology-driven SMEs in German-speaking markets. Directly comparable to EMH in DACH Mittelstand focus and growth-stage technology thesis.
Regional players
- Ufenau Capital Partners: Swiss-DACH focused private equity firm investing in service companies and SMEs. Operates in overlapping DACH Mittelstand geographies as EMH, with comparable founder-friendly partnership approach.
- Ringier Tech Ventures: Swiss media and technology investment vehicle targeting growth-stage digital businesses in DACH. Operates in similar geographies as EMH with comparable technology and digital business focus, though primarily minority stake investor.
Broad incumbents
- Waterland Private Equity: Large European private equity firm with significant DACH activity, investing in mid-market companies with buy-and-build strategies. Overlaps with EMH's DACH Mittelstand focus but at larger fund sizes and more buyout-oriented structures.
- Nordic Capital: Large Nordic-European private equity firm with growing DACH presence in healthcare, technology, and financial services. Overlaps with EMH's medtech and fintech portfolio exposures but operates at substantially larger fund sizes.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
EMH Partners social profiles
Digital presenceEMH Partners financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EMH Partners leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles10 records
EMH Partners subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries21 records
EMH Partners funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
EMH Partners M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments14 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about EMH Partners
What does EMH Partners do?
EMH Partners is a founder-led growth investment firm that deploys minority and majority equity stakes of €10–100m in fast-growing, profitable European SMEs—primarily in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)—with a focus on technology businesses and digitization potential. The firm manages over €1.5bn in committed capital across its EMH Digital Growth Fund (€350m, 2017) and EMH Growth Fund II (€650m hard cap, 2020), partnering with entrepreneurs to scale internationally with average five-year hold periods and earning revenue through management fees plus performance-based carried interest on exits.
Is EMH Partners a public or private company?
EMH Partners is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was EMH Partners founded?
EMH Partners was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is EMH Partners based?
EMH Partners is headquartered in Munich, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does EMH Partners make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Management Fees are the primary driver. The others are carried Interest (Carry).
Who are EMH Partners's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cipio Partners, Acton Capital Partners, Verdane, Genui Partners, Main Capital Partners and Digital+ Partners. Regional players are Ufenau Capital Partners and Ringier Tech Ventures. Broad incumbents are Waterland Private Equity and Nordic Capital.
Does EMH Partners have an API?
No public API is recorded for EMH Partners.
What industry is EMH Partners in?
EMH Partners's product category is Private Equity / Growth Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANACAO, Multi-Sector / Generalist Growth Equity, with a secondary code of FSANACAB, Healthcare & Life Sciences Growth Equity. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.