What ACT Venture Partners does

ACT Venture Partners is a deep-tech venture capital fund manager founded in 2015 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with additional offices in London and Istanbul. The firm manages two vehicles — ACT Fund I (in operation since July 2015, part-financed by IPA funds from the Regional Competitiveness Operational Programme supported by the EU and Republic of Türkiye) and the KCV Fund (classified as an Article 6 fund under SFDR). ACT writes pre-seed and seed cheques of €500K–€1.5M, typically as the first institutional investor, targeting technical founders in AI, quantum technologies, SpaceTech, dual-use, HealthTech, and sustainability. Its stated investment criteria are problem-solution fit, product-market fit, team fit, and investment thesis fit.

The firm's customer base splits into two institutional segments: (1) Limited Partners supplying capital — including IPA-backed institutional co-financiers — seeking exposure to European deep-tech under SFDR-compliant structures, and (2) technical founders seeking first-institutional capital and operational support. ACT monetizes via the standard VC model of management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on fund profits, while offering portfolio companies value-add services in fundraising, hiring, grant access, and strategic partnerships. The firm is registered as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) under EU regulations and complies with Invest Europe professional standards.

ACT's operational footprint spans a tri-city model (Amsterdam, London, Istanbul), giving it access to academic, incubator, and innovation ecosystems across Europe and EEMEA. Its portfolio of 20+ companies includes Qubitrium, Cellbricks Therapeutics, Meddenovo Drug Design, Nextmol, Rototip, Productive Machines, NxLite, Picus Security, Eatron Technologies, and RS Research, with notable exits including Hazy (acquired by SAS), Datarow (acquired by AWS), and Inofab Health (acquired by Carbon Health). The team is led by Managing Partners Gökhan Güner, Okan Kara, and Erhan Kılıçözlü, supported by Partner Gürcan Ozan, a Strategy Advisor, a Scientific Advisor, a Venture Partner, an Executive in Residence, and multiple Associates.

Name

ACT Venture Partners

Legal name

ACT Venture Partners Coöperatief U.A.

Website

https://actvp.vc

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ACT Venture Partners is a European deep-tech venture capital firm that invests €500K–€1.5M at pre-seed and seed stage in AI, quantum, SpaceTech, dual-use, HealthTech, and sustainability startups, operating from Amsterdam, London, and Istanbul as a registered AIFM.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital
• Deep-tech investing
• Seed-stage funding
• Pre-seed investment
• Technology commercialization

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Management Fees: VC firms typically charge management fees on committed capital (usually 1.5-2% annually) to cover operational expenses. The firm manages ACT Fund I (since July 2015) and KCV Fund.
2. Carried Interest (Carry): Performance-based carried interest (typically 20% of profits above the hurdle rate) represents the primary economic upside for general partners in a VC structure. This aligns GP and LP incentives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ACT Venture Partners is a deep-tech venture capital fund manager that invests at pre-seed and seed stages in European startups with initial checks between €500K and €1.5M, typically as the first institutional investor. Beyond capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with hands-on support across fundraising, hiring, grant access, and strategic partnerships. The firm manages ACT Fund I (since July 2015) and the KCV Fund (an Article 6 SFDR fund), focusing on AI, Quantum Technologies, SpaceTech, HealthTech, Sustainability, and dual-use technologies.

Product overview

ACT Venture Partners operates as a deep-tech venture capital fund manager offering a single investment fund (KCV Fund, Article 6 under SFDR) that provides seed-stage capital to European deep-tech founders. Their core offering combines pre-seed and seed investment (€500K–€1.5M tickets) with portfolio support services including fundraising assistance, hiring support, grant access, and strategic partnerships. The fund focuses on sectors including AI/physics-based models, quantum technologies, SpaceTech, HealthTech, Sustainability, and dual-use technologies. ACT also manages ACT Fund I, co-financed by EU and Turkish IPA funds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACT Fund I Venture capital fund managed by ACT Venture Partners since July 2015, with part of its financing provided from IPA funds allocated to the Regional Competitiveness Operational Programme supported by the EU and Republic of Turkey. Invests in early-stage deep-tech startups in Europe.
• KCV Fund Article 6 fund under SFDR managed by ACT Venture Partners, investing in deep-tech startups across AI, quantum technologies, SpaceTech, HealthTech, Sustainability, and dual-use technologies. ESG considerations are integrated into the risk management framework.

Quantifiable outcome

• Picus Security raised $45M Series C led by Riverwood Capital
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• MMC Ventures: London-based early-stage VC focused on UK and European technology startups; directly comparable as lead of Eatron Technologies' Series A (where ACT was co-investor) and as a peer competing for AI/deep-tech seed rounds at similar check sizes.
• Speedinvest: European early-stage VC writing first institutional checks of €0.5M–€3M into deep-tech, industrial tech, and frontier software startups; directly comparable in stage, ticket size, and sector overlap with ACT's seed investments across Europe.
• HV Capital: German-headquartered early- and growth-stage VC with deep-tech exposure and pan-European deal flow; comparable as a European seed/Series A peer competing for the same founders and quantum/AI/industrial-tech opportunities as ACT.
• LocalGlobe: London-based seed-stage VC backing founders at pre-seed and seed with strong deep-tech, frontier, and consumer-tech coverage; comparable to ACT as a first-institutional-investor seed fund competing in the UK and broader European ecosystem.
• European Innovation Council Fund: EU-backed investor-of-record for European deep-tech startups across quantum, biotech, and advanced materials; directly comparable to ACT as a sector-focused deep-tech investor co-deploying capital with TUBITAK/EU IPA ecosystems and competing for the same EU deep-tech deal flow.
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Europe's longest-standing early-stage VCs with deep-tech and digital mandates; directly comparable to ACT as a co-investor (Earlybird co-led Picus Security's Series B alongside ACT's seed) and a peer for European pre-seed/seed deep-tech deals at similar ticket sizes.
• 500 Global (500 Startups): Global early-stage VC and accelerator with extensive seed programs; comparable to ACT as a first-institutional-investor seed vehicle, though typically operating at larger fund scale and broader geographic mandate including EEMEA.
• UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S): UK public-private seed investor in deep-tech and frontier science startups; directly comparable as a co-investor in Productive Machines alongside ACT and as a peer for early-stage deep-tech tickets in the UK ecosystem.

Others

• Inventram: Koc Holding's technology commercialisation and corporate venture capital arm, where ACT Managing Partner Gökhan Güner previously led IP-based deep-tech investments for five years; thematically comparable as a deep-tech investment platform and a possible co-investor/competitor in Turkish and European deep-tech deals.

Broad incumbents

• Atomico: Large pan-European VC with deep-tech and growth-stage exposure; a broader incumbent competitor to ACT at the larger seed and Series A end of European deep-tech where ACT typically co-invests.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/act_vp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/act-venture-partners

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments39 records

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

Frequently asked questions about ACT Venture Partners