German Startups Group

What German Startups Group does

German Startups Group is the venture capital operating brand of SGT German Private Equity GmbH & Co. KGaA, a Frankfurt am Main-headquartered investment firm focused on growth and early-stage German and European technology startups. The firm invests directly in companies with proven traction and also acquires secondary shares from founders, business angels, and early-stage investors in more mature startups. It is managed by Christoph Gerlinger as Managing Director of German Startups Group Management GmbH, with investment activities conducted through German Startups Group VC GmbH in partnership with SGT German Private Equity Management GmbH.

The active portfolio spans e-commerce (Mister Spex, Armedangels, reBuy, Amorelie), food delivery (Delivery Hero), fintech and insurance (Scalable Capital, Friendsurance, Simplesurance, Thinksurance, CRX Markets), mobility (Wunder Mobility, eWings), digital media (SoundCloud, OneFootball, Fyber), online education (Lingoda), luxury marketplaces (Chrono24), and other tech-enabled businesses (Remerge, AuctionTech, Exozet, Fiagon, Customer Alliance, Pyreg, realbest). Revenue is generated through capital gains on portfolio exits — trade sales (Delivery Hero, Fyber, Chrono24, OneFootball, Lingoda, Amorelie, CRX Markets, Friendsurance, reBuy, Scalable Capital, Pyreg, realbest, eWings) and an IPO exit (Mister Spex) — making realized returns highly episodic and tied to portfolio realization events rather than recurring fees.

Corporate structure places SGT German Private Equity GmbH & Co. KGaA as the publicly-registered legal parent (formerly listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ticker fra:PGH and now delisted), with German Startups Group VC GmbH as the core investment operating subsidiary and German Startups Group Management GmbH as the wholly-owned management entity. The firm operates from Bockenheimer Landstraße 47, Frankfurt am Main, with a staff count of 11-50, and pursues outreach through its corporate website, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Name

German Startups Group

Legal name

SGT German Private Equity GmbH & Co. KGaA

Website

https://german-startups.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The German Startups Group (SGT German Private Equity GmbH & Co. KGaA) is a Frankfurt-based venture capital firm investing in growth and early-stage German and European startups. Returns come from capital gains on portfolio exits spanning e-commerce, fintech, mobility, and digital media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (52599)

SIC

Investors, Nec (6799)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Pre-Seed/Seed) (FSANAAAA), Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Private equity firm
• Growth stage investments
• Early stage investing
• Secondary share acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns and Capital Gains: As a venture capital and private equity investor, German Startups Group generates returns through capital gains from successful portfolio company exits, including IPOs (Mister Spex) and trade sales (Delivery Hero, Fyber, Chrono24, OneFootball, Amorelie, Lingoda, CRX Markets, Friendsurance, reBuy, Scalable Capital, Pyreg, realbest, eWings). They invest in startups and generate returns upon exit.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

German Startups Group is a private venture capital and private equity firm that invests in German startups across growth and early stages. The firm provides growth capital through primary investments and acquires secondary shares from founders, business angels, and early-stage investors, targeting companies with disruptive products, scalable business models, and proven traction in digital sectors including e-commerce, fintech, mobility technology, media, and enterprise software.

Product overview

German Startups Group is a German venture capital and private equity firm that invests in startups at various growth stages (early stage and growth stage). The company does not offer a unified technology product or platform; rather, it operates as an investment vehicle managing a portfolio of holdings in digital startups across diverse sectors including e-commerce, fintech, mobility technology, media, and enterprise software. Its portfolio companies include Armedangels, AuctionTech, Chrono24, Delivery Hero, Exozet, Fiagon, Friendsurance, Fyber, Lingoda, Mister Spex, OneFootball, reBuy, Remerge, Scalable Capital, Simplesurance, SoundCloud, Wunder Mobility, Amorelie, CRX Markets, Customer Alliance, eWings, Pyreg, realbest, and Thinksurance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Target Global: Berlin-based early- and growth-stage VC investing across European tech, frequently co-investing in German startups. Comparable venture mandate and stage focus to German Startups Group.
• HV Capital (formerly Holtzbrinck Ventures): Frankfurt-based lead VC investing across early and growth stages in German/European tech. Overlapping investor in several portfolio companies (e.g., Scalable Capital) with German Startups Group, making it a directly comparable peer.
• Speedinvest: Vienna-based European early-stage VC with a strong DACH investment footprint and dedicated Germany-focused funds. Directly comparable in stage, geography, and sector focus.
• Cherry Ventures: Berlin-based pre-seed and seed VC investing in European tech, with a strong German deal pipeline. Comparable as a DACH-focused venture investor, although smaller and earlier-stage than German Startups Group.
• Rocket Internet: Berlin-headquartered venture builder and investor focused on internet/tech startups globally with strong German roots. Comparable as a German-headquartered, venture-focused investor with a public-market history (Frankfurt-listed).
• Earlybird Venture Capital: One of Germany's longest-standing early- and growth-stage VCs, headquartered in Berlin and investing across German and European tech - directly comparable to German Startups Group's German-focused mandate and stage focus.
• Acton Capital Partners: Munich-based growth-equity investor in digital economy businesses, often investing in German-speaking Europe. Comparable as a German-rooted investor with a venture/growth-stage mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Index Ventures: London/San Francisco- and Geneva-based global VC with a long track record in European tech (including German investments). Comparable as a broad incumbent, pan-European venture investor.
• Atomico: London-based global VC investing across European tech, including Germany. Comparable as a broad incumbent European VC, though typically at later stages and larger checks.
• Partech Partners: Paris-based global venture and growth firm with a DACH investment presence (Partech Germany). Comparable as a European VC with multi-stage investment capability, broader geographic reach than German Startups Group.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/SGTGPE
• Facebookfacebook.com/SGTGermanPrivateEquity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/german-startups-group-gmbh-&-co-kgaa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments55 records

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

Frequently asked questions about German Startups Group