Cavalry Ventures
Cavalry Ventures (operating as NAP – The Expert Founder Fund) is a Berlin-based, pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests in expert founders across European technology sectors, including AI, privacy, and vertical SaaS.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- Headquarters—
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Cavalry Ventures does
Cavalry Ventures operates as NAP – The Expert Founder Fund, a Berlin-based venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in European technology companies. The firm targets "expert founders" — domain experts rather than serial entrepreneurs — with a stated thesis around European strategic independence in sectors including AI, data privacy, and vertical SaaS. Notable portfolio companies include Aleph Alpha (foundational AI models for European sovereignty), Usercentrics (cookie consent management, active on 2.3 million websites), and PlanRadar (construction management, deployed across 170,000+ sites in 75+ countries).
The firm's core product is capital deployment into early-stage companies, primarily through direct equity investments. Beyond investing, Cavalry has built a content and tooling ecosystem: the "Big Bets on Cheap Chairs" podcast, the "NAP Log" Substack newsletter, the "Automate VC" community platform for VCs, and a proprietary sourcing tool (sourcing.nap.vc) designed to identify high-growth investment targets. The firm employs 21 people and operates under a horizontal segmentation approach, focusing on expert founders across multiple verticals rather than a single sector specialization.
The business model follows standard early-stage VC economics: management fees on deployed fund capital plus future carried interest on realizations. Specific fund sizes, AUM, LP composition, and pricing of investment terms are not publicly disclosed. The firm is privately held, with no parent company or public ticker disclosed in available data.
Cavalry Ventures firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cavalry Ventures
- Website
- https://cavalry.vc
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Cavalry Ventures (operating as NAP – The Expert Founder Fund) is a Berlin-based, pre-seed and seed-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 that invests in expert founders across European technology sectors, including AI, privacy, and vertical SaaS.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cavalry Ventures industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Venture Capital
- NAICS
- Other Investment Pools and Funds (5259), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB)
Keywords
Cavalry Ventures business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Cavalry Ventures product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cavalry Ventures (NAP – The Expert Founder Fund) is a Berlin-based venture capital firm that deploys equity capital at the pre-seed and seed stages into European technology startups founded by domain experts. The fund backs companies across sectors including AI infrastructure (Aleph Alpha), compliance and privacy technology (Usercentrics), and vertical SaaS for construction (PlanRadar), and it supports portfolio companies alongside supplementary content and community programs.
Product overview
Cavalry Ventures operates as NAP – The Expert Founder Fund, a venture capital firm that provides investment services at pre-seed and seed stages. The firm supports expert founders across various sectors including AI (Aleph Alpha), compliance technology (Usercentrics), and construction management (PlanRadar). Beyond capital deployment, NAP offers supplementary resources including a podcast (Big Bets on Cheap Chairs), a newsletter (NAP Log), a VC community platform (Automate VC), and a proprietary sourcing tool for identifying high-growth investment targets.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Big Bets on Cheap Chairs: A podcast hosted by NAP focusing on venture capital and startup insights.
- NAP Log
- Automate VC
Products and services
- Pre-seed and Seed Venture Capital Investments Venture capital equity investments at pre-seed and seed stages made into European technology startups founded by domain experts ("expert founders"). The capital is deployed across sectors including AI infrastructure, compliance/privacy technology, and vertical SaaS, targeting founders building companies such as Aleph Alpha, Usercentrics, and PlanRadar.
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio includes companies active on 2.3M websites (Usercentrics)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Cavalry Ventures
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Cavalry Ventures technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Cavalry Ventures partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Cavalry Ventures competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Fly Ventures: European-focused pre-seed and seed fund investing in deep tech and AI, with highly overlapping thesis to Cavalry's European AI sovereignty positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Atomico: European-founded global VC investing from Series A onward with significant seed investments, serving as a broader incumbent peer for European technology founders.
- Index Ventures: Major European-born global VC with seed-stage activity, providing a broader incumbent benchmark; competes with Cavalry for European early-stage deals but operates much larger funds.
Direct peers
- Creandum: European early-stage VC investing in seed and Series A tech companies across the Nordics and broader Europe, with similar stage and sector orientation to Cavalry.
- Speedinvest: European early-stage VC with a sector-focused model (Deep Tech, FinTech, SaaS) and heavy pre-seed/seed activity, directly competing for the same expert founder cohort across DACH and broader Europe.
- La Famiglia: Berlin-based early-stage VC with a strong founder community focus, overlapping directly with Cavalry on European pre-seed/seed opportunities in tech and SaaS.
- Earlybird Venture Capital: Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm investing across European tech, with overlapping pre-seed/seed-stage coverage and similar portfolio composition in European SaaS and deep tech.
- Point Nine Capital: Berlin-based seed-stage fund with B2B SaaS focus, sharing similar pre-seed/seed positioning, geography, and target founder profile with Cavalry Ventures.
- VSquared Ventures: European deep tech and science-based venture capital firm investing at seed and Series A, comparable to Cavalry's bets in European AI sovereignty (e.g., Aleph Alpha).
- HV Capital: Cologne-based venture capital firm investing across all stages from seed onward, with comparable European tech focus and significant seed-stage deal flow.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Cavalry Ventures social profiles
Digital presenceCavalry Ventures financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cavalry Ventures leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Cavalry Ventures funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cavalry Ventures M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cavalry Ventures
What does Cavalry Ventures do?
Cavalry Ventures (NAP – The Expert Founder Fund) is a Berlin-based venture capital firm that deploys equity capital at the pre-seed and seed stages into European technology startups founded by domain experts. The fund backs companies across sectors including AI infrastructure (Aleph Alpha), compliance and privacy technology (Usercentrics), and vertical SaaS for construction (PlanRadar), and it supports portfolio companies alongside supplementary content and community programs.
Is Cavalry Ventures a public or private company?
Cavalry Ventures is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Cavalry Ventures founded?
Cavalry Ventures was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Who are Cavalry Ventures's main competitors?
Fly Ventures is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Atomico and Index Ventures. Direct peers are Creandum, Speedinvest, La Famiglia, Earlybird Venture Capital, Point Nine Capital, VSquared Ventures and HV Capital.
Does Cavalry Ventures have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cavalry Ventures.
What industry is Cavalry Ventures in?
Cavalry Ventures's product category is Venture Capital. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSANAAAB, Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B). Its NAICS code is 5259 and its SIC code is 6282.