First Momentum Ventures, one of Europe’s most active early-stage deeptech investors, has closed its second fund at €35 million, marking nearly a 10x increase over its €4 million debut fund from 2018.
The German VC firm is doubling down on its mission: funding technically sophisticated B2B startups at the earliest stages—especially those emerging from research-heavy environments.
Amid a volatile global investment climate and rising geopolitical headwinds, First Momentum is betting big on Europe’s next generation of industrial innovation—hardware-first, science-led startups building real-world infrastructure for the future.
Deep Roots in Engineering and Research
Founded by engineers and researchers from MIT, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and the Max Planck Institute, First Momentum Ventures stands out for its technical fluency in assessing complex technologies. This engineering-first approach gives the firm a significant edge in a space where many generalist VCs hesitate.
“The next European unicorns won’t come from incremental SaaS,” said Andreas Fischer, Partner at First Momentum. “They’ll come from rethinking how we produce, move, and power the physical world.”
The fund is backed by a mix of family offices, industrial giants, fund-of-funds, and public institutions, though LPs remain undisclosed. Their participation signals a strong alignment with European innovation priorities in deeptech, energy, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing.
Strategic Focus in an Uncertain World
The fundraise began in 2022, during a period of rising interest rates, tariff threats, and geopolitical uncertainty. First Momentum’s response? A focus on resilient, defensible sectors such as:
- Industrial automation
- Grid infrastructure
- Energy storage
- Novel materials
While deeptech now represents 44% of all European tech investments, most technical founders still struggle to raise at the pre-seed stage—especially from investors who understand both the science and the scale of what they’re building. First Momentum steps in early, writing initial cheques between €200K and €1M, with plans to back up to 35 startups in Fund II.
A Selective Approach to Hype Cycles
Unlike many peers chasing buzz around humanoid robots or LLMs in robotics, First Momentum Ventures remains cautious around overhyped tech trends. The firm prefers startups with clear commercial paths, strong unit economics, and near-term applications.
“We’re not anti-robotics or AI—but we’re anti-hype,” said the team. “We back companies solving real problems with immediate industrial impact.”
A Growing Deeptech Portfolio
First Momentum Ventures has already invested in 20+ companies, with a focus on core technologies that power infrastructure, computing, and advanced manufacturing. Standout investments include:
- Daedalus – Autonomous manufacturing powered by AI and robotics
- Quantum Diamonds – Precision quantum sensing for semiconductor manufacturing
- Atlas Bio – AI-powered drug discovery through molecular interaction modeling
- ISPTech – Propulsion systems for satellite mobility in space
- SDA – Bringing DevOps to industrial automation
- Unikraft – High-performance, lightweight OS for the cloud
- Octomind – AI for autonomous software testing
- ContextSDK – Context-aware mobile app engagement tools
- Ninetailed – API-first personalization engine (acquired by Contentful)
- Forward AM – Advanced materials for additive manufacturing
These companies reflect First Momentum’s thesis: invest in foundational, capital-efficient technologies that address core economic, environmental, and industrial needs—not speculative narratives.
A Network-Driven Model
In addition to its in-house team, the firm works with a network of 100+ venture scouts, embedded across Europe’s top universities and research hubs. This network helps identify promising spinouts and early-stage teams long before they hit most VCs’ radars.
Looking Ahead: Deeptech with Discipline
As structured capital strategies gain popularity—especially for hardtech and climate-focused funds—First Momentum’s local presence, deep sector focus, and hands-on approach set it apart. While global capital pulls back, the firm is doubling down on what it sees as Europe’s moment to lead in industrial innovation.
“We’re entering a decade of convergence,” said Fischer. “Compute, energy, and manufacturing are all hitting transformation points at once. The founders best positioned to lead that shift are scientists and engineers—and they’re exactly who we’re backing.”
With €35 million in fresh capital and an engineering-driven lens on what matters, First Momentum Ventures is poised to help shape the future of Europe’s deeptech economy—by backing the builders who understand both atoms and algorithms.
