Deep Tech VCs in Europe: 15 Venture Capital Firms Backing Quantum, Space, Chips, Bio and Climate Hardware
Deep tech startups need investors who can read a physics paper, wait longer for revenue and still lead the next round. Most "top deep tech investor" lists rank firms by deal counts copied from other lists. We checked 15 European deep tech venture capital firms on their own websites in October 2026: where they are based, which deep tech areas they name, which stages they invest in, the ticket size they publish (if they publish one) and their latest fund, taken from their own press release. We also checked the public money that sits next to VC in Europe: the EIC Accelerator, the EIC Fund and Bpifrance's deep tech grant.
Quick answer: for pre-seed, look at Lunar Ventures (Berlin), Vsquared (Munich), Verve Ventures (Zurich, EUR 1M to 5M initial tickets) and Octopus Ventures (London, typically GBP 100K at pre-seed). For seed and Series A, IQ Capital, Elaia (new EUR 134M deep tech seed fund), UVC Partners (EUR 400M in new capital), APEX Ventures, Matterwave and HTGF are the most active names on this list. Quantum and physics startups should talk to Quantonation; space startups to Seraphim and OTB Ventures. Pair VC with the EIC Accelerator: a grant below EUR 2.5 million plus up to EUR 10 million in equity.
Write FREE SEO-optimized Blog Articles! Our Article Writer ensures your blog is loved by both Google and your readers, turning those clicks into customers.
👉 Write your article here
Deep Tech VC Firms in Europe Compared
Sources: each firm's own website and press releases, checked 28 October 2026. "Not published" means the firm's site does not state it; press-only figures are marked "according to".
The 15 Deep Tech VC Firms in Europe for 2027
The firms are grouped roughly by how early they come in: first the large seed investors, then the specialists for pre-seed, then the funds that lead bigger seed and Series A rounds, then the sector specialists for quantum and space. For deep tech funds outside Europe, from the US and Israel to Asia-Pacific, see our global list of deep tech VCs.
1. High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
High-Tech Gründerfonds is based in Bonn, with offices in Berlin and Munich, and calls itself a multi-stage VC platform that backs tech founders from pre-seed to growth in Deep Tech, Life Sciences and Digital Tech. Its fourth fund, HTGF IV, closed at EUR 493.8 million on February 28, 2023, with the German federal government, KfW Capital and 45 companies as investors. On August 26, 2026 HTGF started fundraising for its fifth seed fund, with a stronger deep tech focus; the first closing is planned for mid-2027. Recent news on its site includes Proxima Fusion's EUR 411 million round. Founders pitch through the "My pitch" form on its site.
2. IQ Capital
IQ Capital is a dedicated deep tech VC with offices in London and Cambridge, where it was founded in 2007. It invests at seed and Series A in B2B deep tech; its co-founders name novel AI models, energy and climate, robotics, space, quantum computing and synthetic biology as the opportunity. On June 29, 2023 it announced the final close of Fund IV at $200 million plus a second $200 million Growth Fund for follow-on rounds. Its 2026 news includes QuantumDiamonds (EUR 91 million) and Nyobolt (Series C at a $1 billion valuation).
3. Vsquared Ventures
Vsquared Ventures has offices in Munich and London and says it backs founders "from the very beginning", before consensus and before scale. Its themes are AI and next-gen software, new space, new computing and sensing, the energy transition, robotics and manufacturing, and tech-bio; portfolio news on its site includes Isar Aerospace, Neura Robotics and IQM. Vsquared publishes no fund size itself; according to Sifted, which its news page links, it closed its second fund at EUR 214 million on June 11, 2024. In June 2026 it opened its London office.
4. UVC Partners
UVC Partners (Munich and Berlin) invests in B2B tech startups across DeepTech, ClimateTech, Mobility and Software/AI and works closely with UnternehmerTUM, the Munich startup centre. On March 12, 2026 it added a EUR 150 million growth fund to UVC Fund IV, bringing its new capital to EUR 400 million, with a final closing expected in late summer 2026. Initial tickets can reach EUR 10 million and each fund can put up to EUR 30 million into one company; it plans 25 to 30 investments from pre-seed and seed through Series A. Isar Aerospace is one of its portfolio companies.
5. Speedinvest
Speedinvest is a pan-European fund with offices in Vienna, Berlin, London, Munich and Paris. Its Deep Tech team of former founders, data scientists and physicists backs advanced AI, quantum computing, energy, materials discovery, robotics, defence and space startups, including first-time teams spinning out of universities. On January 31, 2024 it closed Speedinvest 4 at EUR 350 million, EUR 50 million above target. Its homepage says it leads 85% of its initial investments.
Boost Your SEO with 1,500+ Free Business Directories: increase your DA, get backlinks and traffic.
We've compiled an exclusive list of directories and websites where you can submit your business and start building high-quality backlinks to boost your website traffic and get your SEO snowball rolling.
👉 Submit your startup now!
6. Elaia
Elaia is a Paris investor that works with research institutions. In March 2026 it closed its third deep tech seed fund, DTS3, at EUR 134 million, double the size of its earlier deep tech seed funds, built with partners including PSL, INRIA, CNRS, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the Max Planck Foundation. DTS3 invests EUR 1 million to EUR 13 million in pre-seed and seed B2B startups across Europe in computing, life sciences and industrial innovation. Quantum computer maker Alice and Bob is in its portfolio.
7. Verve Ventures
Verve Ventures is a Zurich deep tech investor (Verve Capital Partners AG, supervised by Swiss regulator FINMA). Its site states initial tickets of EUR 1 million to 5 million at pre-seed and seed for European founders, in three topics: energy and resources, the future of computing, and health and bio. Portfolio companies include Q.ANT (optical processors for AI), C12 (quantum processors on carbon nanotubes) and Metafuels (sustainable aviation fuel). Its investors are family offices, wealth managers, institutions and senior executives; it publishes no fund size.
8. APEX Ventures
APEX Ventures is based in Vienna and invests in early-stage deep tech across Europe, from seed to Series A, with an average initial ticket of EUR 0.5 million to 2.5 million. It looks for defensible IP and technical depth in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and robotics, the energy transition, next-gen computing, medical technologies and space. Its site gives no fund size; you reach the team through the contact page.
9. Innovation Industries
Innovation Industries is an Amsterdam deep tech VC. On May 15, 2024 it announced EUR 500 million for its third fund, which finances deep tech companies in the Benelux and Germany, mostly with money from Dutch pension funds, after raising EUR 100 million earlier that year for a Strategic Partners Fund for its scale-ups. Its site states a minimum ticket of EUR 2 million and up to EUR 50 million per portfolio company, which makes it a fit for capital-heavy hardware. Recent portfolio news: Nearfield Instruments' $380 million Series D and Groove Quantum's EUR 16 million round.
10. Quantonation
Quantonation describes itself as a global venture capital fund for breakthrough technologies based on physics and computing, from quantum computing to secure communications and ultra-precise sensing, with offices in Paris and Dallas and a portfolio across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Its own news page does not load without scripts; according to Bloomberg, its second fund, Quantonation II, closed at EUR 220 million on February 18, 2026, with Novo Holdings and ACS among the backers. It publishes no stage or ticket size; founders write to the contact address on its site.
11. Lunar Ventures
Lunar Ventures is a Berlin fund that backs technical founders "from day zero", in its words "Hard problems. Real tech." Its examples include Zama (homomorphic encryption for AI and blockchains), deepset (sovereign AI infrastructure) and Electric SQL, which joined Databricks. Its Buzz page links Sifted's report that it launched a EUR 50 million Fund II in May 2025; the fund size comes from that report, not from Lunar's own text. If you are pre-revenue with a hard technical edge, Lunar is one of the few funds that says it wants to be first in.
12. Matterwave Ventures
Matterwave Ventures is a Munich VC for early-stage hardware and software companies that reshape industrial value chains. It names three areas: industrial tech, deep tech (frontier technologies and sovereign dual-use capabilities) and climate tech. It invests at seed and Series A with initial tickets of EUR 1 million to 4 million and has EUR 250 million under management; there is a "Pitch us" page on its site.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
13. OTB Ventures
OTB Ventures is a pan-European fund with offices in Amsterdam and Warsaw (and, according to its news page, a new Luxembourg office). It invests at late seed and Series A, aiming for initial tickets of EUR 1 million to 7 million and up to EUR 25 million per company, and manages over $350 million. Its homepage names AI and novel computing, space tech and physical AI; recent news includes co-leading Arlequin AI's EUR 28 million Series A and joining Alta Ares' EUR 50 million Series A in AI air defence.
14. Octopus Ventures
Octopus Ventures is a London VC with seven investment areas, one of which is Deep Tech (the others are B2B Software, Bio, Climate, Consumer, Fintech and Health). Its sweet spot is pre-seed through Series A. Its pan-European pre-seed fund typically invests GBP 100,000, sometimes before a product exists; once legal documents are signed, it says funds can reach your bank account within ten working days. At seed and later, investments typically start at GBP 1 million. You submit a pitch deck on its contact page. It publishes no fund figure.
15. Seraphim Space
Seraphim Space is a London space tech investor that runs venture funds, a space accelerator and the Seraphim Space Investment Trust (SSIT), which it calls its growth fund. Its current venture fund, Seraphim Space Ventures II, invests at seed and Series A. Its site publishes no fund size or ticket. If your startup builds satellites, launch, earth observation or space data, it is the only space-only fund on this list.
Public Money Next to VC: EIC Accelerator, EIC Fund and Bpifrance
European deep tech founders rarely raise only from VCs. Three public routes are worth knowing; we checked each on its official page:
- EIC Accelerator: for startups and SMEs developing innovations at TRL 6 to 8. It combines a grant component below EUR 2.5 million with up to EUR 10 million in equity, plus coaching. In 2026 the EIC Accelerator Open had a budget of EUR 414 million and the Accelerator Challenges EUR 220 million. Read our sister site's EIC Accelerator tips and the EIC deadlines to the end of 2026.
- EIC Fund: set up in 2020 as the venture capital arm of the European Innovation Council, financed by the European Commission with investment advice from the European Investment Bank, with a capitalisation of over EUR 4 billion. It has invested in more than 300 companies across 25 countries, with over EUR 1.4 billion in signed investment agreements, including equity under the EIC Accelerator's pilot and current programme. For later rounds, see EIC STEP Scale Up.
- Bpifrance Bourse French Tech Emergence: a grant of up to EUR 90,000 for French deep tech startups less than one year old that need a phase of maturation and technical and economic validation.
Firms That Left This List and Why
The 2025 version of this article listed 15 names. 12 are VC firms that are still active and still invest in deep tech, so they stay. The other three changed:
- Deeptech Seed Fund was dropped: we could not match it to one identifiable firm, its domain does not resolve, and the old entry linked only to a third-party list. We replaced it with Matterwave Ventures.
- EIC Fund and Bpifrance are public bodies, not VC firms, so they moved to the public money section above. In their places we added OTB Ventures and Seraphim Space.
- Removed figures: deal counts ("28 deals", "19 deals in 2024", "15 startups in 2024"), Bpifrance's "EUR 2.5 billion DeepTech plan" and ticket sizes for HTGF and Speedinvest had no source on the firms' own pages. Verve's ticket is now taken from its site (EUR 1 million to 5 million), and the old "EUR 600 million fund" for Innovation Industries was really a EUR 500 million fund plus a EUR 100 million fund.
Several firms also have news since the old article: Elaia's DTS3 final close, UVC's EUR 400 million, Quantonation II and HTGF's fifth fund are all from 2026.
Funding a Deep Tech Startup in Europe in 5 Steps
- Start with grants. Non-dilutive money buys time to prove the science. See research grants for deep tech and our sibling guide to grants for female entrepreneurs in Europe.
- Find a pre-seed specialist. Lunar, Vsquared, Verve and Octopus's pre-seed fund say they invest at the very start.
- Apply to the EIC Accelerator. Its grant plus equity can be blended with a VC round; read how blended grant and equity finance works.
- Pick a seed or Series A lead by sector. Quantum: Quantonation; space: Seraphim or OTB; industrial hardware: Matterwave or Innovation Industries; broad B2B deep tech: IQ Capital, Elaia, UVC, APEX or HTGF.
- Plan the scale-up round early. Innovation Industries writes up to EUR 50 million per company, UVC up to EUR 30 million, OTB up to EUR 25 million.
Which Deep Tech VC Should You Choose?
- Pre-seed, technical team, no revenue: Lunar Ventures, Vsquared, Octopus Ventures (pre-seed) or Verve Ventures.
- German or DACH startup: HTGF, UVC Partners, Vsquared, Matterwave and APEX. See our list of the best cities for deep tech startups in Europe.
- UK startup: IQ Capital, Octopus Ventures or Seraphim Space.
- French startup: Elaia and Quantonation, plus Bpifrance's grant.
- Benelux or capital-heavy hardware: Innovation Industries (from EUR 2 million) or OTB Ventures.
- Quantum or photonics: Quantonation first; Verve, IQ Capital and Innovation Industries also hold quantum companies.
- Deep tech AI: compare these firms with our VCs for AI startups and the best cities for AI startups in Europe.
Join F/MS: Startup Facilitator & Incubator and unlock your startup dreams today! Get your first customers, register you company in the Netherlands and get startup visas for the team.
How Deep Tech Founders Prepare to Raise
Deep tech VCs read the science first and the business second, but they still want a clear path to customers. Start with our list of early-stage VC firms (including Seedcamp, Index and Accel in London) and our angel investors in Europe. Before you pitch, build a fundraising pitch deck that tells a story, read up on term sheet negotiation and avoid the classic pre-seed fundraising mistakes. If you are still choosing where to build, compare startup incubators in Europe and the best countries for startups in Europe, and see our guide to startup funding in Europe. Women founders can add our female founder grants and grants for female entrepreneurs guides. Not sure VC is right? Read venture capital vs grants. Many partners meet founders at events: see our list of fundraising and investor events.
FAQ About Deep Tech VCs in Europe
What is a deep tech VC?
A venture capital firm that invests in startups built on scientific or engineering breakthroughs, such as quantum, semiconductors and computing, space, biotech, new materials or energy hardware. Firms like IQ Capital, Vsquared, Verve and Innovation Industries describe themselves as dedicated deep tech investors.
Which deep tech VCs in Europe invest at pre-seed?
Lunar Ventures (Berlin) backs founders from day zero, Vsquared from the very beginning, Verve at pre-seed and seed, Octopus Ventures through its pre-seed fund (typically GBP 100,000) and Elaia's DTS3 at pre-seed and seed.
How much do European deep tech VCs invest?
Only some publish it: Verve EUR 1M to 5M initial, APEX EUR 0.5M to 2.5M average initial, Elaia DTS3 EUR 1M to 13M, Matterwave EUR 1M to 4M, OTB EUR 1M to 7M, UVC up to EUR 10M initial and Innovation Industries from EUR 2M.
Which is the largest deep tech fund on this list?
Among the funds the firms announced themselves, Innovation Industries' Fund III (EUR 500 million, May 2024) and HTGF IV (EUR 493.8 million, February 2023) are the largest. UVC Partners has EUR 400 million in new capital across two funds.
Which VC invests in quantum startups in Europe?
Quantonation is dedicated to quantum and physics-based technologies. Verve (C12, Q.ANT), IQ Capital (QuantumDiamonds), Speedinvest's Deep Tech team and Innovation Industries (Groove Quantum) also back quantum companies.
Which VC invests in space startups in Europe?
Seraphim Space in London is space-only. Vsquared, OTB Ventures, APEX, UVC Partners (Isar Aerospace) and Speedinvest also name space among their focus areas.
What does the EIC Accelerator offer?
A grant component below EUR 2.5 million plus up to EUR 10 million in equity, with coaching, for startups and SMEs with innovations at TRL 6 to 8. The EIC Fund makes the EIC's equity investments.
Is the EIC Fund a VC?
It is the venture capital arm of the European Innovation Council, set up in 2020 with over EUR 4 billion of capital. It is public money, so we list it next to the VC firms rather than among them.
Why is Deeptech Seed Fund no longer on the list?
We could not identify one firm behind the name, its domain does not resolve and the old entry linked only to a third-party list, so we replaced it with Matterwave Ventures.
How can I get my deep tech startup in front of more investors?
Get covered where investors and AI assistants look: you can publish a guest post in the Fe/male Switch startup blogs. Get featured and earn a backlink.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
