October 20, 2020

UVC Partners launches new €150 million fund

UVC Partners launches new €150 million fund

With the new fund, UVC Partners will support B2B start-ups with fresh capital while simultaneously providing access to ‘UnternehmerTUM’, Europe’s largest innovation centre at the Technical University of Munich.

Munich, Berlin, October – Following the success of its first two funds, UVC Partners has launched a new fund with a volume of €150 million. With its third fund, which seamlessly continues to invest in outstanding European B2B start-ups, UVC Partners keeps up its successful strategy as the leading venture capital 3.0 investor.

Nationally and internationally, the venture capital industry has changed drastically during the last years. While the first VC funds focused primarily on financing issues, the second generation increasingly offered support in operational matters. But third-generation venture capital, of which UVC is one of the pioneers, is all about sustainable, partnership-based relationships with the founding team.

„Collectively, we are tackling major challenges such as setting up sales strategies as well as opening up our large network to top executives of the German economy,“ says Johannes von Borries, Managing Partner at UVC Partners. „Since long sales cycles and high development costs complicate the market entry, the early access to innovation friendly customers is of particular importance for B2B start-ups“.

And this is precisely where UVC can use its unique advantage – the close partnership with UnternehmerTUM, Europe’s largest innovation and start-up center at the TU Munich. With 150 corporate partners and more than 5000 students, UnternehmerTUM forms an important nucleus for Europe’s next generation of entrepreneurs.

„We are already accelerating more than 10% of all German tech start-ups and serve as a central and open innovation platform for future challenges of leading  SMEs and DAX-listed corporations,“ says Prof. Dr. Helmut Schönenberger, Managing Partner at UVC and CEO of UnternehmerTUM. „Our team of 250 people continuously pushes innovation projects with start-ups and established companies. UVC Partners has access to this network’s strong abilities when it comes to implementation“.

With its first two funds, which, thanks to the financial return of UVC I ranking among the top ten percent of European VCs in the information and communication technology sector, UVC has a proven and financially very attractive model. „Through this success, we were able to attract new investors despite COVID-19,“ says Dr. Ingo Potthof, Managing Partner at UVC.

The investor base of the new fund is highly diverse and ranges from successful start-up entrepreneurs, such as the FlixBus founders, to institutional investors, family offices, corporations and family businesses. Especially corporations’ profit from the financial returns as well as from access to the innovative products of the start-ups. UVC Partners’ successful concept is also praised by investors. „We have invested in UVC III because we expect a good financial return when it comes to our pension assets and see added value in working together with UVC Partners,“ said Oliver Stratmann, Head of Treasury & Investor Relations at LANXESS AG.

With its new fund, UVC Partners invests in German and European start-ups in the fields of industrial technologies, B2B software and mobility. „Typically, we invest in Seed  or Series A rounds,“ says Dr. Ingo Potthof. „In this stage our model offers the best support and we can remain an active partner throughout the entire life cycle“.

Johannes von Borries is absolutely convinced of the third fund’s high growth potential as well: „The deal flow in our sectors has been rising continuously and strongly for years. This proves the enormous demand for innovative hard- and software solutions in the B2B segment. We are confident that the next wave of Unicorns will emerge right here“.

About UVC Partners

Unternehmertum Venture Capital Partners (UVC Partners) is a Munich- and Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology-based startups in the areas of enterprise software, industrial technologies, and mobility. The fund typically invests between € 0.5 – 4m initially and up to € 15m in total per company.

Portfolio companies benefit from the extensive investment and exit experience of the management team as well as from the close cooperation with UnternehmerTUM, Europe’s leading innovation and business creation center. With over 240 employees and more than 100 industry partners, UnternehmerTUM can draw from many years of experience in establishing young companies. This cooperation enables UVC Partners to offer startups unique access to talent, industry customers, and other financial partners. The portfolio includes investments such as Blickfeld, Carjump (Free2Move), FlixBus, KONUX, TWAICE and Vimcar.

www.uvcpartners.com

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