May Ventures launches as an AI-native fund for the next generation of founders

May Ventures is a new venture capital fund that is specifically geared towards the AI age. The fund was founded by Maximilian Derpa and Dominik Lohle and invests in young start-ups from Germany and neighboring countries. Over 30 million euros have already been raised in the first closing.

May Ventures is supported by NRW.BANK, banks from the Sparkassen and Volksbanken financial group and Helaba, among others. The target volume of the fund is EUR 50 million.

A fund with start-up DNA

The two founders Derpa and Lohle are experienced VC investors, both in their mid-30s, and each have experience from three different funds. They emphasize that May Ventures wants to operate on an equal footing with founders. The core team is complemented by a growing network of venture partners such as Nils Engelking (Exit founder) as well as other entrepreneurs and VC experts who will be introduced in the coming weeks.

We see ourselves as a partner for founders who are brave enough to break new ground - just like ourselves

Maximilian Derpa, Co-Founder May Ventures

AI-native approach

May Ventures differs from traditional funds in particular in its own claim to integrate AI natively into its work.

This means that AI agents and automated workflows are used in all phases, from deal sourcing and due diligence to portfolio management. The aim is to make processes more efficient and thus create space for the really crucial human decisions.

"The next wave of European tech successes will be driven by artificial intelligence," emphasizes Dominik Lohle."With May Ventures, we are building a fund out of Münster that not only finances AI, but also consistently applies it itself - as an AI-native VC with international aspirations."

Investment strategy with three focal points

May Ventures' investment strategy sees artificial intelligence as a key technology for the coming years and focuses on three central development directions:

• The development of infrastructure and organizational foundations that enable the broad use of AI,
• opening up new markets by combining AI with other key technologies,
• enabling and orchestrating AI agents for increasingly complex tasks.

Droidrun from Osnabrück is the first investment

May Ventures has already made its first investment at the start. Droidrun, a startup from Osnabrück, is developing a platform that allows mobile apps to be operated by AI agents using natural language.

Droidrun's success shows that ambitious start-up teams can also be internationally successful outside the traditional start-up hubs.

Dominik Lohle, Co-Founder May Ventures

The solution is attracting international interest. Droidrun was named Product of the Day on Product Hunt, ahead of OpenAI.

Outlook for further investments

May Ventures plans to make further investments in AI start-ups in the coming months. At the same time, the fund volume is to be increased from the current 30 to 50 million euros. May Ventures is thus an early-stage venture capital fund based in Münster that invests in the pre-seed and seed phase of start-ups. The focus is on artificial intelligence as a key technology and on the transformation of companies and industry in Germany, neighboring countries and the home region.