New sustainability VC launches

Fabian and Ferry Heilemann want to raise 500 million euros for their fund Aenu, according to a media report.

The family office Pirate Impact will now become a venture capitalist focused on impact, as Gründerszene reported. Pirate Impact has been led by Fabian and Ferry Heilemann since 2016. The two are co-founders of the coupon network Dailydeal, which they sold to Google.

Now Pirate Impact is to focus even more on sustainability as a VC. "There are enough interesting deals in the field of sustainability that are also financially attractive," Fabian Heilmann tells Gründerszene.

To this end, they want to set up a fund called Aenu in the amount of 500 million euros. "So far, all the capital has come from family and friends, but in the fall we will open the fund to institutional backers," Heilemann tells Gründerszene.

The brothers apparently began assembling a team in Berlin a few months ago. Siobhan Brewster, a former partner at European early-stage investor Amplifier and former Macquarie employee in the U.S., has joined the management team as a partner. Principal & VP Impact Melina Sánchez is also expected to bring her expertise in sustainability. Fabian Heilmann has left his partner position at the well-known VC Earlybird for this purpose.