seed+speed Ventures closes third fund with 90 million euros

The Berlin-based early-stage fund seed+speed Ventures from Carsten Maschmeyer and Alexander Kölpin has successfully closed its third fund. With a volume of 90 million euros, the fund is well above the originally planned target size of 30 million euros. The hard cap was increased twice with the approval of the investors.

Focus on European B2B and enterprise AI start-ups

The new seed+speed III fund invests in European B2B and enterprise software start-ups in the pre-seed and seed phase. The initial tickets are between 500,000 and 1.5 million euros, supplemented by significant follow-up capital of several million euros per company. Investments in seven to nine new start-ups are planned per year.

The fund focuses on the secure introduction and use of artificial intelligence in the corporate environment. This includes solutions in the areas of security, data protection, governance, quality control, cost management and measurable increases in productivity.

Investor base and role as lead investor

The investor base includes institutional investors such as banks and foundations, media companies, family offices, industrial holding companies, investors from the legal and tax sectors as well as wealthy private individuals. With the increased fund size, seed+speed will be able to invest larger tickets in the future and increasingly act as lead or co-lead investor.

In addition to capital, seed+speed provides the portfolio companies with a dedicated support team for sales, marketing, PR and social media and assists in building scalable go-to-market structures in Europe.

Opening up to start-ups outside the DACH region

While Funds I and II focused on startups from German-speaking countries, seed+speed III is opening up to European startups outside the DACH region for the first time. Since the start of fundraising in summer 2024, 13 investments have already been made, including companies from the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The portfolio companies to date include Orq.ai, RIIICO, Optimuse and Eleven Dynamics, which offer AI-based solutions for industry, building planning, software development and quality assurance.