The beginning of 2026 will bring movement to the Venture capital-market. Three investors have announced new funds, providing capital for technology-driven business models. The range extends from large international funds to specialized early-stage investors with strong ties to the European and Munich startup ecosystem. Together, they are sending a clear signal: capital for deep tech, industry, and artificial intelligence remains available.
Capital for industrial foundations and European tech champions
Voyager Ventures will launch its second fund at the end of January, with a volume of $275 million. The fund targets startups developing foundational technologies for the next phase of economic growth. Investments will be made in areas including energy generation and distribution, industrial manufacturing, critical materials, and software and artificial intelligence for physical systems. With Fund II, Voyager Ventures manages a total of $475 million in North America and Europe.
Sarah Sclarsic, co-founder and general partner of Voyager Ventures, says:
“We founded Voyager in 2021 to invest in companies developing fundamental technologies for sustainable economic growth. Today we see that the market is validating exactly these technologies.”
The fund invests across various sectors, from energy efficiency and mobility to carbon management. Initial investments have already been made.
b2venture has also announced a new milestone. The early-stage investor is closing Fund V with a hard cap of €150 million, making it the largest fund in its 25-year history. Around 35 new investments are planned across Europe, focusing on scalable technologies as well as industrial, automation, and AI companies.
A key element remains the community of over 350 active angel investors who participate in the investments and contribute their entrepreneurial experience.
Florian Schweitzer, partner at b2venture, says:
"For 25 years, b2venture has stood for a consistent philosophy: to support exceptional founders early on and to accompany them in the long term."
The portfolio includes at least one unicorn per fund and a total of 11 IPOs.
Vanagon Venture for Pre-Seed in B2B
Munich-based Vanagon Ventures is taking an even earlier approach. The VC firm is closing its first fund with a volume of €20 million and will invest from the pre-seed stage in B2B startups that utilize deep tech and artificial intelligence. The fund focuses on software and technology-driven business models that don't scale in the traditional way, but are deeply embedded in industrial or scientific processes.
Susanne Fromm, General Partner at Vanagon Ventures, says:
“AI is also fundamentally changing venture capital. The steepest value creation is moving into the earliest financing phases. Many investors are avoiding pre-seed funding because they are stuck with SaaS logics that are not suited to scaling deep tech and AI-driven disruption in the B2B sector.”
Vanagon is specifically addressing a funding gap in the market. The fund invests initial stakes of up to €500,000 and aims for a portfolio of around 30 companies. Thematically, the focus is on artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, and frontier software. An international fund-of-funds is participating as the anchor investor, complemented by family offices, entrepreneurs, and unicorn founders from the Munich area.
Which fund is right for which startup?
The three funds pursue different strategies and address clearly defined target groups:
- Voyager Ventures Fund II Suitable for startups with industrial-grade technologies, who want to rethink energy, production or mobility systems and scale them internationally.
- b2venture Fund V is aimed at European early-stage startups with scalable technology and digital models that benefit from an active angel community.
- Vanagon Ventures Fund I addresses pre-seed teams from deep tech and AI, especially from industry and research, whose business models do not grow along classic SaaS logics.
The new funds open up new financing opportunities for technology-driven founders – especially in the Munich startup ecosystem.
