Berlin-based seed+speed Ventures has closed its third fund at €90 million, significantly above its original €30 million target. Led by Carsten Maschmeyer and Alexander Kölpin, the early-stage investor will focus on European B2B and enterprise software startups at pre-seed and seed stage, with a strong emphasis on applied and secure AI.
Initial investments range from €500,000 to €1.5 million, with the capacity to provide several million euros in follow-on capital per company. The new fund is designed to support AI adoption in everyday business operations, covering areas such as security, data protection, governance, quality control, cost efficiency, and measurable productivity gains.
A larger early-stage vehicle for European AI
The investor base behind seed+speed III includes institutional investors such as banks and foundations, alongside media groups, family offices, industrial holdings, real estate entrepreneurs, professionals from the legal and tax sectors, and high-net-worth individuals. Notably, several founders backed by seed+speed’s earlier funds have reinvested following successful exits, reinforcing the firm’s community-driven model.
According to Carsten Maschmeyer, Europe has strong AI founders and world-class technology, but often lacks the scale-up power needed to build global companies. seed+speed aims to close that gap by combining early capital with hands-on operational support.
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Focus on secure and scalable AI adoption
Alexander Kölpin highlights that the question for companies is no longer whether to use AI, but how to use it effectively and responsibly. seed+speed ventures targets teams that build AI as a core technology, as well as startups developing tools that help enterprises deploy external AI safely and efficiently.
With the expanded fund size, seed+speed can act as lead or co-lead investor more frequently and support founders through follow-on rounds, go-to-market execution, and sales-led scaling. The fund plans to back seven to nine new startups per year.
Expanding beyond the DACH region
While seed+speed’s first two funds focused on German-speaking markets, Fund III is open to startups across Europe. Fundraising began in summer 2024, and the team has already invested in 13 companies.
Recent portfolio additions include Orq.ai in Amsterdam, a generative AI collaboration and LLMOps platform; RIIICO in Düsseldorf, which uses AI to create digital twins of factories for faster industrial planning; Optimuse in Vienna, an AI platform for building engineering and retrofit projects; and Eleven Dynamics in Switzerland, providing automated inline metrology and quality assurance for manufacturing.
Earlier and well-known portfolio companies include Prezise.ai, Finanzguru, pliant, Kertos, Prewave, Enginsight, and Orderlion.
About seed+speed Ventures
seed+speed Ventures is a Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on scalable B2B and enterprise software startups across Europe. Investing at pre-seed and seed stage, the fund combines early capital with hands-on support in sales, go-to-market strategy, PR, and marketing. Initial tickets typically range from €500,000 to €1.5 million, with up to €5 million available in follow-on funding per company.
