Earlybird Venture Capital is a pan-European early-stage VC firm founded in 1997, with nearly three decades of investment experience across technology, deep tech, and life sciences. With the close of Fund VIII at €360 million, its largest fund to date, the firm manages €2.5 billion in assets.
Earlybird backs early-stage technology companies across three core areas: AI applications spanning B2B software and vertical use cases; software infrastructure and foundation models; and deep tech hardware. The firm also operates Earlybird Health, a dedicated stream investing in life sciences companies driven by data analytics and operational innovation.
Earlybird has historically moved into categories before they are widely recognized, with early investments in space tech and nuclear fusion among its distinguishing bets.
Earlybird Fund VIII closed at €360 million in April 2026, the firm’s largest raise in its 29-year history. The fund continues Earlybird’s strategy of investing from pre-seed through Series A, maintaining a consistent fund cadence held across both bull markets and downturns, with a new fund raised every three to four years without interruption. LPs include large institutions and family offices, the majority of whom have backed the firm across multiple fund generations.
Fund VIII has already deployed into Black Forest Labs, SpAItial AI, Sintra AI, Arago, Porters, and Rivia. Alongside the fund close, Earlybird implemented a generational ownership model called perpetual active ownership, under which no external investor can acquire the firm and each generation of GPs is obligated to pass ownership to the next when they leave the partnership.
Leadership
Dr. Hendrik Brandis is a co-founder and Partner who, alongside co-founder Dr. Christian Nagel, built Earlybird over nearly three decades. Dr. Andre Retterath is a General Partner leading investment activities and the firm’s AI-native approach to sourcing and evaluation. Paul Klemm and Tim Rehder are Partners who have shaped the firm’s current investment strategy. Jochen Küst serves as Operating Partner and CFO.
Investment Strategy
Earlybird invests from pre-seed through Series A, with typical seed rounds averaging around €4–5 million and Series A rounds averaging around €10–12 million. The firm operates boots-on-the-ground teams across Europe’s major hubs and has rebuilt its operating model end-to-end with AI, applying proprietary tooling to deal sourcing, evaluation, and post-investment support. Earlybird leads or co-leads early rounds and takes an active role with portfolio companies from their earliest stages.
Notable Investments
Earlybird’s portfolio spans AI, space, nuclear, and enterprise software:
Notable Exits
Earlybird has completed 9 IPOs and 41 trade sales over its history.
Other
The perpetual active ownership model is the most significant structural change in Earlybird’s history. It ensures the firm always belongs exclusively to its active GPs, with no external sale, no outside investors, and an obligation for outgoing partners to transfer ownership to the next generation. Earlybird positions this as a long-term alignment mechanism with both founders and LPs.
Germany
