PSV Hafnium is a Nordic deeptech venture capital fund based in Denmark, purpose-built to bridge the gap between university research and commercial scale. Launched in 2024, the fund is closely linked to DTU, Denmark’s Technical University, and draws on more than 20 years of venture and technology transfer experience from the PSV platform. PSV Hafnium positions itself as a specialist investor in science-rooted spinouts, backing founders translating patented research into real-world solutions for global challenges in climate, health, and industry.
PSV Hafnium invests in hard deeptech companies emerging from leading technical universities, with a strong emphasis on proprietary IP and proof-of-science. The fund focuses on clean tech, health tech, industrial technologies, and advanced computing, including quantum-enabled systems and science-based AI. It prioritizes hardware-software hybrids and capital-efficient commercialization paths over pure software or hype-driven AI plays.
PSV Hafnium closed its inaugural fund at €60 million following oversubscription, with an initial close of €55 million and a hard cap of €80 million. The fund is designed to invest in approximately 25 university spinouts, leading initial rounds with check sizes between €100,000 and €1 million.
Roughly two-thirds of the capital is reserved for follow-on investments to support companies through the critical commercialization phase after proof-of-science. Limited partners include the European Investment Fund, EIFO, PSV Foundry, Nordea-fonden, the Danish Society of Engineers, and more than 40 deeptech-focused LPs.
Since launch, the fund has already deployed capital into nine portfolio companies, demonstrating a fast execution pace within its highly specialized mandate.
Leadership
PSV Hafnium was founded by managing partners Marianne Hyltoft, Anders Kjær, and Jakob Rybak-Andersen. The founding team brings decades of experience working with DTU spinouts, venture creation, and deeptech commercialization. Their background combines academic research exposure, venture building, and board-level governance in science-driven companies.
Investment Strategy
The fund leads early institutional rounds in university spinouts, often at the transition point from lab to market. PSV Hafnium is highly selective, focusing on companies with strong patent protection and defensible technical advantages.
It works closely with founders on post-proof-of-science execution, governance, and market entry, leveraging DTU’s ecosystem and its LP network to provide domain-specific board and advisory support. The strategy is patient by design, optimized for deeptech timelines rather than fast software cycles.
Notable Investments:
PSV Hafnium has invested in nine companies to date across clean energy systems, health technologies, industrial innovation, and advanced computing. The portfolio consists primarily of DTU-affiliated spinouts with proprietary IP, reflecting the fund’s focus on science-first companies rather than broad digital startups.
Notable Exits
As a recently launched fund, PSV Hafnium has not yet realized exits. The firm is targeting long-term outcomes, with ambitions to build unicorn-scale companies emerging from Nordic research institutions by the end of the decade.
Other
PSV Hafnium is not a generalist VC. It is best suited for technical founders coming directly out of universities with patented research and a clear ambition to commercialize deep science.
The fund is deeply embedded in DTU’s innovation pipeline and is particularly strong at navigating the transition from academic validation to early market traction, without forcing premature scaling.
Marianne Hyltoft - Founder & Managing Partner
Jakob Rybak-Andersen - Founder & Managing Partner
Anders Kjær - Founder & Managing Partner
Denmark
