Hardware-driven deep tech startups are the fastest-growing vertical in Europe. A climate tech or fintech hardware startup requires more early-stage investments in pre-seed and seed-stage financing.
Venture capital firms are attracted to the growing ecosystem of hardware entrepreneurs in Europe, seeing the potential for higher returns as these tech companies mature.
We’ve compiled a list of which European VC funds are most likely to invest in early-stage startups, including their most notable unicorns.
1. Atomico
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 2006
Investor Type: VC Firm, focused on disruptive technology companies
Number of Investments: 212
Investment Stages: Early State Venture, Late State Venture, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
AccuRX — Heathtech
Klarna — Fintech
Skype — Telecommunications
Chemist Direct — Healthtech
Graphcore — Semiconductors (Hardware Tech)
2. Earlybird
Location: Berlin, Germany
Founded: 1997
Investor Type: Venture capital investor for European startups
Number of Investments: 316
Investment Stages: Series A, Seed, Series B, Series C, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
Alesi Surgical — Healthtech
Greenlyte Carbon Technologies — Climate tech
Isar Aerospace — Space tech
3. High-Tech Gründerfonds
Location: Bonn, Germany
Founded: 2005
Investor Type: VC Firm, Focusing on early-stage startups
Number of Investments: 804
Investment Stages: Seed funding, Series A
Portfolio Companies:
AYOXXA Biosystems — Biotech
Magazino — Robotics
Cytena — Biotech
4. Creandum
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Founded: 2003
Investor Type: Private early-stage venture capital company for tech companies
Number of Investments: 229
Investment Stages: Seed funding, Early Stage, Series C,
Portfolio Companies:
Spotify — Online Streaming
Laka — InsurTech
Monta — Sustainability tech/Transportation
Toit — IoT Software Development
5. Index Ventures
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 1996
Investor Type: VC Firm, focused on e-commerce, gaming, fintech, and infrastructure
Number of Investments: 1,089
Investment Stages: Seed to IPO
Portfolio Companies:
Etsy — E-commerce
Datadog — SaaS
Revolut — Fintech
6. Octopus Ventures
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 2008
Investor Type: Multi-Stage VC Firm investing in healthcare, deep tech, and fintech
Number of Investments: 370
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage, Later Stage
Portfolio Companies:
SwiftKey — Hardware Tech
Elliptic — Crypto Solutions
Zoopla — Real Estate Software
Tatum — Blockchain technology
Ufonia — Healthcare Automation
7. Idinvest Partners
Location: Paris, France
Founded: 1997
Investor Type: Private Equity Firm focused on low and middle markets
Number of Investments: 412
Investment Stages: Early State, Late Stage, Seed Stage
Portfolio Companies:
Sunrun — Climate Tech
Volta Charging — Climate Tech/Transportation
Circ — Transportation Solutions/Sustainability
8. Partech
Location: Paris, France
Founded: 1982
Investor Type: Technology VC Firm
Number of Investments: 519
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage, Later Stage, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
Brandwatch — Martech
Drover — Transportation
SIGFOX — Telecommunications
Mooncard — Fintech
9. Wellington Partners
Location: Munich, Germany
Founded: 1998
Investor Type: A Pan-European VC Firm investing in life sciences and technology companies
Number of Investments: 232
Investment Stages: Debt, Early Stage, Later Stage, Private Equity, Seed
Portfolio Companies:
UiPath — Robotic Process Automation Software
Evolva — BioTech
Onward — Hardware Technology/Health Tech.
10. Speedinvest
Location: Vienna, Austria
Founded: 2011
Investor Type: Early-Stage VC Firm for technology startups
Number of Investments: 412
Investment Stages: Pre-seed, Seed, Early Stage
Portfolio Companies:
AMODO — SaaS for Insurtech
Smashcast — Next-generation video streaming platform
SOC.OS — Cybersecurity SaaS
11. Balderton Capital
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 2000
Investor Type: Early-Stage Venture Capital Investor
Number of Investments: 391
Investment Stages: Debt, Early Stage, Late Stage, Private Equity, Secondary Market, Seed Stage
Portfolio Companies:
TrademarkNow — Legal Tech
DarkTrace — AI Cybersecurity
Hubs — Supply Chain & Logistics
12. Iris Capital
Location: Paris, France
Founded: 1986
Investor Type: European VC Firm with partnerships for a multi-corporate venture capital fund
Number of Investments: 230+
Investment Stages: Seed to Series A, Late-Stage, and Growth
Portfolio Companies:
Netatmo — Hardware Tech (smart devices)
Cirpack — Telecommunications
Scality — Infrastructure Software
13. Northzone Ventures
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 1996
Investor Type: Multi-stage VC firm focused on disruptive technologies
Number of Investments: 268
Investment Stages: Debt Financing, Early Stage, Late Stage, Seed Stage
Portfolio Companies:
Holidu — Travel Tech
Tobii — Hardware Tech
iZettle — Fintech
14. Frog Capital
Location: London, United Kingdom
Founded: 2008
Investor Type: VC Firm focused on the opportunity between venture capital and private equity
Number of Investments: 39
Investment Stages: Early Stage, Late Stage, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
Azimo — Fintech
Modulr — Fintech Service API
Caspar Health — Health Tech
15. Amadeus Capital Partners
Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom
Founded: 1997
Investor Type: Technology sector VC Firm
Number of Investments: 267
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage, Later Stage, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
iPronics — Hardware Technology
Constructive Bio — Health Tech
XYZ Reality — AR Hardware Tech
16. PreSeed Ventures
Location: Lyngby, Denmark
Founded: 2000
Investor Type: Early Stage investor for Danish and other Nordic startups
Number of Investments: 119
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage
Portfolio Companies:
Seaborg — Climate Tech
Nordetech — AgriTech
XDynElectro — Climate Tech/Hardware Tech
17. Lifeline Ventures
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Founded: 2009
Investor Type: Early-Stage Micro Venture Capital team that partners with founders
Number of Investments: 145
Investment Stages: Pre-seed, Seed Stage, Early Stage, Private Equity
Portfolio Companies:
Synergi — Climate Tech
Hyperion Robotics — Sustainable Robotics
Varjo — AR Hardware Tech
18. Volta Ventures
Location: Gent, Belgium
Founded: 2014
Investor Type: Seed and Early Stage VC Firm
Number of Investments: 63
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage
Portfolio Companies:
Responsum — Cybersecurity
Blanco — Fintech
Cashforce — Next-generation Fintech
19. P101
Location: Milan, Italy
Founded: 2013
Investor Type: Early Stage VC Firm
Number of Investments: 84
Investment Stages: Seed Stage, Early Stage
Portfolio Companies:
Casavo — Real Estate Technology
Osteocom — Edtech
Multiply Labs — Robotics/Health Tech
FAQs: VC & Hardware Startups
What are the advantages of funding hardware startups?
Hardware startups offer innovative physical products that can disrupt and create new markets, yielding higher returns on investments. Unlike software, hardware requires significantly more resources to develop.
With successful fundraising rounds, a hardware startup can overcome barriers to entry and outcompete other products in the final distribution.
How much funding do hardware startups typically receive?
Venture capitalists fund European hardware startups with €1-10 million, depending on their valuation. The valuation depends on the technology, business model, development stage, and funding stage of the startup.
What is the average size of a hardware startup's seed round?
Hardware startups in Europe raised an average of €2.1 million in seed rounds in recent years. The median seed round funding was just below €1 million.
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