The Deep Tech Investor List for Founders
Deep tech now takes about a third of all European venture capital, and the largest single investor in the category is not a VC at all. This is who funds science-based companies, what they expect at each stage, and which non-dilutive money comes first.
Last checked 16 September 2026
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Deep tech raises break the normal rules. The product does not exist yet, the risk is technical rather than commercial, and the first five years are spent proving something works at all rather than proving somebody will buy it. A generalist seed fund underwriting 18-month milestones cannot price that.
The money has arrived anyway. Around EUR 15 billion went into European deep tech in 2024, and roughly 36% of all European venture capital now flows into the category. University spinouts alone took EUR 3.1 billion in 2026, about 12% of everything invested in the region.
The single largest deep tech investor in Europe is not a venture fund. It is the European Innovation Council, which allocated EUR 1.4 billion in its 2026 work programme and now sits on a large share of European cap tables.
This page lists who funds this, split by the thing that actually determines who you should talk to: whether the risk is still in the lab or already in the factory. It is a companion to the defense tech list, which overlaps at the hardware end, and to the European, North American and Asia-Pacific lists.
Every link was checked before publishing.
Take the non-dilutive money first
The single most common deep tech mistake is raising equity for work that a grant would have paid for. Research spinouts account for about a third of new deep tech startups since 2015, and the ones that do this well reach their first priced round with far more progress and far less dilution.
Do the grants before, or alongside, the seed round.
| Programme | Region | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| EIC Accelerator | EU | Up to EUR 2.5M grant plus EUR 15M equity | The flagship instrument. Grant and equity in one process |
| EIC Pathfinder and Transition | EU | EUR 3M-4M | Earlier than the Accelerator, for work still at proof-of-principle |
| EIT | EU | Varies | Sector knowledge communities: EIT Digital, Health, InnoEnergy, Manufacturing |
| EXIST | Germany | Stipend, up to 1 year | For researchers and graduates commercialising university work |
| Venture Kick | Switzerland | CHF 150K | Non-dilutive, no equity taken. The standard Swiss first step |
| NSF America’s Seed Fund | US | Up to $2M | The NSF SBIR track, built for science-based companies |
| SBIR / STTR | US | $50K-$2M+ | Federal R&D grants across 11 agencies |
European deep tech specialists
Funds that underwrite technical risk as their main activity.
| Fund | Base | Stage | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atomico | London | Series A to Growth | Generalist with a heavy deep tech book. Led the QuiX photonic quantum round |
| Plural | London, Tallinn | Pre-seed to Series A | Frontier tech, defense, space and climate. Operator-run |
| Lakestar | Zurich, Berlin | Seed to Growth | Deep tech and European sovereignty |
| Vsquared Ventures | Munich | Seed to Series B | Space, robotics, quantum, semiconductors |
| HTGF | Bonn | Pre-seed, Seed | Germany’s most active seed investor. Government-backed |
| UVC Partners | Munich | Seed, Series A | Industrial AI, robotics and mobility. Tied to TU Munich |
| First Momentum | Karlsruhe | Pre-seed | Technical founders, industrial AI. Writes the first cheque |
| Cusp Capital | Essen | Seed, Series A | European technology sovereignty |
| Join Capital | Berlin, London, Milan | Seed, Series A | Industrial, enterprise, space and dual-use |
| Speedinvest | Vienna | Pre-seed to Series A | Runs a dedicated deep tech team |
| APEX Ventures | Vienna | Series A, B | Deep tech and medical technology |
| Redalpine | Zurich | Pre-seed to Series A | Health and technology, science-led |
| Founderful | Zurich | Pre-seed | Swiss engineering spinouts, ETH and EPFL |
| Verve Ventures | Zurich | Seed to Series B | Science-based companies, large co-investor base |
| Quantonation | Paris | Pre-seed to Series A | Quantum and physics-based technology only |
| Elaia | Paris | Seed, Series A | Quantum, AI and life sciences from French labs |
| HCVC | Paris, San Francisco | Pre-seed, Seed | Hardware-first |
| OTB Ventures | Warsaw, Amsterdam | Series A | Space, cyber and enterprise automation across CEE |
| Emerald Technology Ventures | Zurich | Series A, B | Industrial and energy technology |
| Extantia | Berlin | Seed, Series A | Hard decarbonisation, gigatonne-scale only |
| Future Positive Capital | Paris, London | Seed, Series A | Science solving structural problems |
United Kingdom and university-linked funds
The UK has the densest spinout pipeline in Europe, and a set of funds built specifically around it.
| Fund | Base | Stage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| IQ Capital | Cambridge | Seed to Series B | Deep tech, close to the Cambridge cluster |
| Amadeus Capital | Cambridge, London | Seed to Growth | One of the oldest UK deep tech investors |
| Cambridge Innovation Capital | Cambridge | Seed to Series B | University of Cambridge spinouts and the local cluster |
| Oxford Science Enterprises | Oxford | Pre-seed to Growth | Preferred partner for University of Oxford spinouts |
| Octopus Ventures | London | Seed to Series B | Multi-stage, with a dedicated deep tech team |
| Playfair | London | Pre-seed | First-cheque investor, high technical tolerance |
| Science Creates | Bristol | Pre-seed, Seed | Lab space plus a fund, for biotech and engineering |
Technology transfer offices
If your work started inside a university or research institute, these hold the IP and decide the terms. They are on the critical path, not a formality.
| Office | Institution | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Max Planck Innovation | Max Planck Society | Technology transfer for 80+ German research institutes. Proxima Fusion came out of this system |
| Fraunhofer | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft | Europe’s largest applied research organisation, and a spinout engine |
| UTEC | University of Tokyo | The university’s own fund, invests from pre-seed |
| EPFL Innovation Park | EPFL | The Swiss campus and startup cluster |
| UnternehmerTUM | TU Munich | Innovation centre and company builder, ranked first in Europe |
United States
Larger cheques, longer horizons and more tolerance for a decade to revenue.
| Fund | Base | Stage | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lux Capital | New York | Seed to Growth | Frontier science, the archetype of the category |
| DCVC | San Francisco | Seed to Growth | Computational and industrial deep tech |
| Khosla Ventures | Menlo Park | Seed to Growth | Hard science, climate and bio. High technical risk tolerance |
| Playground Global | Palo Alto | Seed, Series A | Semiconductors, robotics, quantum |
| Eclipse | Palo Alto | Seed to Growth | Industrial technology, supply chain and manufacturing |
| The Engine | Cambridge MA | Pre-seed, Seed | Founded by MIT. Lab space plus patient capital |
| Prime Movers Lab | Jackson WY | Seed to Growth | Energy, transport, manufacturing, human augmentation |
| Breakthrough Energy Ventures | Kirkland WA | Seed to Growth | Climate only, 20-year horizon, Gates-backed |
| Lowercarbon Capital | San Francisco | Seed to Series B | Carbon removal and climate hardware |
| Fifty Years | San Francisco | Pre-seed, Seed | Science companies aimed at large problems |
| Founders Fund | San Francisco | Seed to Growth | Long history of funding things other people called impossible |
Japan
Japan’s deep tech scene runs through universities and is more accessible to foreign founders than its generalist market.
| Fund | Stage | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| UTEC | Pre-seed, Seed | University of Tokyo science and deep tech |
| Beyond Next Ventures | Pre-seed, Seed | Deep tech and healthcare spinouts |
| ANRI | Seed | University spin-outs and frontier technology |
What the field data says
Worth knowing before you set expectations for a raise.
- Spinouts are a third of the category. Research spinouts account for around 33% of new deep tech startups since 2015, with the highest concentration in photonics and quantum.
- The rounds are real. QuiX, a University of Twente photonic quantum spinout, raised a EUR 34.5 million Series A in March 2026 led by Atomico. Proxima Fusion, out of the Max Planck system, raised EUR 145 million for stellarator fusion.
- Geography specialises. France pairs strong public labs with quantum and semiconductor companies. Germany anchors robotics, photonics and industrial deep tech. The UK leads on computing, AI hardware and spinout volume.
Where to go next
- The Defense Tech Investor List - the dual-use side, plus the EDTH community
- The Startup Investor List for European Founders - the generalist European picture
- The Startup Investor List for North America - US and Canadian funds by stage and metro
- Startup data sources and research lists - Dealroom’s deep tech guide is the best free dataset here
- Founder networks by country and state - communities rather than capital
Help us keep this list current
Deep tech funds close new vehicles constantly and university funds rename themselves. If something here is out of date, or a fund is missing, tell us and we will update the page.