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Where are Berlin’s impact VCs putting their money?
Berlin has long been known as one of the top startup hubs in Europe backed by an equally vibrant community of venture capital funds.
With the rise of impact entrepreneurship across the world, Berlin has also become a hub for some of Europe’s pioneering and most active impact VCs.
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Dive into Berlin's Impact VC landscape with us. We're cutting through the noise, offering a clear look at what they are backing.
It's all about insights, no frills.
Let's explore together.
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The analysis is based on the public portfolio disclosures of 14 Berlin-based Impact VCs (historical data).
Data last updated: January 2024
From Berlin to the World
Berlin impact VCs have invested in startups from 22 countries.
173 startups across the world.
From 🏝 Palma de Mallorca to ☃️ Helsinki.
But there is no place like home.
36
Berlin’s impact VCs backed local startups the most.
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Top 10 Countries
Number of Investments
74
🇩🇪 Germany 🥰
30
🇺🇸 Making Americans dream.
26
🇬🇧 No hard feelings.
5
🇩🇰 Getting hygge with impact.
5
🇨🇭 Cheese, chocolate, impact.
4 🇸🇪 🪑
Sweden
4 🇪🇸 💃
Spain
4 🇳🇱 🚲
Netherlands
3 🇫🇷 🥐
France
3 🇦🇹🏔
Austria
Despite the proximity to Central and Eastern Europe, Berlin’s impact VCs only made four investments in the region 😱
Sectors Covered
18
There were a lot of sectors invested in…
🌍 🚰 🍎 📘 💡 🌱 🏙️ 💼 🤝 ✊ 🔋 ⚖️ 👥 🏥 🔬 🌐 🎓 🛠️
🌍 🚰 🍎 📘 💡 🌱 🏙️ 💼 🤝 ✊ 🔋 ⚖️ 👥 🏥 🔬 🌐 🎓 🛠️
Food
Energy
Transport
CCUS
Climate Software
Buildings & Construction
Industry
Finance
Agriculture
Plastic
Health
Waste
Education
Supply Chain
Space Tech
Biodiversity
Employment
Quantum Computers
🔋 🥔 🛴
But nothing interested Berlin VCs more than Food, Energy, and Transportation
POWERFUL 💪
YUMMY 🤤
VROOM
VROOM! 💨
Hungry? Berlin VCs seem to love novel foods…
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What’s on the Menu?
F🤩🤤D
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Plant-Based Meat
12
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Cell Cultivation
6
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Animal-Free Dairy
4
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Plant-Based Egg
2
Champions of Change
Berlin’s most active impact investors…
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AENU led the pack with a portfolio of 29 startups. They are on a mission to create AENU era of impact venture capitalism.
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They love social impact startups, 20% of the portfolio supporting solutions that contribute to a more cohesive society.
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They also have a soft spot for US-based startups, backing 7 startups from across the pond.
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This is a tight race.
Nucleus Capital, Blue Impact, and Purple Orange Ventures are tied for 2nd place with 24 investments each.
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Both Blue Impact and POV are angel investors but we included them as they are very active players in Berlin’s impact VC scene.
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Planet A took the third place spot with a portfolio of 18 startups.
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Planet A is the first European VC with an in-house science team that calculates life cycle assessments to quantify the impact of a startup
Honorable Mentions
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🎖️
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By portfolio size
15
Revent backs purpose-driven founders tackling the problems that truly matter.
15
Green Generation Fund invests in disruptive technologies in food tech and green tech.
14
Extantia is a climate-first VC firm accelerating the path to a decarbonized world.
12
World Fund backs founders who build climate tech for a regenerative world.
22x
☘️
Number of occasions where multiple Berlin Impact VCs backed the same startup.
2 times they loved a startup so much that 3 of them invested.
Backed by
World Fund
Revent
Nucleus Capital
Backed by
Planet A Ventures
Green Generation Fund
Revent
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❤️
Which investors invested in the same startup most frequently?
Planet A Ventures + Blue Impact - 3 startups
Green Generation Fund + Purple Orange Ventures - 3 startups
World Fund + Nucleus Capital - 3 startups
BERLIN’S VC PERSONALITY TYPE
The Mitigator
The Mitigator is driven by a deep commitment to environmental sustainability and combating climate change. They are passionate about finding solutions that have a positive impact on the planet and future generations. Mitigators prioritize investments in companies that prioritize sustainability, clean energy, and eco-friendly technologies.
86%
Of all investments by Berlin’s impact VCs were made in startups tackling climate change mitigation.
Mitigation startups backed by Berlin Impact VCs
Highlights
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Dance are on a mission to make people happier, the planet healthier and our cities more livable through their e-bike and e-moped subscription service.
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Traceless are tackling plastic pollution by creating fully biobased, plastic-free and home compostable materials out of plant residues from the agricultural industry.
🗓️ Published: March, 2024
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44.01 provide a safe, cost-effective way of eliminating CO2 from the atmosphere byturning it into rock using the natural power of mineralization.