Founded in 2000, btov Partners is a European venture capital firm that invests in digital and industrial startups, with offices in Berlin, Munich, St. Gallen and Luxembourg. btov manages assets of €420 million through its three divisions, and examines over 3,000 investment opportunities annually. The firm has just announced the second closing of €80 million for its new Industrial Technologies Fund, which will focus on European deep tech startups with industrial use cases.
The funds have been raised from btov’s private investor network, which includes many entrepreneurs and executives from industry, strategic investors, family offices, foundations, banks, the EIF, and the management team itself.
The fund will invest in European startups that develop innovative software and hardware for industrial applications, including robotics and autonomous agents, AI for industrial process optimisation, IIoT, cyberphysical security, electronics and photonics, disruptive and resource-efficient production technologies such as additive manufacturing, power generation and storage, as well as medical and quantum technologies. Investments typically range between €1 to €3 million in seed, Series A, or Series B rounds.
The Industrial Technologies Fund team, made up of Benedikt Kronberger, Dr. Christian Reitberger, Dr. Christian Schütz, and Robert Gallenberger, is able to offer know-how to investors and founders, with more than 50 years of collective investment experience. Their academic backgrounds cover engineering and science as well as business administration, and their professional experiences include automotive production, management consulting, M&A advisory, as well as founding and managing businesses.
“We have made more than 50 investments in this area in different roles together and individually in recent years,” said Dr. Christian Schütz. “We know the market, the financing partners and many relevant European large and medium-sized companies in our fields. This consistent investment experience and 100% focus on industrial technologies sets us apart from most other funds in Europe. In addition to that we benefit from a proprietary access to the unique combination of entrepreneurial instinct, sector expertise and management experience within the btov private investor network.”
One example from the fund’s portfolio is the Munich startup DyeMansion, which received funding in August 2018, and specialises in the post-processing of 3D-printed polymer parts.
“DyeMansion is a prime example of the kind of companies we support,” said Gallenberger, a mechanical engineer by training. “The company develops innovative processes and machines for industrial applications and pursues a pure B2B sales approach. Another decisive factor was the highly ambitious founding team. They have managed to become a global innovation leader in the field of automated post processing, pioneering the transition of 3D printing from pure prototyping to industrial series production.”
“The German-speaking countries look back on a long industrial tradition,” added Kronberger. “Engineering developments ‘Made in Germany’ shape worldwide progress. Innumerable startups with great innovations are now part of it and more are constantly being added. But we also see fantastic innovations, for example in the Benelux countries, France, Scandinavia, Spain and the United Kingdom. At the same time, we maintain close ties with US, Israeli and Chinese players in our areas of interest to keep a truly global view.”
