HTGF is a venture capital investor for innovative technologies and business models. We successfully support the best founders whose ideas can revolutionise entire industries and improve people’s lives – from seed to exit.
As a seed investor, we have already financed more than 650 start-ups in the industrial tech, digital tech, life sciences and chemicals sectors. We have overseen more than 150 exits, including IPOs. When founding your company together with us, you benefit from an experienced partner at your side.
We are a public–private partnership that works closely and successfully with companies from a wide range of industries. Our more than 30 fund investors include medium-sized companies, family businesses and corporations. We provide them with access to innovative start-ups and technologies insights into deal flows and connections to our global network.
The High-Tech Gründerfonds
The establishment of the High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) was the product of a working group of representatives from the Federal Ministry of Economics, industry and sector experts in 2005. Their goal was to revive the market for start-up financing, which at that time was completely dormant. Following the burst of the New Economy bubble, seed phase financing almost came to a complete standstill owing to the high risks involved. Then as now, the focus of the initiative was on high-tech start-ups with significant growth potential, with the decision as to whether the HTGF should invest in a start-up being made purely on market criteria.
The success of the HTGF proved its initiators right. In its first year alone, it financed 40 high-tech start-ups – twice as many as there had been in Germany the previous year. To date, the HTGF has successfully launched a total of three funds, financing more than 650 companies, of which more than 150 have been successfully sold or floated on the stock exchange. In addition to seed investments, over 4 billion euros of private funds have flowed into HTGF portfolio companies through follow-up financing.
The HTGF is the most outstanding example of a successful public–private partnership. With our funds, their investors and our personal commitment, we contribute significantly to the consistent development of the start-up ecosystem in Germany and across Europe.
The HTGF has a total of around 900 million euros under the management of its three funds. The share of private companies has increased from fund to fund. Currently, 33 companies are invested in HTGF III. Their share in the fund is more than 30 percent. As a result, HTGF III can act as flexibly as private funds.
The headquarters of the High-Tech Gründerfonds is Bonn. Since 2018 it has also had an office in Berlin.