Fraunhofer Venture

Fraunhofer Venture is the technology transfer and venture capital arm of Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe's largest applied research organization with more than 75 institutes. Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Munich with offices in Bonn and Freiburg, the firm converts scientific research from Fraunhofer's network into investable early-stage companies. Its primary investment vehicle is the Fraunhofer Technology Transfer Fund (FTTF), with a fund volume of 60 million euros backed by the European Investment Fund and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft under the EU's Horizon 2020 program and the European Fund for Strategic Investments. The successor fund TT49, with planned capitalization of 90 million euros and a first closing above 70 million euros announced in January 2026, will be open to any science-based German startup. FTTF invests primarily at pre-seed, with initial checks of 250,000 to 1 million euros and follow-on capacity up to 5 million euros. The firm has invested in 188 companies and supported more than 200 spinoffs across life science, medical science, energy, environment, IT, manufacturing, microelectronics, transport, logistics, materials, and photonics. In 2024 alone, 68 new spin-off projects received support. Notable portfolio exits include X-FAB Semiconductor Foundries, which listed on Euronext in April 2017 at a $1.12 billion market cap; Exocad, which was acquired; and Clean Lasersysteme, acquired by IPG Photonics in October 2024. The portfolio counts three IPOs and 20 acquisitions. The firm leads rounds. Recent investments include PerioTrap, a $3.54 million seed-stage dental biotech company backed in February 2025. Fraunhofer Venture cooperates with the AHEAD deep tech accelerator and the CoLab incubator, creating an integrated pipeline from lab to company to venture-backed scale-up. The team includes investment managers Matthias Keckl, Johann C. Siemes, and Joerg Wamser, each bringing specialized expertise in commercializing hard science from Germany's most productive applied research network.