M Ventures

M Ventures is the strategic corporate venture capital fund of Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany), created in 2009 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with additional offices in Germany, Israel, and the United States. The fund invests with dual strategic and financial objectives across biotechnology and technology, covering four areas: healthcare drug development, life science tools, electronics, and frontier technology and sustainability. In 2021, Merck expanded M Ventures with an additional €600 million commitment — the third increase since the fund's creation — enabling larger and more frequent investments. The team of seven is led by CEO Howard H. Thaw. M Ventures leads rounds and has made 133 investments with 20 portfolio exits, the most recent being Calypso Biotech in January 2024. A recent landmark deal was the co-led $75.5 million oversubscribed Series A for Actithera in July 2025, a radiopharmaceutical biotech developing next-generation radioligand therapies. The biotech portfolio focuses on emerging biotechnologies leading to differentiated drugs, R&D tools, and platforms with significant potential to improve patient outcomes. The technology portfolio invests in companies developing new solutions for information access, storage, processing, and display, as well as sustainability challenges. Geographic scope is global, with concentrations in Europe, Israel, and the United States. M Ventures takes an active role in portfolio companies and facilitates seed-stage company creation, early-stage syndicated investments, and the creation and funding of Merck spin-offs. Portfolio companies benefit from Merck's deep scientific networks, laboratory infrastructure, and relationships with global pharmaceutical and specialty chemical companies across Merck's three business sectors: life science, healthcare, and electronics.