- Begin Capital has launched Fund II, a $100M fund to support deep tech founders.
- The founders of Runware, Codesphere and Dwelly are all now venture partners at Begin Capital.
- The first nine investments in the fund are All3, SurrealDB, Crewline and xmemory.
Begin Capital has launched its second $100 million deeptech fund and named three Fund I founders as venture partners: Flaviu Radulescu, co-founder & CEO of Runware; Elias Schneide, CEO of Codesphere; and Dan Lifshits, co-founder of Dwelly. Several other founders have also invested as LPs.
“We’re doubling down on founders cracking hard technical problems: AI infrastructure, hardware and silicon, and physical AI,” Begin said. The firm invests globally but focuses on European tech talent.
The firm says cheque sizes range from $500,000 to $8M, from pre-seed to Series A. The investment team includes Alex Menn, Ruslan Sarkisyan, Joël Van Dijk, and Saagar Bhavsar.
Begin is open to founders of all backgrounds and genders. Its approach hasn’t changed: move fast, move decisively, and go into unexplored territory. The firm writes small, flexible first cheques and then builds ownership in the winners before anyone else.
Founders take on new roles as investors
Runware is a good example. Radulescu co-founded the company with Ioana Hreninciuc. Runware raised a $13 million seed in September 2025 and a $50 million Series A in December. Begin was in both of those rounds, and Dawn Capital led the Series A.
Lifshits co-founded Dwelly with Ilia Drozdov and Dmitry Khanukov. Dwelly raised £69 million in February and a $170 million Series B in July. Begin was in both of those rounds.
Schneider co-founded Codesphere in 2020, which closed its $18 million Series A in May 2024, led by Creandum, with Begin as an existing investor.
Fund I started as a generalist fund and now focuses on deep tech
Fund I launched in 2020 and made 28 investments, including Runware, Fundraise Up, Native Teams, Codesphere and Dwelly, as early-stage investments, and states that Fund I “ranks in the top 1% of its vintage globally”. Begin has not specified the benchmark or disclosed the fund size.
Other firms led the largest rounds. Dawn Capital led Runware’s Series A, and EQT Growth and General Catalyst led Dwelly’s Series B. To build ownership in the companies that succeed, you need to have sufficient reserves to be able to participate in those rounds.
Fund II has nine investments to date: All3, SurrealDB, AregAI, Crewline, xmemory, DesignVerse, Zencoder, Tomorrow Things and one in stealth.
What Begin Capital’s $100M fund needs to prove
European deep tech pulled in a record $20.3B in 2025, according to the 2026 European Deeptech Report from Dealroom, Walden Catalyst and Lakestar. The report also highlights a gap in late-stage funding. Begin is by no means the only player in the space. AP Ventures also announced their $300M Fund III for industrial and energy tech.
By having the founders as both LPs and venture partners, Begin has access to a deal-sourcing network that a small team simply couldn’t build on its own. The key challenge for Fund II is whether the founders can bring in deals like Runware before bigger funds can, and whether Begin can maintain its stake if they do.
