European venture capital firm UVC Partners is stepping into a new phase of its investment strategy. The Munich-based investor has secured €77 million in the first close of a new growth fund to support deeptech companies as they move from breakthrough innovation to large-scale deployment.
The firm aims to raise €150 million for the fund by the end of the summer, expanding its ability to support companies beyond early-stage financing. For UVC, which has spent 15 years investing in European technology startups, the new vehicle marks a shift into multi-stage investing.
Managing partner Johannes von Borries describes the move as a natural progression for the firm as its portfolio companies mature and require larger rounds to continue scaling.
A strategic step into multi-stage investing
UVC Partners has historically focused on early-stage funding, backing emerging startups across Europe’s technology ecosystem. Its fourth flagship fund closed in 2024 with €250 million in commitments, reinforcing its position as one of Germany’s more established venture investors.
The new growth fund will allow UVC to participate in later-stage rounds while maintaining its early-stage investment strategy. The firm plans to write initial cheques of up to €15 million into new companies, while also increasing its commitments to existing portfolio firms.
One example is Proxima Fusion, a Munich-based nuclear fusion startup backed by UVC. The company recently revealed plans to secure €2 billion to build a fusion test facility in Germany, illustrating the scale of capital required for frontier technologies.
By adding a growth fund to its platform, UVC aims to remain involved as companies progress from early development to commercial expansion.
A portfolio built on deeptech ambition
UVC Partners has built a portfolio that reflects Europe’s expanding deeptech landscape. The firm has invested in Proxima Fusion and Isar Aerospace, a leading European spacetech company developing launch vehicles.
Other investments include quantum computing startup Planqc, procurement software company Tacto, and transport platform Flix, one of Germany’s best-known mobility businesses.
The firm’s performance figures show encouraging returns so far. According to UVC partners, its first fund has returned more than twice the invested capital to limited partners, while its second fund has already paid back half of its capital commitments.
These results have helped the firm build credibility among investors while continuing to expand its investment activity.
Targeting Europe’s deeptech growth gap
Despite growing interest in advanced technologies, Europe still faces a capital shortage for companies entering the scale-up phase. Von Borries argues that homegrown growth funding remains limited, particularly for sectors such as nuclear technology, robotics and aerospace.
This funding gap can slow the progress of companies that require significant capital to commercialise complex technologies.
Within this landscape, UVC continues to focus on sectors including deeptech, robotics, dual-use technologies, climate tech, mobility, spacetech, and software-driven innovation.
Partner Florian Erhart points to robotics as a particularly promising area, as advances in automation and industrial technology create new opportunities across manufacturing and logistics.
Growth capital becomes a priority
UVC’s new fund emerges at a time when European institutions and investors are increasingly prioritising growth capital for advanced technologies.
Several initiatives launched this year underline that shift. German growth investor DTCP announced a €500 million defence-focused investment vehicle, while the European Commission is preparing a €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund to help European technology companies remain globally competitive.
For UVC, the expansion into growth investing is unlikely to be a one-off step. Von Borries says the firm plans to launch additional, larger growth funds as its portfolio continues to mature.
As Europe’s deeptech ecosystem evolves, investors are increasingly recognising that breakthroughs in areas such as fusion energy, quantum computing and space technology require not just early experimentation but also sustained financial backing.
UVC’s latest fund reflects that shift and signals that the next stage of European innovation will demand deeper pools of capital to bring ambitious technologies to market.
