Europe produces world-class scientific research from its top universities, yet struggles to convert breakthroughs into global companies, leaving many innovations trapped in labs. U2V, short for University2Ventures, addresses this through its newly closed €60 million Fund I, which targets pre-seed and seed-stage deeptech spin-offs in AI, novel computing, industrial tech, and cleantech.
The Berlin-based firm plans up to 25 investments to bridge academia and industry, fostering Europe’s technological sovereignty through capital, corporate partnerships, and go-to-market acceleration.
A proven path to spin-off success
U2V’s founding team, Philipp Semmer, Michael Schmitt, and Johannes Triebs, brings over 30 years of combined venture capital experience, having led Earlybird-X, one of Europe’s pioneering Deep Tech spin-off funds.
Driven by Europe’s lag in commercialising research, they launched U2V in 2025 to empower scientists as entrepreneurs, envisioning a resilient deeptech ecosystem where university innovations define global categories.
“Europe is world-class at creating scientific breakthroughs, but still struggles to turn them into global companies. With U2V, we’re fostering a substantial change here: we help scientists become entrepreneurs, linking research, capital, and corporate partners to build Europe’s next generation of category-defining deeptech startups,” said Dr Philipp Semmer, Founding Partner at U2V.
U2V’s platform leverages proprietary access to Europe’s leading tech universities, including TU Munich, ETH Zurich, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, École Polytechnique, RWTH Aachen, DTU Denmark, and Politecnico di Milano, paired with 500+ corporate partners for structured pilots and validation. Key features include early industry connections that deliver customer traction absent in most funds, plus operational guidance from tech transfer offices and innovation units.
“Our industrial network gives founders what most early Deep Tech startups lack: direct access to customers and real-world validation. Whether it’s an AI application, a quantum-sensing chip, or a carbon-capture process – we connect technology to traction,” added Dr Johannes Triebs, Founding Partner at U2V.
Unlike generalist VCs like Atomico or High-Tech Gründerfonds, or university-focused peers such as Oxford Science Enterprises and Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, U2V stands out with its scaled industrial network and hands-on derisking tailored exclusively to Deep Tech spin-outs.
What about a diversity strategy?
When we asked about diversity strategy, U2V commented, “The U2V team unites scientific, technical and commercial expertise built over more than 30 years in venture investing, plus young talent. This diverse background enables us to back a wide spectrum of entrepreneurs and channel capital into diverse, deeptech startups. As we continue to bring new investment talent on board, we remain committed to further strengthening the diversity of our team.”
What’s next?
U2V aims to build Europe’s premier deeptech spin-off platform, anchored by LPs like Jungheinrich’s Uplift Ventures, family offices, and serial founders.
U2V is doubling down on identifying and supporting the next generation of deeptech winners, building on the success of its previous portfolio, which includes, for instance, Quantum Diamonds (quantum sensing for the semiconductor industry), Greenlyte (carbon capture), Ncodin (photonics chip solution), Certivity (AI-enabled regulatory intelligence), Twaice (battery analytics), and LiveEO (risk intelligence from space).
Across previous funds (Earlybird-X and Motu Ventures), the partners have backed over 50 startups and achieved more than 10 exits.
