Lunar Ventures Launches €40M Deep Tech Fund

Lunar Ventures Closes €40 Million Fund for Deep Tech Startups

Lunar Ventures, a newly established venture capital fund specializing in technically focused companies, has announced the successful completion of its first funding round, totaling €40 million.

The fund will concentrate on providing capital to early-stage deep tech startups.

Founding and Background

Founded in Berlin in 2019, Lunar Ventures was created by Dr. Elad Verbin, a researcher in computer science, Mick Halsband, a seasoned CTO and software architect, and Luis Shemtov, an experienced entrepreneur.

The team recognized a gap in the European investment landscape.

Growth of Deep Tech Investment in Europe

The timing of this fund launch coincides with a significant surge in deep tech investments across Europe.

Over the past five years, these investments have nearly tripled, reaching approximately €10 billion in 2020. This represents around 25% of all venture capital investments made on the continent.

Addressing a Critical Need for Technical Expertise

Dr. Verbin highlighted a key challenge faced by technical founders in Europe: “A significant issue exists for technical founders in Europe – the difficulty in securing investment from individuals who possess a genuine understanding of their innovations.”

He further explained that many European VCs lack the necessary technical or scientific background to accurately assess the underlying technology, potentially leading to missed opportunities in groundbreaking, science-based ventures.

Lunar’s Approach to Investment

“Lunar Ventures was specifically established to address this problem,” Verbin stated. “Our team, comprised of scientists and engineers, is dedicated to identifying and supporting the most promising startups shaping the future.”

The fund’s process involves conducting thorough technical due diligence to evaluate the true potential of each startup before leading their funding rounds.

Investment Focus

Lunar Ventures will allocate investments of up to €1 million to early-stage deep tech startups.

These startups will primarily focus on software-driven innovations within areas such as computer science, machine learning, cryptography, novel cloud infrastructures, and next-generation database technologies.

Portfolio Companies

To date, Lunar Ventures has invested in several promising companies, including:

Zama (Paris): Developing end-to-end encryption solutions for machine learning models.
Deepset (Berlin): Focused on enabling computers to comprehend natural language.
Molecule: A drug discovery platform leveraging the Ethereum blockchain.