Free State of Bavaria continues its venture capital momentum: “ScaleUp-Fonds Bayern” launched with a volume of EUR 200 million, “Wachstumsfonds Bayern” boosted to EUR 165 million by European Investment Bank

The Bavarian state government has launched a new fund with a volume of EUR 200 million, which is to enable a significantly higher number of large-volume financing rounds for scale-ups, underlining Bavaria’s role as a high-tech hub. The new fund will be managed by Bayern Kapital, the venture capital organization of the Free State of Bavaria. Ticket sizes per investment can range from EUR 10 to 25 million, depending on the specific situation. As all funds managed by Bayern Kapital, the “ScaleUp-Fonds Bayern” (Bavarian ScaleUp Fund) does not invest competitively, but exclusively in close cooperation with one or more private investors, and always on equal terms.

With the new scale-up fund, significantly more financing rounds with total volumes of up to and more than EUR 50 million are to be made possible for Bavarian high-tech companies in cooperation with other national and international investors and business angels. Bayern Kapital’s investment focus is on all high-tech sectors, including life sciences, medical technology, software and IT, new materials and nanotechnology as well as environmental technology.

The new fund enables Bayern Kapital to be one of the very few investors in Germany covering the entire range of venture capital and growth financing – from seed to growth to later-stage phase, Bayern Kapital can act as a capable and experienced investment partner with an established network and a high level of financial strength.

Bayern Kapital has assembled an internal team of experienced investment managers to manage its new fund, in addition to bringing Dr. Wolfgang Harnrieder on board as fund representative. Dr. Harnrieder has worked – among other positions – at managing director level for the globally active private equity company Carlyle Group as well as for the growth investor STAR Ventures. In addition, he has been active as a business angel for many years himself, and has been a member of the supervisory and advisory boards of several renowned tech start-ups.

The “Wachstumsfonds Bayern” (Bavarian Growth Fund), which successfully supports first growth steps after the seed and start-up phase of Bavarian companies, also received a further boost in April 2021. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has contributed an additional EUR 50 million to the fund’s second issuing this year, for a total fund volume of around EUR 165 million. Via the growth fund, Bayern Kapital invested in recent months in the growth companies EVUM Motors (innovative all-purpose vehicles with an all-electric, zero-emission four-wheel drive), German Bionic Systems (smart exoskeletons for use in physically demanding sectors of work), wealthpilot (a rapidly growing fintech revolutionizing hybrid wealth management) and OroraTech (a nanosatellite-based early warning system for wildfires).

In total, Bayern Kapital now manages around EUR 700 million. Since its founding in 1995, it has invested more than EUR 350 million in almost 300 high-tech companies. Investments ranging from EUR 0.25 to 25 million allow for flexible financing tailor-made for the different requirements of Bavarian start-ups and scale-ups.

Further information on Bayern Kapital’s funds, especially for investors, can be found here.