Earlybird Venture Capital

About Earlybird Venture Capital

Earlybird Venture Capital is a leading DACH and pan-European venture capital firm with €2.5 billion of assets under management as of December 2024, headquartered in Berlin with offices in Munich, London and Milan. The firm was founded in 1997 by Hendrik Brandis and Christian Nagel and operates as a partner-owned independent VC restructured in 2024 with the Digital East spin-out. Earlybird has logged 9 IPOs and 33 trade sales across its 25 plus year history, with 13 new portfolio companies added in 2024 (9 Earlybird plus 4 Earlybird Health) and 20 new investments completed in trailing year as of 2026.

Investment thesis

Earlybird deploys capital through multi-strategy fund families spanning Earlybird (formerly Digital West), Earlybird Health, UNI-X (university spin-outs) and Growth Opportunities, targeting Pre-Seed through Series A with ticket sizes up to €12 million and allocation approximately 20% Pre-Seed, 60% Seed, 20% Series A. Sector focus spans enterprise SaaS, fintech, deep tech, health and biotech, climate and AI, with geographic deployment DACH-centric expanding to Central and Eastern Europe (post Digital East spin) and broader pan-European reach. The Day 1 Partner positioning provides hands-on operational support from earliest stages.

Recent activity

Recent realised exits include enterprise SaaS (2025), healthtech (2024) and fintech (2024). Recent investments include 13 new portfolio companies added in 2024 (9 Earlybird plus 4 Earlybird Health) with 20 new investments in the trailing year as of 2026. The platform continues active deployment across multi-strategy fund families. Detailed buyer names and multiple data available on Pro at €49/month.