Germany Launches €20M Fund for Lab-to-Market Deeptech

Germany produces world-class scientific research, but too many breakthrough technologies never make it out of the lab because traditional investors won't touch them early enough.

The Joachim Herz Foundation and Berlin investment platform Marvelous are changing that with their new €20 million Marvelous Scito Fund. The fund specifically targets the tricky early stages where scientific innovations need capital to scale from laboratory prototypes to industrial products.

The timing couldn't be more critical. German venture capital has plummeted from $24.7 billion in 2021 to just $9.8 billion in 2025. By 2030, experts predict the funding gap for deeptech startups could balloon to €10 billion annually.

Traditional venture capital firms typically avoid these early stages because the technological and market uncertainties don't match their risk profiles. They want safer bets with faster returns.

The new fund takes a different approach. It offers foundation capital with a long-term investment horizon and social mission, providing stability when startups need it most. The focus areas include advanced materials, waste valorization, and robotics, all technologies with clear potential for industrial scaling and ecological impact.

Marvelous operates through a dual strategy that strengthens Germany's entire deeptech ecosystem. Through Marvelous Ventures, they invest directly in pre-seed and seed stage startups. Through the Scito Fund, they invest in deeptech venture funds and co-invest alongside them, creating multiple pathways for promising technologies to succeed.

The Joachim Herz Foundation, founded in Hamburg in 2008, has made resource efficiency, climate protection, and securing skilled labor its core mission. This venture into deeptech funding represents a strategic evolution of its asset management approach.

The Ripple Effect

This fund could spark a movement across Germany's philanthropic sector. Ulrich Müller, the foundation's CFO, sees venture capital as a natural complement to their existing investment strategy, aiming for sustainable market-level returns while maintaining impact-oriented principles.

Chris Heyer, General Partner at Marvelous, emphasizes the platform's integrated support system. Beyond capital, they provide operational support through their Catalyst program to help startups achieve market readiness. It's not just money but expertise and connections that can make the difference between a technology that stays in the lab and one that changes industries.

Other foundations are watching closely to see how philanthropic capital can serve as a stronger innovation driver in Germany. If successful, this model could be replicated across Europe, unlocking countless technologies currently gathering dust in research facilities.

The fund represents a bet on Germany's scientific talent and a recognition that breakthrough innovations need patient, mission-aligned capital to reach their full potential and tackle our biggest environmental challenges.