b2venture Newsletter | June 2025
Dear b2venture Community,
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to each of you who has been part of this incredible journey with one of Europe's oldest VC firms.
Our story began in 2000 with the BrainsToVentures platform, connecting business angels with startups. We survived the dot-com crash by choosing quality over quantity and building our community on performance and trust – the principle of the honorable merchant that continues to guide us today.
Together, we've ridden transformative waves in technology and markets. Out of this journey, 10 startups went public, many merged with major companies, and our current portfolio of 158 startups continues to impress us. Six of them are likely to go public in the next few years.
While our world has changed dramatically over these 25 years, we see opportunity where others see challenges. Let’s pick one as a good example: Energy abundance isn't just a dream for us – it's an entrepreneurial mission. As Aristotle defined energeia – "the active power by which the possible becomes real"– we believe energy is fundamentally about creation and impact. This is entrepreneurship at its core. And capital, too, is a form of energy.
As long-term trustees of capital and relationships, we're building something bigger than returns: we're fostering the ecosystem that will create tomorrow's global champions from a strong European foundation.
To our Super Angels who believed in us from the beginning, our founders and colleagues who invested their time and energy in our shared vision, and our partners who provided unwavering support, we say: Thank you! Every moment of these 25 years has been made possible because of you.
As we look ahead to the next decades, we're excited to continue building global players that will emerge from Europe's entrepreneurial strength. The journey continues, and we're honored to have you with us.
With infinite gratitude,
Florian for the b2venture Team
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Kiin Bio has raised a USD 2.2m pre-seed round led by us, alongside HEARTFELT_, rule30, and leading angel investors. The team is pioneering the Virtual Scientist Platform: an AI-native system that transforms how drug discovery is done.
Read more about our investment in Kiin Bio on our blog and on EU-Startups.
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Our portfolio companies DeepL and The Exploration Company have been included in Bloomberg and Founders Forum’s list of 25 European startups that could change the world. The selection highlights companies shaping the future across sectors and technologies.
Read the full article on Bloomberg.
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DeepL has been named to TIME’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies. The recognition highlights its impact on global communication through AI-powered translation. With over 200,000 customers, including governments and Fortune 500 companies, DeepL stands out for its accuracy, context awareness, and real-time voice-to-text capabilities across 32 languages.
Read the full profile on TIME.
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Neura Robotics has introduced the third generation of its humanoid robot 4NE1, designed for both industrial and household use. With advanced cognitive capabilities, adaptive movement, and a newly developed sensor-based "Artificial Skin", Neura is setting new standards in robotics. The company also announced MiPA, a personal assistant robot for the home, and a strategic partnership with Vodafone to enable real-time data transfer via 5G.
The developments have been featured in FAZ, WirtschaftsWoche, and Handelsblatt.
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Our portfolio company DUDE CHEM welcomed a high-level EU delegation to its site in Berlin-Köpenick, as featured in Tagesspiegel. The visit highlighted DUDE CHEM’s contribution to rebuilding Europe’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity through scalable, sustainable chemical production.
Read more at Tagesspiegel.
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The Exploration Company has completed its second subscale mission, Mission Possible, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The capsule successfully activated payloads, reentered Earth’s atmosphere, and demonstrated critical re-entry capabilities. Although contact was lost before splashdown, the mission represents a significant step toward the company’s full-scale Nyx spacecraft.
Read more at Handelsblatt.
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Flytrex is now operating commercial drone deliveries in shared airspace with Alphabet’s Wing over Dallas, marking a first in U.S. aviation history. Both companies use a unified Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system to coordinate flights safely. Flytrex also recently partnered with DoorDash to expand its on-demand delivery network.
Read more about the milestone here and the DoorDash collaboration here.
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Calvin Risk has been selected for the 2025 AI FinTech 100 by FinTech Global. Chosen from over 2,000 companies, the ranking recognizes leaders advancing AI governance, risk management, and regulatory compliance in financial services.
Read more about it here.
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Codasip was recently profiled in Handelsblatt in the context of Europe’s semiconductor ambitions. Despite strong EU backing, much of the company’s customer base remains outside Europe, highlighting the challenges of local adoption. With its secure, customizable RISC‑V processor IP, Codasip continues to play a key role in shaping Europe’s path to semiconductor sovereignty.
Read the full article on Handelsblatt.
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Julian Blum, co-founder and CEO of VESTIGAS, has been recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2025 for his work advancing digital transformation in the construction industry.
Read more on Munich Startup.
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With rising citizen expectations, aging infrastructure, and bold new public sector strategies, Europe may be entering a defining moment for GovTech. Germany’s coalition agreement, regulatory momentum, and digital investments point to a sector gaining serious traction. The World Economic Forum projects $9.8 trillion in global public value by 2034.
In our latest blog post, we explore why this shift matters now and what it means for founders and investors. Find a market map and read the full piece here.
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Europe’s clean energy future depends on more than just renewables. A stable and intelligent electricity grid is critical to delivering power reliably and accelerating the transition to net zero. The recent blackout in Spain highlighted the urgency of modernizing our grid infrastructure.
In our latest blog post, we explore the technologies and trends driving Europe’s grid transformation and the startups building solutions for interconnection, flexibility, monitoring, and autonomous optimization. Find a market map and read the full piece here.
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Tamas Giorgadse, CEO and co-founder of Raisin, joined Klarna’s Nicole Defren and Liqid’s Christian Schneider-Sickert for a live episode of the Finance FWD podcast at the OMR Festival. The conversation explored how fintech leaders are using AI to simplify investment advice and expand access to financial services.
Listen to the full episode here.
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Earlier this month in Berlin, we celebrated 25 years of b2venture with entrepreneurs, investors, and friends of b2venture.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the past 25 years and to everyone who celebrated with us.
We’re looking forward to the next 25!
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Selina and Gerrit brought our angel dinner series to Düsseldorf, gathering investors and entrepreneurs from across NRW. The evening enabled meaningful conversations across generations and sparked new connections and potential collaborations that go beyond what digital formats can offer.
Thank you to everyone who joined and made it such a great night!
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Our angel investor and serial entrepreneur Xaver Lehmann has launched a new newsletter: "The most powerful & honest stories on building successful companies. "Drawing from his journey as a 2x AI founder (incl. one exit), ex-burnout patient, and impact investor, Xaver shares unfiltered lessons and reflections from the startup trenches.
Subscribe and read it here.
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We’re currently hiring for the following role:
Please spread the word or apply!
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You can see all open positions by clicking on our job board link.
Selected roles you might be interested in:
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