Speedinvest

From research to reality: cylib is on a mission to revolutionize battery recycling. Lilian Schwich, Gideon Schwich, and Paul Sabarny founded cylib to make battery recycling more efficient, scalable, and sustainable. Today, backed by €60M+ in funding and partnerships with Porsche AG and Bosch, the Aachen, Germany-based company is leading the charge. Their research-driven innovation and strategic execution have quickly positioned cylib as a sustainability champion in Europe. But what does it take to build and scale a hardware company from scratch? In this month’s Founder Insight, Lilian reflects on cylib’s journey from academia to industry leader, sharing key lessons on focus, partnerships, and purpose-driven innovation. Click below to read the full interview & our latest Scaling at Speed newsletter ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eNx2gGsh

Leta is driving faster and more affordable logistics across Africa. Founded by Nick Joshi, Kip Maritim and Anthony Ketter, Nairobi-based Leta is transforming logistics with its AI-powered platform, optimizing delivery routes, providing real-time tracking, and cutting transport costs for businesses across the continent. Deepali Nangia with our Emerging Markets investment team, says: “The Leta team brings together a five-member strong, diverse, and experienced leadership team building in logistics, a space that serves as the backbone in emerging markets. However, transport costs, unless optimised, can get as high as 70% of COGS. Through their software, Leta has been able to drive strong operational efficiencies for many of Africa's top FMCG brands. We are excited about the opportunity of using logistics as a gateway and fintech as a growth lever as the Leta team continues to unlock this potential for many other African businesses.” We are thrilled to back Nick, Kip, and the Leta team in their $5 million Seed round, alongside Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Equator, as they scale their impact and expand into new markets across Africa. For more, check out the full story on TechCrunch in the comments below.

Iron has been acquired by MoonPay, a leading crypto payments provider. Iron's Stablecoin API platform, designed to simplify the integration of stablecoins for fintechs, banks, and enterprises will be integrated into MoonPay's existing infrastructure, enabling a wider range of enterprise services, including faster and cheaper international payments, enhanced treasury management tools, and new ways to interact with digital assets. Congratulations to Max, ‎Omid, and the entire team! For more, check out CNBC’s coverage ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/enuF8cjf

Speedinvest and the European Investment Bank (EIB) believe diverse founders drive exceptional innovation. Let's build an inclusive, stronger European tech ecosystem, together! Deepali Nangia

A new home for Speedinvest! 🥳 Last night, we celebrated the opening of our new Vienna HQ with 200 friends, founders, and partners. From our first one-room office in Vienna in 2011 to a new HQ and 4 additional offices in Paris, London, Munich, and Berlin, our journey to becoming a leading pan-European early-stage VC has been one for the books. In our first 14 years, we’ve partnered with over 350 startups across EMEA, including 50+ in Austria – from Bitpanda and GoStudent GmbH to Adverity, Prewave, refurbed, and byrd. Our Austrian portfolio alone has raised more than €2 billion in funding and created thousands of jobs in our home country. We’re incredibly proud of everything they have achieved. While Speedinvest has grown substantially, our mission remains unchanged: to power bold founders with game-changing support through every stage of the journey. A big thank you to everyone who has been part of our journey – we’re just getting started!

Bridging the gap between science and startups: Speedinvest and TU Wien launch Noctua Science Ventures 🔬 At Speedinvest, we believe that cutting-edge research deserves the best possible pathway to real-world impact. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Technische Universität Wien to launch a new initiative to fuel Austria’s university spinout ecosystem. The country’s world-class research landscape has led to groundbreaking innovations, including two recent Physics Nobel Prizes, yet still lags when it comes to commercializing scientific breakthroughs. While Prewave from our portfolio is a successful example, many other university spinouts – ranging from AI and biotech to quantum computing – often struggle to secure early funding, forcing talented researchers to take their ideas abroad.   Our CEO & Managing Partner, Oliver Holle, adds: “Europe is leading the way in many future-defining deep-tech fields – from quantum to AI to biotech. With Noctua Science Ventures, we’re strengthening Austria’s position on the global innovation map.”    By combining TU Wien’s academic excellence with our deep expertise as one of Europe’s leading early-stage VCs with a dedicated Deep Tech investment team, we’re committed to supporting Austria’s university founders.

What the world needs now: Empowered Women ♀ Below is an open letter from our Managing Partner and CEO, Oliver Holle, to our female employees in honor of International Women's Day. With women making up 43% of our team, it's no secret that Speedinvest wouldn't be where we are today without their immense contributions - thank you! #IWD

A strong board isn't just a formality – it’s a superpower for scaling companies. But how do you get it right? In the latest episode of the Onboard podcast, Ali Albazaz, Founder & CEO of our portfolio company Inkitt, and our Managing Partner & CEO Oliver Holle chat with host Michael Schuster about what makes a great board & what makes their long-term working relationship so successful. According to Ali: “I think Oliver’s mentality is very much like that of Silicon Valley VCs… very founder-friendly and founders first… Certain types of investors understand that founders are the ones working the hardest – hopefully, in most cases – and that their interests should be aligned. Micromanaging them is not the solution…” Since leading their Seed round and joining the board in 2015, Oliver has been working side-by-side with Ali as he welcomed Kleiner Perkins, Khosla Ventures, and New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as investors – continuing Inkitt’s mission of building the "Disney of the 21st century.” A link to the full conversation is in the comment section below.

Huge congrats to Flowdesk on finalizing their $102M Series B financing round! 🚀 Since launching in 2020, Flowdesk has emerged as a leading liquidity provider in the crypto space, powering Market-Making as a Service across over 140 centralized and decentralized exchanges. The Paris-based full-service digital asset trading and technology firm will use the funding to scale their OTC derivatives business, expand their crypto credit desk, and invest in proprietary trading infrastructure. The Series B round was led by HV Capital with support from existing investors and includes a debt facility from BlackRock to fuel global expansion. We’re excited to see what’s next for Guilhem and the team as they continue to push the boundaries of digital asset trading and tokenization! https://lnkd.in/eByqYFwS

Faks is streamlining pharmacy operations with AI, transforming how pharmacies and suppliers collaborate. Founded by Corentin Geoffray and Félix Pignard, the France-based company has built the leading B2B platform for the pharmaceutical industry, connecting over 17,000 pharmacies, 500 laboratories, and 130 pharmacy associations. Today, 85% of French pharmacies already use Faks, saving time and focusing on patient care. Wissam Nasreddine, with our Growth investment team, says: “The growing diversification of pharmacies’ activities, on top of their most important role of advising patients, has left little time to manage back-office operations from order to stock management. We see a huge potential in centralising all their supplier interactions in a single platform and automating tedious - yet strategic - tasks with AI. We have been impressed by Faks’ ability to stay focused on pharmacies’ critical needs, with the vision of reducing their operational burden and making everyone in the ecosystem (pharmacies, associations, laboratories) work more closely together.” With its latest €6M funding round, led by Speedinvest alongside existing investors Connect Ventures, Seedcamp, and FJ Labs, Faks plans to expand its team, enhance its technology, and grow into new markets, starting with Spain and Italy. Read the coverage from Les Echos, Maddyness and tech.eu in the comments! ⬇️