A new venture capital firm named U2V (University2Ventures) has been launched by three partners from German investor Earlybird to champion deeptech university spinouts. The firm has announced the first close of its inaugural fund, which is targeting a final size of $69.8 million. U2V aims to bridge the critical gap between Europe's world-class academic research and the creation of commercially viable global companies.
Founding Team and Fund Details
The new firm is founded by Earlybird X partners Philipp Semmer, Michael Schmitt, and Johannes Triebs, and they are joined by fellow team member Moritz von Klot. U2V operates as a fully independent entity, a deliberate choice designed to give the team greater agility compared to working within a larger multi-fund organization. The founders will remain partners at Earlybird in a reduced capacity, focused solely on managing the now fully invested Earlybird X portfolio.
U2V's first fund has secured a strong double-digit million euro commitment in its initial close, with the final target of $69.8 million expected to be reached in the coming months. German industrial group Jungheinrich is serving as the anchor limited partner, alongside a range of family offices, founders, and corporate backers. The fund intends to write average checks of about €1 million for up to 25 pre-seed and seed-stage deeptech startups across Europe.
A Strategy Rooted in Academia
U2V's investment strategy centers on identifying breakthrough scientific innovations emerging from Europe's top technical universities. The firm is already developing relationships with leading technology transfer offices at institutions including Oxford, Cambridge, ETH Zurich, École Polytechnique, and several major German universities such as TUM. The team sees this academically rooted deeptech segment as one of the most underserved and highest-upside categories in the European venture market.
Beyond supplying capital, U2V provides hands-on strategic and operational support to help founders move from research to scalable commercial businesses. A key advantage is the firm’s proprietary network of more than 500 corporate partners, enabling early customer introductions, pilot programs, and rapid validation cycles. This structured support framework is designed to help scientific founders reach product-market fit faster and secure follow-on financing more effectively.
Fostering European Technological Sovereignty
The fund will invest in sectors including artificial intelligence, novel computing and semiconductors, industrial technologies, and cleantech. These areas align with U2V’s mission to strengthen Europe’s technological sovereignty and reinforce its industrial competitiveness. The founding team’s previous investments, including companies such as Quantum Diamonds and Greenlyte, underscore their strong track record in deeptech.
Founding partner Dr. Philipp Semmer has emphasized that Europe consistently produces groundbreaking scientific research but struggles to convert it into global-scale companies. U2V aims to address that gap by helping scientists become entrepreneurs and by connecting universities, venture capital, and industry in a unified ecosystem. With offices in London, Berlin, and Aachen, the firm is positioned to operate across the continent’s major innovation hubs.
The launch of U2V marks the arrival of a highly specialized new player in Europe’s deeptech venture landscape. With seasoned leadership and a powerful industrial network, U2V is set to transform promising academic research into globally competitive businesses, offering a critical new resource for scientist-founders aiming to commercialize their innovations.