It was a dynamic year in the Earlybird sphere, where we simplified our structure to focus primarily on Earlybird and Earlybird Health. Our learnings and wins will chart the path ahead. See what the data reveals and read to the end for our 2025 ins & outs.

🌱 Portfolio Growth

We announced 13 new portfolio companies, 9 from Earlybird and 4 from Earlybird Health. We also supported the portfolio through various follow-on investments: 11 from Earlybird and 6 from Earlybird Health, making us hit 30 investments in total for the year.

Key rounds this year involved Enterprise Software, SpaceTech, EnergyTech, ClimateTech, and FinTech. For example, industrial AI company EthonAI closed a USD 16.5M Series A, led by our friends at Index Ventures. Meanwhile, Isar Aerospace announced a Series C extension to close the round at over EUR 220M, while forging a significant partnership with the NATO Innovation Fund.

In the energy sector, Terralayr announced EUR 77M to become the leading player in energy storage, while Marvel Fusion secured EUR 62.8M in the first closing of its Series B round to ramp up the development of its fusion power plant. Similarly, Greenlyte announced a EUR 10.5M Pre-Series A Round to further accelerate the development of their cost-effective DAC technology. Earlier this year, Finmid also announced their Series A and EUR 35M to date alongside tripled revenue and partnerships.

Other areas like logistics innovation and tech for modern commerce came in strong: Hive stood out among the competition with its platform for independent commerce, announcing a EUR 28.2M Series A extension. Tilt raised a USD 18M Series A to reimagine online shopping experiences.

From Earlybird Health, portfolio company Grey Wolf Therapeutics closed an oversubscribed USD 50 M Series B extension round. Grey Wolf develops and leverages first-of-its-kind antigen modulation therapies to address the source of immune dysfunction in oncology and autoimmunity. Earlybird Health welcomed Shape Memory Medical to the portfolio, leading the company’s USD 38M Series C financing with the participation of new and existing investors.

The Earlybird Health team itself closed a EUR 173 M fresh fund to continue investing in tech-agnostic and patient-centric healthcare technologies. The news was spotted by over 30 global media outlets seen here.

👭🏻 Team Expansion

To find, invest in, and support more founding teams across Europe, our teams grew too: Earlybird welcomed 15 new teammates, while Earlybird Health added 5. With roots ranging from Italian to Moroccan, American to Russian, Turkish or German, our new joiners bring fresh perspectives and international mindsets.

Among many new joiners, we welcomed Sara Kirschhausen, who brings a wealth of startup experience after scaling Trade Republic from an idea to a leading neobank; read more about her journey here. We also welcomed Alessandra Mazzilli, who combines her international experience from Boston to Bangkok to inform her insightful approach to investment decisions; read more here. Finally, we celebrated Dan Lupu, the driving force behind our successful UiPath investment, among others, taking on a new role as a Venture Partner at Earlybird, and advancing the Earlybird legacy in the CEE region; read more here.

The Earlybird Health team strengthened our Berlin presence with key personnel: Valeriya Leshukova joined as Head of Finance, and our Investment Team grew with the additions of Berlin-based Zeynep Gündüz and Valeriya Shunina from the UK.

⚡ Newsworthy Activity

In addition to our portfolios making headlines in TechCrunch, Bloomberg, FT, Handelsblatt, TechEU, EU-Startups, TFN and more, we had opinions to share on European VC. This year, our perspectives were featured over 52 times, in podcasts like Startup Insider, channels such as Bloomberg TV, and publications like Sifted. We also want to give a special shoutout to Earlybirds featured the most in the news cycle this year: Co-founder & Partner Dr. Hendrik Brandis, Partner Dr. Andre Retterath, and Principals Nina Mayerand Dr. Marie-Thérèse Buttlar were highlighted in various media outlets for their respective expertise in Venture Capital, AI investments, FinTech, ClimateTech and beyond.

Additionally, we channeled our newsworthy milestones through LinkedIn, X, and Instagram. Special thanks to the 21k+ followers who joined us on LinkedIn bringing us over the 100k line and to those who supported the launch of our Instagram page.

Notably, the Earlybird Health team presented an Impact Investing Framework as well as published a Digital Health Report with Carlsquare.

🌍 Ecosystem Interactions

But it’s not just about the news, it’s about interacting at the ecosystem level. There we hit the ground running. We hosted 28 ecosystem events via Earlybird as well as 7 from Earlybird Health. Thank you for attending those and sharing your expertise and experience with us!

Some noteworthy events include the remarkably strong 5th edition of the Earlybird Vision Lab Demo Day, featuring pitches from international founders. Vision Lab now celebrates supporting founders building in Germany who come from over 40 countries, spanning the globe from India to Tunisia to Venezuela. Additionally, the Consumer Breakfast hosted by Earlybird Principal Sara Fee Kirschhausen yielded a full house of consumer stars in our Berlin office, from portfolio companies like N26, Getsafe, and others representing the wider ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Earlybird Health co-hosted multiple Breaking 7% dinners to advance the professional growth of women in healthcare. Breaking 7% originated in the US and over the past year and a half, we’re proud to be a part of its remarkable momentum as it expands across Europe. Earlybird Health also continued the very popular format of the Digital Health Cocktail Hour, co-hosting events with AWS Startups, AI Merantix Campus, and Berlin Institute of Health of Charité in Berlin.

🕊️ Pan-European Wingspan

Although we often get mistaken for a German VC (hey, journalists), this year’s data reveals otherwise. With offices in Berlin, Munich, and London, an international team, and an active presence across the continent, we are distinctly Pan-European investors. We attended events in 15 countries this year alone.

Whether it was Earlybird Partner Andre Retterath co-hosting Bits and Pretzels in Munich, organizing successful side-events at Slush in Helsinki, a roadshow in Dublin centered around Dogpatch Labs, or participating in panel discussions at conferences like B2B Rocks in Paris, our commitment to the European tech ecosystem was unwavering. The Earlybird Health team landed in multiple locations across speaking at LSI in California, LSI in Europe, DisrupTech in Ireland, HLTH in Amsterdam, and more.

👁️ Looking Ahead

So what lessons gleaned from this year can we apply in 2025?

Ins:

• Foster support for universities to transfer knowledge out of European universities.

• Double down on the portfolio companies to help them succeed and thrive.

• Partner with the right individuals and organizations to amplify your influence and impact.

• Position your teammates and portfolio leaders and the LinkedIn activity will snowball.

• Be a good sparring partner to your portfolio companies to help them navigate the waters.

Outs:

• Speculative decision-making: it’s time for data-driven insights.

• Manually sifting through thousands of companies: automation, automation, automation.

• Chasing buzzwords without substance: Focus on real solutions, not the latest hype.

• Working harder not smarter: AI should be your friend.

• Complex structures: refine and streamline for efficiency.

Here’s to an evolving 2025. We look forward to growing with you! 🌱

🎬 Watch a recap video and learn more about us on our LinkedIn.