The German startup ecosystem is gathering a lot of attention because of its evolving landscape. Thanks to the angel investors, Germany is now home to thousands of new companies, and 8 out of 10 startups are planning further internationalization. 

Similarly, if you have a startup that is looking for funds, you have come to the right place. Let’s jump onto the list of the top 7 angel investors in Germany along with their investment interests. 

Top 7 Angel Investors in Germany

Following is the list of some of the top angel investors in Germany. However, before applying, it is recommended to research specific investors and understand their mindset.

Carsten Maschmeyer

LinkedIn: Maschmeyer Group: Overview | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech and Healthcare

Investment Stage: Early

Carsten Maschmeyer is a successful entrepreneur, consultant, keynote speaker at startup events, financial investor, and television investor juror. He serves as a Managing Director at ALSTIN Capital. 

Maschmeyer’s investments typically range between €50,000 and €3,000,000. His investment preference is usually towards scalable business models, especially in the IT and health sectors. The investments of his private assets range from early-stage financing to investments in listed companies.

Among the 31 portfolio companies of Carsten Maschmeyer, 2 famous names are:

HMNC Brain Health: HMNC Brain Health is a precision medicine pioneer in psychiatry based in Munich. They provide personalized therapies intended for depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders

Heyfam: Heyfam is a digital platform that organizes conversations, memories, and gifts and provides smart reminders for various events and milestones. The company offers a gift finder according to relationships, interests, and occasions.

Christian Reber

LinkedIn: Christian Reber | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Christian Reber is a German entrepreneur and angel investor. He is the founder and CEO of Pitch and previously founded the award-winning to-do app Wunderlist.

Reber focuses on high-growth startups that can easily scale internationally and are at the early stage. Ever since his first individual investment in 2019, Christian Reber has funded around 30 companies.

The investment range of Christian Reber can jump up to €500,000. Some of his portfolio companies are:

Dimension4: Dimension4 is a leading provider of secure cloud-based solutions, delivering a full suite of collaboration technology and managed services for today’s global enterprises. They offer products such as Microsoft 365, cloud PBX, and SD-WAN.

VisionAI: VisionAI is a developer of a data intelligence platform designed for online retailers. This enables clients to increase sales and stand out from their competitors with a unique shopping experience.

Ralf Dümmel

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech, Food, and Consumer Products

Investment Stage: Early 

Ralf Dümmel is a well-known angel investor who has been active in the startup world for around 8 years. He has a preference for investing in startups that are generating revenue and are in the consumer durables, internet retail, household appliances, and beverages industries.

Similarly, Ralf Dummel invests in startups through fundraisers, investor meetings, and also pitching competitions. Just like the concept of "Shark Tank", Dummel participates in the German TV show “Die Höhle der Löwen” (The Lions’ Den), providing funding to deserving startups.

The investment range of Ralf Dummel lies between €5,000 to €50,000. Some of his portfolio companies are:

Maxxworld: Maxxworld is an operator of a digital marketplace designed to make household products easily available to people. The company’s platform offers kitchen, household, gardening, fashion and accessories, beauty, and fitness products along with other equipment. 

Dripoff: Dripoff is a provider of logistic services designed to provide same-day courier delivery. The company’s technology platform includes real-time tracking and confirmations, transparent pricing, and flexible delivery options.

Sproutling: Sproutling provides tools that help parents by providing real-time insights about their child’s sleep patterns.

Christian Vollmann

LinkedIn: Christian Vollmann | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Christian Vollmann has been actively investing in startups since 1999. He has made a total of 28 investments and has founded several companies himself.

Talking about Vollmann's investment interests, he focuses on startups related to innovative tech at the early and seed stages. He attends networking events, startup accelerators, and fundraisers to look for deserving startups and provide them with the required investment. 

The investment range of Christian Vollmann lies between €100,000 to €700,000. Some of his portfolio companies are:

NeoCarbon: NeoCarbon is a climate technology firm that captures CO₂ at low cost and at scale by leveraging waste heat and existing infrastructure. Their technology allows anyone to remove carbon from the air, transforming it into a valuable resource for industries. 

autarc: Autarc is a software startup based in Berlin, Germany, that develops a SAAS used for setting up sales and planning of heat pumps.

OXOLO: Oxolo is a company that develops a web application for AI-based media generation. Their application can be used to create product videos, advertisements, and other content.

Verena Pausder

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Software, AI, and Education

Investment Stage: Early 

Funding in Germany-based startups for almost 5 years now, Verena Pausder is also a prominent name among the angel community of Germany. She has made 25 personal investments and is actively investing in more innovative ideas.

Similarly, Verena Pausder primarily invests in the Consumer and EdTech sectors. She is particularly interested in startups that focus on digital education and children’s entertainment. Once a business has secured funding, Verena Pausder provides it with access to her extensive mentorship panel and guides it through different stages.

The investment range of Verena Pausder can range up to €50,000, as she only makes early-stage investments. Three of her portfolio companies are:

Cleverly: Cleverly is an AI-based customer service platform that offers agent assistance, automated workflows, and knowledge management services. It uses data from thousands of outbound B2B campaigns to send proven, personalized messages to clients on LinkedIn. 

Tomorrow University: Tomorrow University is a developer of an online learning platform designed to replace disengaging video calls and enhance traditional education. The platform is based on learning science and leverages artificial intelligence.

Prematch Sports: Prematch Sports is a developer of a soccer application intended to provide information about amateur football. The company’s application provides all the news, results, and statistics of all the matches from the district to the regional league.

Matthias Hilpert

LinkedIn: Matthias Hilpert | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Life sciences, Tech, and Healthcare

Investment Stage: Early

Matthias Hilpert is also an angel investor with over 20 years of experience in the telecom and private equity sectors. He is among the top 30 angels backed by the European Investment Fund in Germany and has invested in startups since 1998.

As an investor, Hilpert prefers to invest in early-stage technology, real estate, and public assets. He has a strong interest in driving European competitiveness and contributes to the innovation ecosystem by funding startups with the lowest competition.

Matthias Hilpert's investment range usually depends on the type of startup, with his most investments being around €300,000. Notable portfolio companies are:

API Management: API Management specializes in the development of iron ore export operations. The company’s platform offers field support and mineral mining. It was later acquired by Red Hat.

Device Diagnostics: Device Diagnostics Inc. is a company that operates in the Medical Devices industry.  The company employs between 21-50 people and has a revenue between €5M-€10M.

Image Recognition: Image Recognition Integrated Systems Group SA is a software company that develops a range of products in the fields of imaging, optical character recognition (OCR), and document management. It was later acquired by Cision.

Gloria Bäuerlein

LinkedIn: Gloria Baeuerlein | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Tech, Fitness, Healthcare, and Consumer Products

Investment Stage: Early

Known for her active investment in the startup ecosystem of Germany, Gloria Bäuerlein is an angel investor and has funded more than 25 B2B companies across 10 countries in Europe. 

If we talk about her investment interests, Gloria Bäuerlein primarily focuses on B2B SaaS and fintech companies. She loves startups in the fitness, consumer health, digital health, health & hospital services, and health IT sectors.

The investment range of Gloria Bäuerlein lies around €50,000. Some of her portfolio companies include:

Insify: Insify is a digital insurance company intended for freelancers and small businesses. The company leverages artificial intelligence-based data technology for simplified and speedy insurance offerings.

PowerUs: PowerUs is a digital career platform designed to empower technical blue-collar workers to discover new companies. The company’s platform offers recruitment services to candidates in electronics, plant mechanics, and refrigeration technology. 

Flike: Flike is a platform designed to increase user engagement with a real-time recommendations engine. It has raised €1.6M in total funding.

Wrap-Up

In a nutshell, angel investors always prefer profitable businesses based on unique ideas. Even if you can’t secure an investment in your first investor meeting, don’t lose hope and keep trying with slight improvements. 

Good Luck!

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