butterfly & elephant
VC Fund
Cologne, Germany
butterfly & elephant is a VC fund in Cologne focused on Software and Consulting. butterfly & elephant, serves as the Corporate Venture Capital arm of GS1 Germany, investing in early-stage startups . Our close link to GS1 keeps us at the forefront of six key themes: supply chain transparency, digital product passports, AI, customer experience, data for sustainability, and data for health. We invest across health, retail,consumer goods, e-commerce, and logistics.Smart Capital, Smart Connections: In addition to investment capital, our startups benefit from access to exceptional networks, concrete application opportunities, and the support of a trusted partner. The uniqueness of butterfly & elephant is the strong GS1 community from the consumer goods industry and retail, e-commerce and healthcare sectors - a network of over 97,000 companies in Germany and two million worldwide. We place great value on the entrepreneurial freedom of start-ups to further develop their product and growth strategy in a self-determined manner.
- Total investments:
- 14
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 36%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries butterfly & elephant invests in
Stages butterfly & elephant invests in
Countries butterfly & elephant invests in
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 4 (29%)
- Consulting 4 (29%)
- Information Technology 4 (29%)
- SaaS 2 (14%)
- Recycling 2 (14%)
Stage
- Seed 8 (57%)
- Corporate Round 2 (14%)
- Grant 1 (7%)
- Pre-Seed 1 (7%)
- Series A 1 (7%)
Country
- Germany 12 (86%)
- Belgium 1 (7%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Benjamin Birker
Managing Director
|
Managing Director | Total investments: 3 | Find email | |
Noah Burchgardt
Venture Capital Investment Analyst
|
Venture Capital Investment Analyst | Total investments: 0 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lichtwart is a startup that creates a cloud control platform for efficiently controlling and maintaining lighting systems. | Corporate Round / Aug 01, 2026 | ||
| Additive Marking is the only company in the industrial 3D printing ecosystem capable of generating robust machine-readable codes directly on the product during the actual additive manufacturing process. In this way, the additively manufactured product is traceable from the first moment of product creation, regardless of the material, and allowsaccess to any information both in the industrial environment and for the end customer. | Seed / Jul 03, 2026 | ||
| Borro focus on sustainable event solutions. Borro addresses key challenges like reusable cups, fraud prevention, reduced transaction costs, and improved visitor experience. | $1.5M / Seed / May 27, 2026 | ||
| reo is a startup that operates a digital, cross-brand reusable packaging platform for cosmetics and FMCG companies, enabling circular economy solutions without requiring brands to switch to proprietary packaging. | Seed / May 20, 2026 | ||
| Developing hardware and software to help elderly people gaining more freedom and quality of life. Our first product is an emergency wristband which works together with an app, also connecting relatives via smartphone and phone integrated in the emergency wristband. The automated AI-based fall detection guarantees help even when the user - afteraccident - isn't capable anymore of activating the emergency call via integrated button. | $10M / Series A / Feb 05, 2026 | ||
| Amsight GmbH makes additive manufacturing as reliable and inexpensive as traditional production. Its AI engine discovers unrealized cost-saving opportunities and determines the optimal manufacturing parameters. | Pre-Seed / Dec 19, 2025 | ||
| Developing hardware and software to help elderly people gaining more freedom and quality of life. Our first product is an emergency wristband which works together with an app, also connecting relatives via smartphone and phone integrated in the emergency wristband. The automated AI-based fall detection guarantees help even when the user - afteraccident - isn't capable anymore of activating the emergency call via integrated button. | Series A / Oct 16, 2025 | ||
| Hey Circle is a manufacturer of reusable shipping packaging. Hey Circle products include foldable, weather and dirt-resistant shipping bags and reused shipping boxes with theft protection and branding possibilities for brands, offering customers with a sustainable solution that is simple to use for packers and customers. | Seed / Oct 10, 2025 | ||
| Cyreen primarily offers retail media solutions for stationary retailers and FMCG advertisers. | Seed / Apr 10, 2025 | ||
| House of Change provides consultancy services as a transition to a sustainable economy by providing advice, tools, knowledge and support. | Seed / Mar 20, 2025 | ||
| See all 14 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does butterfly & elephant invest in?
butterfly & elephant invests primarily in Software, Consulting and Information Technology startups, most often at Seed and Corporate Round stage. Most of the 14 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Germany. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
How do I contact butterfly & elephant?
Public channels for butterfly & elephant include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.
Who are the partners at butterfly & elephant?
The team at butterfly & elephant includes Benjamin Birker (Managing Director) and Noah Burchgardt (Venture Capital Investment Analyst). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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