# Earlybird Venture Capital

> Earlybird Venture Capital is a VC fund backing Software. See 364 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Berlin, Germany
- Total investments: 364
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 47%
- Fund size: $190M
- Last fund: Feb 2024
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/earlybird-venture-capital
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/EarlybirdVC
- Website: http://earlybird.com/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EarlybirdVC

Earlybird Venture Capital is a VC fund in Berlin focused on Software and Information Technology. Founded in 1997, Earlybird invests in all development and growth phases of technology companies. Among the most experienced venture investors in Europe, Earlybird offers its portfolio companies not only financial resources but also strategic support plus access to an international network and capital markets. With EUR 2 billion under management,eight IPOs and 30 trade sales, Earlybird is one of the most established and active venture capital firms in Europe.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Earlybird Venture Capital. Shizune tracks 27 team members at Earlybird Venture Capital. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/earlybird-venture-capital?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $1.5M–$14M |
| Series A | $4.4M–$34M |
| Series B | $6M–$75M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Software | 56 | 15% |
| Information Technology | 35 | 10% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 25 | 7% |
| Health Care | 24 | 7% |
| Internet | 15 | 4% |

210 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 78 | 21% |
| Seed | 69 | 19% |
| Series B | 43 | 12% |
| Funding Round | 25 | 7% |
| Series C | 23 | 6% |

15 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Germany | 77 | 21% |
| United States | 28 | 8% |
| United Kingdom | 15 | 4% |
| France | 8 | 2% |
| Turkey | 8 | 2% |

24 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Andre Retterath | Principal | 14 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/andre-retterath |
| Annette Schiering | Financial Analyst | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/annette-schiering |
| Catrin Schmidt | Team Assistant | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/catrin-schmidt |
| Cem Sertoglu | Co-Founder and Managing Partner | 34 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/m-cem-sertoglu |
| Christian Nagel | Managing Partner | 30 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dr-christian-nagel |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ORiS | ORiS provides wireless power transmission using high-precision pointing lasers. On land, it focuses on dual-use market, while in space it focuses on LEO-orbiting satellite recharging, objects on the lunar surface, and active debris removal using laser ablation. | $5.1M | Pre-Seed | Jul 21, 2026 |  |
| Quantum Diamonds | QuantumDiamonds (QD) is a novel equipment vendor from Germany which builds magnetic field imaging systems based on quantum sensors for the semiconductor industry. Spun out of the Technical University of Munich in 2022 and headquartered in Munich, QD develops and manufactures non-destructive inspection and metrology systems used to find electricaldefects inside the most advanced chips.QD's technology uses nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers, atomic-scale defects in a diamond lattice that act as quantum sensors for magnetic fields. By measuring the magnetic fields generated by current flow, the system reconstructs current pathways inside multi-layer 2.5D and 3D chip architectures and localizes defects with micrometer precision and precise depth resolution. Crucially, the system operates non-destructively and at ambient conditions (no vacuum, no cryogenics), avoiding the slow, destructive layer-by-layer delayering that conventional failure analysis requires.The flagship product, the QDm.1 (Quantum Diamond Microscope), is the world's first integrated quantum sensing tool commercially available for chip testing. It enables open and short detection in advanced semiconductors and advanced packaging at high speed, localizing opens (currently the leading yield-killing electrical failure) as intuitive spots on an image to accelerate root-cause analysis.QD's customers are semiconductor foundries and fabs, IDMs, OSATs, and failure analysis labs. Nine of the world's ten largest chipmakers are engaged with the company, with systems deployed across Europe, the United States, and Asia. QD's product roadmap progresses from InLab defect localization (in production today) to InFab defect metrology (est. 2027) and InLine wafer mapping (est. 2028+), targeting 100% in-line quality control. The company has raised over $100M to date, is backed by World Fund, IQ Capital, Earlybird, Bayern Kapital, and others, and is investing €152M to build the world's first production facility for quantum-based semiconductor inspection in Munich, supported under the European Chips Act. QD employs 50+ people across 18 nationalities, with 30% PhDs and 17 patents.Keywords: Semiconductor Inspection, Failure Analysis, Quantum Sensing, Magnetic Field Imaging, Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers, Advanced Packaging, Non-Destructive Testing, Defect Metrology, Yield Improvement, Chip Manufacturing. | $17.1M | Series A | Jul 08, 2026 |  |
| Bayshore | Bayshore AI is a legal tech and compliance startup that builds an agentic AI platform to automate complex legal and compliance tasks. The company combines legal expertise with AI technology to create auditable AI agents for legal and compliance work. | $8M | Seed | Jun 02, 2026 |  |
| TILT | TILT app allow users to discover small brands, buy through videos, livestreams, and eard rewards. | $26M | Series B | Jun 02, 2026 |  |
| Pillar | Pillar is shaping a world where every construction company—regardless of size—is resilient, financially sound, and empowered with the tools and insights needed to navigate uncertainty, manage risk, and achieve long-term growth in a volatile industry. | $14.1M | Seed | May 12, 2026 |  |
| eleQtron | eleQtron creates and operates quantum computers based on trapped ions, radio frequency control, and Magnetic Gradient Induced Coupling (MAGIC). It also puts forward novel ideas for scalable quantum processors based on RF-controlled trapped ions. eleQtron will run MAGIC quantum computers and provide quantum computing performance on a subscriptionbasis. | $66.6M | Series A | May 05, 2026 |  |
| CONXAI | CONXAI develops a no-code artificial intelligence platform designed to automate knowledge-intensive workflows in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. The company enables organizations to transform fragmented project data, documents, and tacit human expertise into structured, actionable insights that support decision-makingand operational efficiency. Its platform uses smart AI and systems with multiple agents to look at different types of data like documents, images, and project records, so users can create and use AI solutions without needing to know how to code. These capabilities support tasks like project monitoring, risk assessment, and workflow automation across complex construction environments.CONXAI focuses on addressing challenges related to siloed data and undocumented knowledge in construction projects, where critical information is often dispersed across tools and stakeholders. By integrating and contextualizing this data, the platform enables improved collaboration, visibility, and control throughout the project lifecycle. | $5.8M | Series A | Apr 07, 2026 |  |
| Rivia | Rivia is a next-gen operating system for improved trial outcomes. They have personally endured the exact clinical trial challenges they are solving. | $15M | Series A | Mar 18, 2026 |  |
| Porters | Porters is an AI-native outsourcing platform that helps banks and fintechs automate their operations. | $3.2M | Pre-Seed | Feb 11, 2026 |  |
| Black Forest Labs | Black Forest Labs creates advanced generative deep learning models for images and videos. They focus on making these technologies widely accessible and transparent, ensuring that their innovations are easy to use and understand. This approach aims to democratize access to cutting-edge technology and foster greater trust and utility. | $300M | Series B | Dec 01, 2025 |  |

10 of 364 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Earlybird Digital East Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/earlybird-digital-east-fund) — VC Fund, 42 deals together
- [Lakestar](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/lakestar) — VC Fund, 12 deals together
- [468 Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/468-capital) — VC Fund, 11 deals together
- [Credo Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/credo-ventures) — VC Fund, 11 deals together
- [UVC Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/uvc-partners) — VC Fund, 11 deals together
- [Speedinvest](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/speedinvest) — VC Fund, 10 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Earlybird Venture Capital invest in?

Earlybird Venture Capital invests primarily in Software, Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 364 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Germany. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Earlybird Venture Capital's check size?

Earlybird Venture Capital typically joins rounds of $1.5M–$14M at Seed, $4.4M–$34M at Series A and $6M–$75M at Series B. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Earlybird Venture Capital participates in.

### How do I contact Earlybird Venture Capital?

Public channels for Earlybird Venture Capital include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) 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 Earlybird Venture Capital?

The team at Earlybird Venture Capital includes Andre Retterath (Principal), Annette Schiering (Financial Analyst) and Catrin Schmidt (Team Assistant), among 27 team members tracked by Shizune. 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 Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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