Marcus Erken
Founding Partner @ Sunfish Partners
Berlin, Germany
Marcus Erken is a pre-seed investor at Sunfish Partners in Berlin focused on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Happy and curious.Marcus is a founding partner of Sunfish Partners, an early stage VC that invests in deep tech startups from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).In addition, he has made angel investments throughout the world and co-lectures an annual university course in which students start their own companies.Previously, Marcus had theprivilege of working with more than 120 student startups at WHU’s university incubator, which he co-built.Marcus holds a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in Business & Management from WHU Vallendar, a Ph.D. in Entrepreneurship from RWTH Aachen University, and was a Visiting Research Fellow at Harvard University.
- Total investments:
- 24
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 42%
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Marcus Erken invests in
Stages Marcus Erken invests in
Countries Marcus Erken invests in
Round sizes
Round size
- Seed
- $750k–$4.6M
- Pre-Seed
- $500k–$2.6M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Artificial Intelligence 9 (38%)
- Machine Learning 5 (21%)
- Software 4 (17%)
- SaaS 3 (13%)
- Medical Device 3 (13%)
Stage
- Pre-Seed 12 (50%)
- Seed 10 (42%)
- Angel 1 (4%)
Country
- Poland 10 (42%)
- Germany 6 (25%)
- Singapore 2 (8%)
- United Kingdom 2 (8%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
DefendEye
|
World’s first fully Autonomous Drone, powered by AI, requires no human pilot, no setup, no programming, handling everything from Takeoff & Landing to Aerial Reconnaissance & Navigation. Launch-Tube can be in a backpack, or installed on a fence. It’s very simple to install, and it’s low cost. The drone searches & navigates to humans. AIDetects humans faster & more accurate than humans can. | $1.3M / Seed / May 21, 2025 | |
mysite.ai
|
Turn your designs into production-ready frontend <code> for web at blazing fast speed without compromising on code-quality and devex. | $500K / Pre-Seed / Jan 30, 2024 | |
Orbital Matter
|
Orbital Matter is a construction company in space that works on a 3D printing technology to be used directly in orbit and on the moon. Orbital Matter aims to manufacture large elements of space infrastructure such as walls for space stations, moon habitats, and SBSP reflectors. The company was founded in 2022 and is based in Warsaw, Poland. | $1.2M / Pre-Seed / Dec 13, 2023 | |
Smarter Diagnostics
|
Smarter Diagnostics develops and uses AI-based medical device software for Magnetic Resonance image analysis in orthopedics and sports medicine. We provide radiology support software focusing on soft-tissue musculoskeletal disorders and applicable both in clinics and screening. With early detection of both local and systemic problems visible in MRIscans we deliver early detection of injury-causing pathologies and provide preventive measures to stop injuries. We also provide comprehensive MR-based and AI-driven diagnostic solutions for screening and health checks of active individuals across amateur and professional sports. | $702.2K / Pre-Seed / Oct 02, 2023 | |
AIRMO
|
AIRMO is supporting the direct emitters, decision makers and financial institutions to efficiently transition to Net-0 by monitoring their direct emissions from space. With our roots in innovation and a commitment to environmental responsibility, we aim to revolutionize GHG monitoring through advanced satellite technology, proprietary LiDARinstrument and data analytics. We exist to monitor and manage humanity's impact on Earth. | $5.7M / Pre-Seed / Jun 27, 2023 | |
Liftero
|
Liftero is a space logistics company that enables space access by developing reusable orbital transfer vehicles. | Pre-Seed / May 15, 2023 | |
liftOS
|
liftOS enable teams to discover and work with all the tools they need without friction. | $1.1M / Seed / Mar 16, 2023 | |
Blockbrain
|
Blockbrain is a technology company that provides a generative AI platform and tools designed to help developers and enterprises build, deploy, and manage AI-powered applications and workflows. The company’s platform includes modular components for natural language processing, vector search, prompt management, and customizable AI model orchestrationthat support integration into software products and internal systems. Its offerings enable technical teams to create contextual knowledge layers, automated reasoning chains, and AI-assisted interfaces that leverage both proprietary and third-party models.Blockbrain also supplies SDKs, APIs, and development frameworks that help streamline application development, model tuning, and content generation across use cases such as intelligent search, summarization, and automated responses. The company works with partners and customers to tailor solutions that align with existing tech stacks and operational goals, supporting collaboration across engineering and product teams. Its platform emphasizes flexibility in model choice, data connectivity, and deployment options to accommodate diverse AI application requirements. | $2.6M / Pre-Seed / Dec 16, 2022 | |
|
Smarter Diagnostics
|
Smarter Diagnostics develops and uses AI-based medical device software for Magnetic Resonance image analysis in orthopedics and sports medicine. We provide radiology support software focusing on soft-tissue musculoskeletal disorders and applicable both in clinics and screening. With early detection of both local and systemic problems visible in MRIscans we deliver early detection of injury-causing pathologies and provide preventive measures to stop injuries. We also provide comprehensive MR-based and AI-driven diagnostic solutions for screening and health checks of active individuals across amateur and professional sports. | $506.4K / Pre-Seed / Oct 03, 2022 | |
Deepflare
|
Deepflare is a techbio AI company providing an ML suite to pharma firms to accelerate cancer vaccine and immunotherapy development. The model predicts T-cell responses and identifies key epitopes, enhancing antigen immunogenicity, speeding up pre-clinical research, reducing costs and improving efficacy. | $1.5M / Pre-Seed / Jul 25, 2022 | |
| See all 24 investments → | |||
Co-Investors
About Sunfish Partners
Sunfish Partners is an early stage VC that invests in Polish deep tech startups.
Sunfish Partners Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Marcus Erken
Founding Partner
|
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Max Moldenhauer
Founding Partner
|
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Christian Weiss
Founding Partner
|
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2 more contacts available
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FAQ
What does Marcus Erken invest in?
Marcus Erken invests primarily in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Software startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 24 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Poland. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Marcus Erken's check size?
Marcus Erken typically joins rounds of $750k–$4.6M at Seed and $500k–$2.6M at Pre-Seed. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Marcus Erken participates in.
When did Marcus Erken last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Marcus Erken closed in May 2025. Shizune tracks 24 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
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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