# Shortcut Ventures

> Shortcut Ventures is a VC fund in Hamburg backing FinTech and Social Media. See 14 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
- Total investments: 14
- Last investment: Jun 2018
- Lead investor: 14%
- Fund size: $47M
- Last fund: Feb 2012
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shortcut-ventures-gmbh/
- Website: http://shortcut.vc

Shortcut Ventures is a German venture capital enterprise created by founders for founders. The main focus of Shortcut Ventures investment strategy is on international startups specializing in the fields of internet, mobile, games, and social media. The company mainly invests in startups that are in the early growth stages. Along with the financialsupport, firms in the portfolio are also provided with access to founder knowledge and know-how.Shortcut Ventures is managed by Dirk Freise, Martin Ostermayer, and Thorsten Rehling, entrepreneurs and founders of multiple companies such as blau.de and handy.de. The enterprise’s main investor is the Dutch telecommunications corporation, KPN.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Shortcut Ventures. Shizune tracks 2 team members at Shortcut Ventures. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/shortcut-ventures-gmbh?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Series A | $3.2M–$20M |
| Series B | $2.4M–$20M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FinTech | 2 | 14% |
| Social Media | 2 | 14% |
| TV | 1 | 7% |
| Apps | 1 | 7% |
| Video | 1 | 7% |

24 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 5 | 36% |
| Series B | 3 | 21% |
| Funding Round | 2 | 14% |
| Seed | 1 | 7% |
| Series C | 1 | 7% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Germany | 4 | 29% |
| Spain | 2 | 14% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 7% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Martin Ostermayer | Founder | 10 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/martin-ostermayer |
| Dirk Freise | Founder | 8 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dirk-freise |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Stocard | Stocard’s mission is to become the #1 mobile wallet in the Western world by making the daily shopping experience easy, engaging and rewarding for it's more than 50 million users.By turning shopper’s phones into their wallet, they’ve simplified the way users are rewarded at their favorite stores and are adding an easy way for their users toget access to financial services on the platform.To date several billion transactions at the point of sale have been facilitiated through Stocard. | $20M | Series B | Jun 05, 2018 |  |
| Stocard | Stocard’s mission is to become the #1 mobile wallet in the Western world by making the daily shopping experience easy, engaging and rewarding for it's more than 50 million users.By turning shopper’s phones into their wallet, they’ve simplified the way users are rewarded at their favorite stores and are adding an easy way for their users toget access to financial services on the platform.To date several billion transactions at the point of sale have been facilitiated through Stocard. | $4.4M | Series A | Dec 22, 2016 |  |
| tado° | Tado° develops a heating app for private homes and small businesses. It adjusts to the residents' behavior in real-time and also takes current weather forecasts and building characteristics into account. Tado° is committed to changing how heating and cooling systems function in structures, minimizing energy waste, and lowering carbonemissions. The company regulates indoor temperatures using automation and various control methods. The company's application allows users to modify settings, track usage, and access reports. Integration with smart home systems enables temperature adjustments via voice commands. Features such as geofencing change settings based on occupancy, while weather adaptation adjusts heating or cooling according to forecasts. Intelligent scheduling helps users create personalized temperature plans, and automation capabilities handle climate control without requiring manual intervention. | $23.5M | Series E | Apr 26, 2016 |  |
| Stocard | Stocard’s mission is to become the #1 mobile wallet in the Western world by making the daily shopping experience easy, engaging and rewarding for it's more than 50 million users.By turning shopper’s phones into their wallet, they’ve simplified the way users are rewarded at their favorite stores and are adding an easy way for their users toget access to financial services on the platform.To date several billion transactions at the point of sale have been facilitiated through Stocard. | $4.4M |  | Mar 20, 2016 |  |
| tado° | Tado° develops a heating app for private homes and small businesses. It adjusts to the residents' behavior in real-time and also takes current weather forecasts and building characteristics into account. Tado° is committed to changing how heating and cooling systems function in structures, minimizing energy waste, and lowering carbonemissions. The company regulates indoor temperatures using automation and various control methods. The company's application allows users to modify settings, track usage, and access reports. Integration with smart home systems enables temperature adjustments via voice commands. Features such as geofencing change settings based on occupancy, while weather adaptation adjusts heating or cooling according to forecasts. Intelligent scheduling helps users create personalized temperature plans, and automation capabilities handle climate control without requiring manual intervention. |  | Series D | Oct 07, 2015 |  |
| ZenMate | ZenMate is a software solution that encrypts its users' internet connection to protect their privacy while browsing. It was launched by ZenGuard in 2013. | $3.2M | Series A | Oct 01, 2014 |  |
| tado° | Tado° develops a heating app for private homes and small businesses. It adjusts to the residents' behavior in real-time and also takes current weather forecasts and building characteristics into account. Tado° is committed to changing how heating and cooling systems function in structures, minimizing energy waste, and lowering carbonemissions. The company regulates indoor temperatures using automation and various control methods. The company's application allows users to modify settings, track usage, and access reports. Integration with smart home systems enables temperature adjustments via voice commands. Features such as geofencing change settings based on occupancy, while weather adaptation adjusts heating or cooling according to forecasts. Intelligent scheduling helps users create personalized temperature plans, and automation capabilities handle climate control without requiring manual intervention. | $12M | Series C | Jul 16, 2014 |  |
| Mediakraft Networks | Mediakraft Networks is an online television network in Europe. It offers programs about young people, entertainment, beauty, sports, and latest breaking news. Mediakraft Networks was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. |  | Series B | Jul 10, 2014 |  |
| tado° | Tado° develops a heating app for private homes and small businesses. It adjusts to the residents' behavior in real-time and also takes current weather forecasts and building characteristics into account. Tado° is committed to changing how heating and cooling systems function in structures, minimizing energy waste, and lowering carbonemissions. The company regulates indoor temperatures using automation and various control methods. The company's application allows users to modify settings, track usage, and access reports. Integration with smart home systems enables temperature adjustments via voice commands. Features such as geofencing change settings based on occupancy, while weather adaptation adjusts heating or cooling according to forecasts. Intelligent scheduling helps users create personalized temperature plans, and automation capabilities handle climate control without requiring manual intervention. | $2.4M | Series B | Sep 05, 2013 |  |
| Mediakraft Networks | Mediakraft Networks is an online television network in Europe. It offers programs about young people, entertainment, beauty, sports, and latest breaking news. Mediakraft Networks was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Cologne, Germany. |  | Seed | Dec 17, 2012 |  |

10 of 14 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Target Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/target-partners) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Alstin Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alstin) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [BayBG Venture Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/baybg) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Bright Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bright-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Rocketship.vc](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/rocketship-vc) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Statkraft Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/statkraft-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Shortcut Ventures invest in?

Shortcut Ventures invests primarily in FinTech, Social Media and TV startups, most often at Series A and Series B 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.

### What is Shortcut Ventures's check size?

Shortcut Ventures typically joins rounds of $3.2M–$20M at Series A and $2.4M–$20M 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 Shortcut Ventures participates in.

### How do I contact Shortcut Ventures?

Public channels for Shortcut Ventures 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 Shortcut Ventures?

The team at Shortcut Ventures includes Martin Ostermayer (Founder) and Dirk Freise (Founder). 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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