Amid growing pressure on European venture capital to consolidate, Swiss pre-seed fund Founderful has successfully closed its second fund at €133 million. The oversubscribed round, achieved despite broader market challenges for emerging managers, underscores strong investor confidence in Founderful’s focus on Swiss tech talent and innovation. The new fund has already backed 15 early-stage companies, supporting breakthroughs such as Chiral Nano’s alternative silicon chips and Eigthinks’ lithium-ion battery advancements.
Founderful’s Fund I, which totalled €85.5 million, was fully deployed across 40 startups and yielded impressive early results. Companies in Fund I have collectively created over 1,100 jobs and attracted more than €428 million in follow-on funding from prominent venture firms. Portfolio highlights include manufacturing analytics firm Ethon AI (raised €15.7 million from Index Ventures), Corintis with pioneering chip cooling technology, Grape Insurance (raised €9.5 million from Spark), and DePoly, which is developing a facility to recycle 500 tons of plastic waste annually.
Founded in 2019 by Pascal Mathis (GetYourGuide co-founder), Alex Stöckl (former Creathor Ventures Switzerland Lead), and Lukas Weder (EAT.ch co-founder), Founderful has maintained its vision of transforming Swiss tech startups into global leaders.
Alex Stöckl, Partner at Founderful said: “From day one, we have been relentless in our efforts to create a foothold for the Swiss tech ecosystem on the global stage. Fund II is evidence that we have walked the talk, and investors have taken note. This was no easy win, but we fought hard. We’re deeply grateful to our LPs, both existing and new, for recognizing our drive and sharing our conviction in the Swiss tech ecosystem—a powerhouse that’s only just starting to claim its place in the global tech industry.”
Fund II is supported by institutions, family offices, and high-profile founders behind unicorns such as Duolingo, Climeworks, GetYourGuide, On, Proton, and Scandit.
