explains Matthias Sohler,
New fund: yabeo grows with "Emerging Tech Fund" in the artificial intelligence and cybersecurity space.
29 September 23
● New investment platform to have a target size of EUR 50 million and to focus on pre-seed and seed financings
● AuM at yabeo will thus rise to EUR 300 million
● Heinrich Zetlmayer, former Co-CEO of esports platform ESL and
experienced emerging tech investor, comes on board as General Partner with team
● AuM at yabeo will thus rise to EUR 300 million
● Heinrich Zetlmayer, former Co-CEO of esports platform ESL and
experienced emerging tech investor, comes on board as General Partner with team
Munich, 29 September 2023. yabeo, the early-stage investor from Munich, has added a dedicated "Emerging Tech Fund” to its investment platform group, which focuses on future topics related to artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity and cloud computing across all industries. The new "Emerging Tech Fund" focuses on initial pre- seed and seed financing of up to EUR 500,000 per start-up. It is designed as a closed- end fund (CEF). In addition to direct equity investments, investors can also invest in tradable tokens that can be deposited. The target size of the fund is EUR 50 million. With Heinrich Zetlmayer, an experienced investor with a proven track record joins the yabeo team as General Partner. Heinrich Zetlmayer's team holds a portfolio manager licence in Switzerland and operates the Emerging Tech Fund in Zurich and Singapore. The existing investments made by Heinrich Zetlmayer and his team under the name Blockchain Valley Ventures will be brought into the new fund.
“With Heinrich Zetlmayer and his team, we have added cutting edge expertise in the future areas of AI, blockchain and cybersecurity. The yabeo ‘Emerging Tech Fund’ will invest across all industries. With this, we have continued yabeo’s expansion as planned. In addition to HealthTech and Fintech in the yabeo Venture Tech Fund, as well as ClimateTech and Social Impact in the yabeo Impact Fund, with the Emerging Tech Fund we now have all future growth areas in our portfolio that will massively influence society and the economy in the coming decades”
founder and General Partner of yabeo.
There is an innovation in the fund structure: Emerging Tech is set up as a Closed End Fund (CEF) for the first time at yabeo. The previous funds (yabeo Venture Tech and yabeo Impact) are structured as “evergreen” funds. Emerging Tech already brings in more than ten portfolio companies with an AuM (assets under management) of around 50 million US dollars.
“Emerging Tech application and use-cases are expected to drive productivity and prope innovation leaps of up to a factor ten across industries. With the Closed End Emerging Tech Fund, we now offer all important investment product types that family offices and institutional investors worldwide rely on in the alternative asset sector to participate in the growth themes of the future.”
Explains Dr. Gerrit Seidel,
General Partner and Managing Director of yabeo.
With Heinrich Zetlmayer, an AI and blockchain specialist joins the yabeo team
Heinrich Zetlmayer is a proven expert in the field of blockchain and new business models. As Co-CEO and member of the supervisory board of ESL, he built up and sold the world's largest independent league for e-sports. Following this, the former Vice President of IBM was General Partner at Blockchain Valley Ventures, a venture capitalist specialising in AI and blockchain, which will be integrated by yabeo as part of the transaction.
“I am excited to expand yabeo's unique approach as a new General Partner. With a focus on pre-seed and seed investments in the Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cybersecurity segments, we perfectly complement yabeo's ecosystem. With our cutting edge know-how we want to identify the most promising start-ups in the future,”
says Heinrich Zetlmayer about his team's task.
General Partner Emerging Tech Fund
With its sector expertise in FinTech/HealthTech, impact and new technologies, yabeo focuses on investments of 0.5 to five million Euros. Portfolio companies include Solaris (FinTech), Cera Care (HealthTech/Care) and Clark (InsureTech). Across all platforms (including yabeo Venture Tech, yabeo Impact and yabeo Emerging Tech), yabeo thus will approach EUR 300 million AuM in the future and is invested in almost 30 portfolio companies.