Fond Of’s co-founders have put $3.5m into High-Tech Gründerfonds’ third fund, bringing its total to $375m and adding to commitments from limited partners including Fraunhofer Society.
Germany-based public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) secured an additional €3m ($3.5m) for its third fund on Tuesday from the co-founders of backpack and fashion label Fond Of to close the vehicle at $375m.
The fund was specifically reopened for Fond Of’s co-founders.
HTGF in turn joined the XDeck, an accelerator program set up by Fond Of that will welcome its first cohort in 2020 at a purpose-built facility in Cologne called the Ship. The accelerator will focus on the consumer, commerce and digital sectors.
Founded in 2005, HTGF backs early-stage startups and typically provides up to $3.5m per portfolio business, though it has the option to supply more capital to particularly promising opportunities. It has backed more than 540 startups to date and celebrated more than 100 exits.
The partnership has been investing from its third fund since achieving an initial $275m close in 2017. Its limited partners include Fraunhofer Society, as well as state-owned development bank KfW and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
A total of 32 corporates, including pharmaceutical firm Boehringer Ingelheim’s corporate venturing subsidiary, Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, pharmaceuticals and chemicals producer Bayer, maritime industry group Wilh and conglomerate Werhahn, are also among the limited partners.
The corporate backers also include Dräger, EWE, RWE, Evonik, Lanxess, Altana, BASF, Wacker, Büfa, B. Braun, Robert Bosch, Cewe, Deutsche Post DHL, Drillisch, Hettich, Knauf, Phoenix Contact, Postbank, SAP, Schufa, Qiagen, Franz Haniel, Körber Group and Media + More Venture.
Alex von Frankenberg, managing director of HTGF, said: “With Fond Of, we are now welcoming the first company in Fund III which was a startup itself only a short time ago.
“This has a signalling effect on the entire startup ecosystem in Germany and it is great that the founders of Fond Of are actively involved in its further development. We are very happy to support the new Fond Of Accelerator with our investment know-how and the power of our international network.”
