Berlin-based impact VC AENU (ex-Pirate Impact) has announced the first close of its €100 million evergreen fund for impact startups. The fund has an initial volume of €100 million and aims to manage over €500 million in fund capital by 2026.
It will invest in various stages of climate-tech and social impact in Europe and the U.S. that solve the climate crisis and advance social equality. The climate and social impact of the startups must be core to the company's purpose, i.e., intended, measurable, and net positive. According to the company, the investment ticket sizes range initially from €500,000 up to €5 million.
Fabian Heilemann, co-founder and CEO of AENU said: “Chasing profits blindly has led to collateral damage to our planet and society. It's time for a system upgrade. We need to transform towards Impact Capitalism as the new operating system for our society and economy in the 21st century. We want to drive the change towards this goal - that’s why we created our evergreen fund AENU.”
Ferry Heilemann, co-founder and partner of AENU added: “Our mission is to bring impact to the center of the VC ecosystem, increase accessibility for underrepresented target groups and achieve next level alignment between investors and entrepreneurs. We invest in technologies that contribute to solving the climate crisis or advancing social equality.”
The existing portfolio currently includes XFuel, Heirloom and Monta. The first closing of the fund has been 60% oversubscribed. Investors include unicorn CEOs such as Lawrence Leuschner (TIER), Michael Wax (Forto) and Niklas Zenstrom (Skype and Atomico) as well as a number of German family offices.
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