Germany conducts research at a world-class level. Yet many technologies fail to make the transition from the laboratory to the market, not because of their quality but because of a lack of capital.
The Joachim Herz Foundation and the Berlin-based investment platform Marvelous are addressing this with the new Marvelous Scito Fund, which has a volume of €20 million.
German venture capital volume has fallen from $24.7 billion in 2021 to $9.8 billion in 2025. By 2030, the growth capital gap in the deeptech segment could increase to around €10 billion annually. Traditional venture capital funds avoid these early stages because technological, market-related, and operational uncertainties do not align with their risk-return profiles.
The Marvelous Scito Fund offers foundation capital with a long-term investment horizon and social mission that can provide stability and momentum during these phases. It invests in teams developing and commercialising technologies with clear potential for industrial scaling, societal benefit and ecological impact. It focuses on Advanced Materials, Waste Valorisation and Robotics.
The Joachim Herz Foundation was founded in Hamburg in 2008 to enable effective solutions for resource efficiency, climate protection, and the securing of skilled labour. It helps ensure that more innovations from cutting-edge research reach practical application and supports entrepreneurial talent in developing innovative business models. It promotes future skills and digital transformation to provide new impetus for vocational education and training.
With its investment, the Joachim Herz Foundation aims to set an example within the German innovation ecosystem – and serve as a model for how philanthropic capital in Germany can play a stronger role as an innovation driver.
Marvelous is a European investment platform focused on the commercialisation of physical deeptech innovations. Based in Berlin, the company combines scientific excellence with industrial execution capabilities, investing in early-stage technologies that support the transition to an emission- and waste-free economy.
Marvelous Capital manages the Marvelous Scito Fund and operates through two complementary investment strategies. First, through its early-stage vehicle, Marvelous Ventures, the firm invests directly in deeptech startups at the pre-seed and seed stages.
Second, through the Marvelous Scito Fund, Marvelous manages capital on behalf of the Joachim Herz Foundation, investing both in selected deeptech venture funds and alongside them in startups. This dual approach provides broad yet targeted exposure to Germany’s deeptech ecosystem.
According to Ulrich Müller, CFO of the Joachim Herz Foundation, the Foundation’s asset management strategy is being continuously developed.
“By expanding into venture capital, we are complementing our existing investment strategy with another asset class, aiming to generate sustainable market-level returns here as well.
At the same time, we are increasingly investing part of the foundation’s capital while taking impact-oriented aspects into account.”
Chris Heyer, General Partner at Marvelous, sees this as the core of the platform strategy:
“The Marvelous Scito Fund is a consistent step in implementing our vision of a platform.
Marvelous Capital and Marvelous Catalyst work hand in hand: while we invest specifically in startups through our various funds, we also support them operationally through the Catalyst in achieving market readiness.”
Lead image: Magnific.
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