Germany's Uplift Ventures launches €100 million fund to support Europe's DeepTech startups
Hamburg- and Berlin-based Uplift Ventures has launched its first €100 million venture capital fund to finance European DeepTech companies at the late Seed and Series A stages. The fund is backed by German intralogistics group Jungheinrich.
Uplift Ventures, a venture platform founded by German intralogistics group Jungheinrich, has launched its inaugural €100 million fund aimed at supporting the next generation of DeepTech entrepreneurs in Europe. The capital will be distributed across up to 20 startups and selected DeepTech funds, primarily in Europe and the United States.
Jungheinrich CEO Dr. Lars Brzoska said DeepTech requires patient capital and partners who understand both industrial challenges and entrepreneurial ambition, adding that Uplift Ventures' investments also matter for Jungheinrich's long-term strategy beyond 2030.
Established in 2025, Uplift Ventures operates as an independently run platform backed by Jungheinrich. It has already built the compliance-automation startup turnus.ai internally and has invested in several European DeepTech funds. The new fund targets one of the largest financing gaps in Europe's tech ecosystem — the lack of capital for DeepTech companies at the late Seed and Series A stages. It will focus on four sectors: physical AI, energy, enterprise AI and logistics.
New leadership for the fund
The fund will be led by Christian Noske, who has joined Uplift Ventures as Founding General Partner, joining an existing leadership team of Kerk Wichmann, Christina Hammes and Maike Steding. Noske brings more than ten years of DeepTech investing experience, having previously led European investments at NGP Capital and served as a founding partner at BMW i Ventures and Alliance Ventures.
Noske is joined by an investment team consisting of Katharina Schild, Lukas Böttcher, Susan Suzart and Helge Jelinski, who have previously worked at firms including Cathay Innovation, Speedinvest, Mimic Robotics and Start Global, and have collectively backed more than 30 startups across various technology sectors. The company plans to keep expanding its team over the coming months as it prepares to make its first investments in 2026.
