Gründerfonds Ruhr is a venture capital fund based in Essen, which invests in early stage startups that drive innovation and change. Our foundation was laid in 2017 with the launch of our first fund. Since then, Gründerfonds Ruhr has been an investor partner for startups, providing financial capital to ambitious founding teams from various industries. In October 2024, we closed our second fund, Gründerfonds Ruhr II, with an initial fund volume of €31M to back the next generation of founders from the Ruhr region and beyond.

We invest in seed stage B2B startups that have the potential to become market leaders in their market segment. We are active across Germany with a focus on the Ruhr region and we are not only providing financial capital, but also our entrepreneurial expertise and access to the industry through a leading network of international corporations.