About us

As an early stage VC, we support ambitious founders from the beginning in building companies that drive innovation and change. Our first fund started in 2017 and since then has backed 10 startups from various industries. In October 2024, we closed our second fund, Gründerfonds Ruhr II, with an initial fund volume of €31M.

We empower innovative founders with venture capital and entrepreneurial support.

Vision & values

With Gründerfonds Ruhr, we are empowering founders and innovation in the Ruhr region and beyond. We invest in a broad spectrum of forward-looking sectors, thereby strengthening their innovative power. We not only provide financial capital, but also our entrepreneurial expertise and access to the industry through a leading network of international corporations.

Investment focus

As an early stage VC with a B2B-tech focus, we invest in seed stage companies that are able to solve relevant customer problems with their product and have the potential to become market leaders in their market segment. With our second fund generation, Gründerfonds Ruhr II, we invest across Germany with a focus on the Ruhr region. While we are sector-agnostic, we concentrate on industries like Life Science, Cybersecurity, and Industry 4.0.

Our history

Gründerfonds Ruhr was founded in 2017 based on an initiative of the Initiativkreis Ruhr and the NRW.BANK. The idea was to establish the first regional early stage VC fund with a focus on the technology hub Ruhr, a region with excellent entrepreneurial and industrial conditions, enormous innovative strength and great startup potential.

Despite the promising conditions, there has been a lack of capital to fund early stage startups and to support the strong startup and growth momentum in the region. To close this gap, Gründerfonds Ruhr I was launched with a fund volume of €34M as the region’s first private early-stage fund. Gründerfonds Ruhr I is successfully managed by Thorsten Reuter and Jan Gräfe with support from NRW.BANK.

After successfully completing the first fund’s investment cycle, we have reorganized ourselves and are now operating as an independent venture capital fund under the lead of the experienced fund managers Jan Gräfe and Ann-Christin Kortenbrede.

We are based in one of the largest technology hubs in Germany, the Ruhr region. The region does not only offer us great access to 22 excellent universities and colleges, world-leading research institutions and renowned international industry and corporations, it is also the home to an inspiring and thriving startup ecosystem.

We not only provide financial capital, but also our entrepreneurial expertise and access to the industry through a leading network of international corporations. As a trustworthy partner, our aim is to support startups with the right resources and lead them to success.

Timo Bartell - Deputy Head Asset Management, RAG-Foundation

Located in the heart of Europe, the Ruhr region is an aspiring startup landscape with a deeply-rooted industrial culture and a large pool of innovative ideas. With the new fund generation, Gründerfonds Ruhr II, a high-quality team, and a strong network of VC and industry partners, Gründerfonds Ruhr is in a great position to invest into the most promising startups from the region. We as the RAG-Foundation would like to support with our deep industry expertise.

Johanna Antonie Tjaden-Schulte - Member of the Managing Board of NRW.BANK

We need a faster pace of innovation and more ideas from innovative startups to shape the future in North Rhine-Westphalia. This requires funding. By participating in Gründerfonds Ruhr II, we aim to even better harness the potential of the Ruhr area, with its dense research landscape and urban environment.