Our portfolio
Innovative, driven, one of their kind – meet our exceptional founders and their teams! We have successfully invested in and supported several companies in industries such as Life Science, MedTech, Cybersecurity, EdTech and many more.
VMRay delivers cutting-edge threat detection and analysis solutions, specializing in advanced malware analysis and sandboxing. Their technology helps organizations stay ahead of cyber threats by providing detailed, automated insights into malicious activities without compromising system integrity.
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Founding Year: 2013
Initial Investment: 2022
Location(s): Bochum
Co-Investors: HTGF, Yttrium, e-Capital, TKO Capital (Brienne III), NRW.BANK
GFR Team: Thorsten Reuter
Management Team: Carsten Willems, Dr. Ralf Hund
Talpasolutions transforms industrial equipment into smart assets by leveraging advanced data analytics and AI. Their platform offers real-time insights and predictive maintenance solutions, enhancing operational efficiency, reducing downtime and improving safety in heavy industries like mining, construction and logistics.
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Founding Year: 2016
Initial Investment: 2018
Location(s): Essen
Co-Investors: HTGF, RAG S-Innovation, NRW.BANK, F-LOG Ventures, Robert Bosch Venture Capital, MIG Capital, HDI
GFR Team: Thorsten Reuter
Management Team: Sebastian-Friedrich Kowitz, Philipp Lorenz
Spherity empowers digital identity management with secure, decentralized solutions. Their technology provides organizations with scalable identity verification and credentialing systems, enabling secure interactions in various industries, including pharmaceuticals, mobility and logistics.
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Founding Year: 2017
Initial Investment: 2022
Location(s): Dortmund
Co-Investors: HTGF, SeedCapital Dortmund, Blockwall Capital, Business Angels, Dr. Carsten Stöcker, Dr. Michael Rüther
GFR Team: Jan Gräfe
Management Team: Dr. Carsten Stöcker, Dr. Michael Rüther
Masterplan revolutionizes corporate learning through an engaging, scalable e-learning platform. They enable B2B customers to empower their employees to develop the precise skills and competencies needed to meet the company’s current and future demands, driving enhanced productivity and innovation.
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Founding Year: 2017
Initial Investment: 2020
Location(s): Bochum, Berlin
Co-Investors: NRW.BANK, RAG-Stiftung, Tengelmann, DvH Ventures, Business Angel
GFR Team: Jan Gräfe
Management Team: Stefan Peukert, Talip Yenal
LIDROTEC enhances material processing with its cutting-edge laser technology for ultra-precise wafer dicing. Their innovative process uses a liquid-assisted laser to achieve cleaner cuts, reducing material loss and defects, and enabling the production of higher-quality semiconductor components for a variety of industries like semiconductor, energy, medicine, electronics and material science.
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Founding Year: 2021
Initial Investment: 2022
Location(s): Bochum
Co-Investors: Goose Capital, Luminate, Onsight Ventures, Business Angels
GFR Team: Jan Gräfe, Massi Ali Ahmadi
Management Team: Alexander Igelmann , Alexander Kanitz, Jan Hoppius , Dr. Jannis Köhler
fasciotens revolutionizes abdominal surgery with devices that optimize fascial tension, enhancing outcomes in complex procedures. By reducing the need for additional surgeries and enabling faster recovery, fasciotens' innovative technology improves patient care and surgical efficiency, particularly in cases of open abdomen and hernia treatments.
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Founding Year: 2016
Initial Investment: 2018
Location(s): Essen
Co-Investors: Coparion, RAG-Stiftung, Fa. Dahlhausen, Fa. Sorbion, 4K Immobilien
GFR Team: Florian Stinauer (NRW.BANK), Thorsten Reuter
Management Team: Dr. Gereon Lill
Emergence Therapeutics is advancing cancer treatment with its innovative Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) technology. This targeted therapy uses a highly specific antibody that binds to a surface protein unique to tumor cells, delivering potent anti-cancer drugs directly to the cancer cells while minimizing damage to healthy tissues.
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Founding Year: 2019
Initial Investment: 2019
Exit: 2023
Location(s): Duisburg
Co-Investors: NRW.BANK, Kurma Biofund, Idinvest, HTGF, BPI France/Innobio, Pontifax, Orbimed, Hadean, Surveyor, RA Capital
GFR Team: Dr. Thomas Raueiser (NRW.BANK), Dr. Marek Kozlowski (NRW.BANK), Thorsten Reuter, Jan Gräfe
Management Team: Dr. Jack Elands, Carsten Dehning
ekko transforms shopfloor operations by digitizing production and warehouse processes, making them more transparent, efficient, and sustainable. By automating routine tasks and minimizing manual interventions, ekko reduces errors, optimizes workflows, and enhances material flow, leading to increased productivity and reduced process times.
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Founding Year: 2021
Initial Investment: 2023
Location(s): Bochum
Co-Investors: DvH Ventures, Technologiefonds OWL, Saarbrücker 21, Business Angel
GFR Team: Jan Gräfe, Massi Ali Ahmadi
Management Team: Benny Philip Lehmann , Dr. Daniel Schütt
Abalos Therapeutics harnesses the unique immune stimulation of the arenavirus to develop a novel anti-cancer approach that provides the full breadth of the immune system’s power specifically against cancer cells. Through viral replication within cancer cells, Abalos’ arenavirus-based drug candidates are designed to awake precise innate and adaptive immune responses and activate all relevant immune cell types against primary tumors and metastases.
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Founding Year: 2019
Initial Investment: 2019
Location(s): Düsseldorf
Co-Investors: BI Venture Fonds, NRW.BANK, HTGF, Coparion, Seventure, Ventura, Droege Gruppe
GFR Team: Dr. Thomas Raueiser (NRW.BANK), Jan Gräfe
Management Team: Dr. Dethardt Müller, Dr. Jörg Vollmer
DIMATE transforms industrial quality assurance with its digital platform for non-destructive testing (NDT). By digitizing and automating NDT processes, DIMATE enables companies to efficiently manage and analyze inspection data, ensuring higher safety standards and reducing operational costs across different industries.
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Founding Year: 2018
Initial Investment: 2019
Location(s): Bochum
Co-Investors: HTGF, NRW.BANK, Meerkat Holding, Grönemeyer Health
GFR Team: Thorsten Reuter, Massi Ali Ahmadi
Management Team: Peter Rosiepen, Jens Martin