Lakestar
Venture capitalZurich · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 1 people tracked
Investment thesis
Lakestar invests with a long-term, concentrated approach, backing fewer companies but supporting them fully. The firm emphasizes Europe's sovereignty in critical technologies, arguing that neutrality is no longer a viable strategy and that resilience is now a requirement. It focuses on maximizing the potential of its existing portfolio and building targeted investment products to help companies grow, aiming to support Europe's prosperity by backing builders of sector-defining global companies in critical technology. Trust and founder relationships are central to its philosophy.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 1 people
from public directoriesWhat they invest in
from 13 of 13 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×7Enterprise Software ×6SaaS ×5Cybersecurity ×3Deep Tech ×3E-commerce ×3Defense Tech ×2Developer Tools ×2
HQs:Germany×4United Kingdom×3United States×3Ukraine×1South Africa×1
Investments · 13 tracked
founders shown can be your intro path
Aleph Alpha develops specialized language models and AI solutions for enterprise and public sector organizations in Europe, prioritizing data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, and domain-specific customization on European infrastructure.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareHeidelberg, DE
Samuel Weinbach(Co-Chief Research Officer, Co-Founder)Ilhan Scheer(Co-Chief Executive Officer)Reto Spörri(Co-Chief Executive Officer)
Auterion develops products and services around open standards for autonomous systems technology, contributing to open source projects and supporting academic institutions.
AI & Machine LearningDeep TechDefense TechDeveloper ToolsRoboticsn/a, US
LORENZ MEIER(Executive Officer, Director)ALEX FERRARA(Director)ROBERT RAINHART(Executive Officer)GREG SANDS(Director)KLAUS HOMMELS(Director)
Marley Spoon is a meal kit delivery service that provides fresh food and recipes to consumers.
Direct to ConsumerE-commerceFoodTechBerlin, DE
Fabian Siegel(Founder & CEO)
Matta develops industrial AI systems that integrate vision and sensor data to monitor and optimize factory operations.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningDeep TechLondon, GB
Mindgard provides AI security solutions that help enterprises identify, assess, and mitigate threats across AI models, agents, and applications throughout the AI lifecycle.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareBoston, US
Dr. Peter GarraghaninJames Brear(CEO)inAaron Portnoy(Head of Research)inRich Smith(Offensive Security Lead)in
Modulate provides AI-powered conversation monitoring and moderation for detecting fraud, abuse, and harmful behavior in human-to-human and human-to-AI interactions.
AI & Machine LearningCybersecurityEnterprise SoftwareSaaSCambridge, US
Mike(CEO)Carter(CTO)William Carter Huffman(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Pappas(Executive Officer, Director)
UFORCE manufactures unmanned military systems including naval, ground, and aerial drones for defense applications.
Defense TechHardwareRobotics
Oleksiy Honcharuk(Co-founder)in
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Lakestar invest at?
- Lakestar invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What is Lakestar's typical check size?
- Lakestar typically writes checks of $540K.
- What sectors does Lakestar focus on?
- Lakestar focuses on Deep Tech, Defense Tech, Sector Agnostic.
- Where is Lakestar located?
- Lakestar is headquartered in Zurich, CH.
- Does Lakestar lead rounds?
- Lakestar typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamKlaus Hommels, Lakestar - NOAH21 Zurich
NOAHConference · Klaus Hommels
SPACs: Geht der Boom weiter? - mit Klaus Hommels, Lakestar | MMM
Scalable Capital · Klaus Hommels
#bits19 I Klaus Hommels (Lakestar Advisors GmbH): Thoughts on the European Tech ecosystem
Bits & Pretzels · Klaus Hommels
Klaus Hommels, Lakestar - NOAH19 Tel Aviv
NOAHConference · Klaus Hommels
Dr. Klaus Hommels, Lakestar - NOAH18 London
NOAHConference · Klaus Hommels
Thoughts On The Tech Ecosystem (Klaus Hommels, Lakestar) | DLD Berlin17
DLD Conference · Klaus Hommels
Co-investors · 90
Bessemer Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs from early stages through every stage of growth, publishing investment roadmaps across multiple technology sectors.
468 Capital is a technology investment firm with offices in Berlin and San Francisco that invests across multiple stages in software, AI, and internet companies. The firm focuses on thesis-driven investments in businesses with experienced founding teams.
Andreessen Horowitz's Strategic Partnerships page describes collaborations that connect its portfolio companies with established institutions to help scale and deploy their technology.
Index Ventures is a venture capital firm that backs founders across the globe, investing in the people behind ideas from early through later stages.
FJ Labs is a venture capital firm specializing in marketplaces and network-effect businesses, having built a large portfolio of marketplace startups with over 30 becoming unicorns.
Union Square Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York City that invests in companies at the edge of large markets being transformed by technological and societal pressures.
Creandum is a venture capital firm that backs early-stage technology companies before their potential becomes obvious.
Global Founders Capital (GFC) is the global venture capital platform of Rocket Internet, investing early and across sectors in fast-growing technology companies.
HV Capital is a European venture capital firm that has backed companies across multiple industries and economic cycles for over 26 years, providing capital and support to founders.
Earlybird Venture Capital is a European venture capital firm that backs early-stage technology founders with capital, strategic support, and access to an international network.
Mosaic Ventures is a thesis-driven boutique venture capital partnership focused on applied AI, backing European AI founders and helping them scale globally.
LocalGlobe is part of a multi-generational Phoenix Court platform that backs companies from pre-seed through public markets, founded by the Klein family who are considered founders of European seed investing with multi-decade relationships across the European tech ecosystem. The fund operates from a physical founder village at Phoenix Court in London and focuses on backing unconventional entrepreneurs in specific geographic neighbourhoods, having been among the earliest institutional backers of European outliers like Wise, Zoopla, and Citymapper.
▶78 more co-investors
LEA PartnersSequoia CapitalGeneral CatalystGV (Google Ventures)Founders FundLightspeed Venture PartnersAccelKhosla VenturesGreylock PartnersNew Enterprise Associates (NEA)Notable CapitalFelicis VenturesUnknown VenturesKleiner PerkinsDST GlobalAtomicoTiger Global ManagementBalderton CapitalHardware ClubAME Cloud VenturesAccel-KKRCaffeinated CapitalStellar CapitalAfore CapitalAdditionPICUS CAPITALAcrew CapitalElectric CapitalTodd and Rahul’s Angel FundOperator LPThrive CapitalWEEKENDBitkraft Esports VenturesEQT VenturesGeneral AtlanticHaun VenturesLatitud VenturesNotion CapitalDigital Currency GroupAugust CapitalCherry VenturesMouro CapitalFlourish VenturesFreigeist CapitalAmadeus Capital PartnersFormation GroupFuture Perfect VenturesGolden VenturesSmash CapitalScalar CapitalMantis CapitalFlare Capital PartnersL CattertonHTGFJigsaw VCFoundamentalTA VenturesSpace Tech VenturessequelKima VenturesElaiaNauta CapitalAmino CollectiveOlima VenturesfinwayCapnamicAdvancit CapitalDTCPEquity AllianceEmbedded CapitalIndico Capital PartnersFlash VenturesAlpine Space VenturesMercuri.vcWitz VenturesKairos HQMalex EnterprisesIschyros New York
Firms observed investing alongside Lakestar, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Lakestar's recorded portfolio.
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