Where does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg work?

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg is President & Managing Director at General Catalyst.

What check size does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg write?

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg typically writes checks of $500K – $2M.

What boards does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg sit on?

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg holds tracked board seats at Helsing, Mistral, Mistral AI.

What companies has Jeannette zu Fürstenberg invested in?

Investments tracked here include Deel, Forto, Personio.

Where did Jeannette zu Fürstenberg go to school?

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg studied at Freie Universität Berlin (Doctorate, The Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Art).

Jeannette zu Fürstenberg

Investor

President & Managing Director at General Catalyst

Berlin

Writes $500K – $2M checks · typically $1M

Midas 2026 · #71

About

President and Managing Director at General Catalyst, leading its European business, and a founding partner of La Famiglia VC (which merged with GC). She focuses on AI, climate, industrial transformation, defense, and software, and sits on the boards of Helsing and Mistral. She holds a PhD in Philosophy and Entrepreneurship from Freie Universität Berlin.

Invests in

AI & Machine LearningClimate TechDefense TechEnterprise SoftwareSaaS

Beyond investing

Founded: In 2011 she and her husband founded Fürstenberg Zeitgenössisch, a contemporary art foundation and artist grant program with fellowships and exhibitions. In 2016 she co-founded La Famiglia VC, an early-stage European venture capital fund, with co-founder Robert Lacher.
Education: Studied at LMU Munich (communications and economics) Studied at ESCP Business School (Master's, economics) Studied at Free University of Berlin (Doctorate, business administration (entrepreneurship and art during the Renaissance)) Studied at Freie Universität Berlin (PhD, Philosophy and Entrepreneurship) Studied at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Boards: She serves on the Board of Governors of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (ifw).
Communities: She and General Catalyst lead the EU's AI Champions initiative, bringing together 120 European companies to advance AI leadership. She moderated a roundtable on Applied AI hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Hobbies: She began playing polo in 2010 and co-founded the Fürstenberg Polo Club with her husband that year.
Family: Her maternal family owns the measuring technology company Krohne Messtechnik, a German Mittelstand 'hidden champion'. In 2010 she married Christian Prinz zu Fürstenberg in a civil ceremony in Donaueschingen. She cites her grandfather, entrepreneur and painter Kristian Rademacher-Dubbick, as an influence on her artistic taste and business thinking.
More: She speaks five languages.

From Jeannette's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Experience

General CatalystPresident & Managing Directorcurrent2024 — present
Onodrim IndustriesInvestorcurrent2025 — present
ICEYEInvestorcurrent2025 — present
LegoraBoard Membercurrent2025 — present
Black Forest LabsInvestorcurrent2024 — present
HypersonicaInvestorcurrent2024 — present
MistralBoard Membercurrent2023 — present
RampInvestorcurrent2023 — present
DeelInvestorcurrent2019 — present
HelsingBoard Membercurrent2021 — present
Stoke SpaceInvestorcurrent2020 — present
PersonioInvestorcurrent2019 — present
GroqInvestorcurrent2018 — present
Applied IntuitionInvestorcurrent2018 — present
La Famiglia VCFounding Partnercurrent2016 — present

Education

Freie Universität BerlinDoctorate, The Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Art2009 — 2012

Investments

Board seats

HelsingMistralMistral AI

Investor

Deel Forto Personio

Sources: the firm's website · curated public sources.

Colleagues at General Catalyst

Adam Valkin

Investment Team at General Catalyst

Alex Tran

Investment Team at General Catalyst

Chris Bischoff

Investment Team at General Catalyst

David Fialkow

Investment Team at General Catalyst

Deep Nishar

Investment Team at General Catalyst

Elena Viboch

Managing Director at General Catalyst

Gabriella Giglio

HR & Executive Talent at General Catalyst

Hemant Taneja

CEO & Managing Director of General Catalyst

Network4

Alexander Rinke

Investor at Celonis

Bettine Schmitz

General Partner at Auxxo

Garrett Koehn

Venture Partner at IA Seed Ventures

Gloria Baeuerlein

Investor at Blume Equity

Investors connected to Jeannette in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jeannette zu Fürstenberg?: President and Managing Director at General Catalyst, leading its European business, and a founding partner of La Famiglia VC (which merged with GC). She focuses on AI, climate, industrial transformation, defense, and software, and sits on the boards of Helsing and Mistral. She holds a PhD in Philosophy and Entrepreneurship from Freie Universität Berlin.
Where does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg work?: Jeannette zu Fürstenberg is President & Managing Director at General Catalyst.
What does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg invest in?: Jeannette zu Fürstenberg invests in AI & Machine Learning, Climate Tech, Defense Tech, Enterprise Software, SaaS.
What check size does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg write?: Jeannette zu Fürstenberg typically writes checks of $500K – $2M.
What boards does Jeannette zu Fürstenberg sit on?: Jeannette zu Fürstenberg holds tracked board seats at Helsing, Mistral, Mistral AI.
What companies has Jeannette zu Fürstenberg invested in?: Investments tracked here include Deel, Forto, Personio.
Where did Jeannette zu Fürstenberg go to school?: Jeannette zu Fürstenberg studied at Freie Universität Berlin (Doctorate, The Intersection of Entrepreneurship and Art).