--- title: European Venture Capital Firm redalpine Closes $250 Million Fund to Back Science-Based Start-Ups From Seed description: redalpine's oversubscribed $250M early-stage fund will lead seed and Series A rounds in about 20 European software and science start-ups. author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-10T15:00:39.458Z updated: 2026-11-10T15:00:39.479Z canonical: https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/european-venture-capital-redalpine image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/redalpine-team.webp categories: Artificial Intelligence, Startups content_type: Spotlight region: Zurich publication: Sovereign Magazine about: - type: Organization name: redalpine description: redalpine is a European venture capital firm founded in Zurich in 2006 that invests in software and science companies from seed to IPO. It manages more than $1.4 billion, has offices in Zug, Berlin and London, and has backed companies including Proxima Fusion, Mistral AI and N26. url: https://www.redalpine.com foundingDate: 2006-01-01T00:00:00.000Z industry: Venture capital --- redalpine, the European venture capital firm founded in Zurich in 2006, has closed its eighth early-stage fund at $250 million. The fund, redalpine capital VIII (RAC VIII), was oversubscribed and is the firm's largest early-stage fund to date, 25% larger than the $200 million RAC VII that closed in 2024. redalpine now manages more than $1.4 billion. RAC VIII will invest in about 20 companies across Europe, mostly leading seed and Series A rounds with first cheques of between $1 million and $15 million. The firm looks at more than 5,000 companies a year. Its first three investments from the new fund are Enact Intelligence in Zurich, which develops force intelligence technology for robots; [Helical](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/helical-ai-drug-discovery-seed-round) in London, which is building a virtual AI lab for reproducible drug discovery; and Arlequin AI in Paris, which is developing a new AI architecture to protect critical systems. ## European Venture Capital Fundraising and RAC VIII's Investors > "European self-confidence is back, and nowhere more visibly than among institutional investors, who are now putting real conviction behind European technology." > — Rafael Hubatschek, Partner and Head of Investor Relations at redalpine Both returning and new limited partners, the institutions and individuals who commit money to a venture fund, invested in RAC VIII. They include Aviva Investors, the asset management business of the British insurer Aviva; Flexstone Partners, a private markets investment firm; and KfW, Germany's state-owned development bank. Entrepreneurs, executives with industry expertise and business owners also invested, and redalpine draws on their experience to help the companies it backs. Cynthia Chen, head of fintech at Aviva Investors, said the partnership would give the firm greater access to "some of the most exciting, high-growth, disruptive and innovative start-ups across the UK and Europe". "At a time when global VC markets are competing more intensely than ever for investor capital, we are thrilled to partner with the team at redalpine," she said. "We view partnerships like this as being vital for the continued growth of our portfolio and, ultimately, supporting the delivery of long-term investment outcomes for pension investors." redalpine began with a single early-stage fund and now invests at every stage, so it can keep backing in a company from its seed round through to a stock market listing. Part of the firm's stated aim is for more of the value created by European technology companies to stay with European investors, including pension funds. It has offices in Zug, Berlin and London, and a presence in Silicon Valley, and the firm says close to half of the companies in RAC VII are based in the UK. ## Deep Tech Venture Capital at redalpine The firm was founded by Michael Sidler, a molecular biologist, and Peter Niederhauser, a software entrepreneur. Over 20 years it has invested in [fusion energy, AI, robotics and biotechnology](https://www.sovereignmagazine.com/article/switzerland-deep-tech-investment), often, the firm says, before they became established areas for venture investors. Half of its investment team are trained scientists, among them biologists, physicists and engineers, which the firm says allows it to assess complex technologies when a company is at its earliest stage. "Twenty years ago, we started redalpine with the conviction that the most important companies would emerge where software and science meet," Sidler said. "That belief hasn't changed. With RAC VIII, we're excited to keep backing these founders early, before the opportunity is obvious." "AI is leveling the playing field more than ever," said Sebastian Becker, a general partner who opened the firm's London office in 2024. "The advantage now lies with whoever understands the underlying science and the hardest problems best, and that has always been Europe's strength," he said. "We're seeing a new generation of highly ambitious founders who are determined to build and scale world-leading tech companies from here and establish Europe as a global technology power." ## Proxima Fusion and redalpine's Exits Since 2023 redalpine led the €20 million seed round of Proxima Fusion, the Munich company designing a stellarator fusion power plant, in 2024. In July this year Proxima raised €411 million in a round that valued it at about €2.4 billion, which the company says makes it the best-funded fusion company in Europe. "redalpine was early in understanding Proxima's potential for Europe's energy future and led our Seed round," said Francesco Sciortino, Proxima's co-founder and chief executive. "With RAC VIII, they can bring that same speed and technical depth to more founders tackling genuinely hard and important problems." The firm's other investments include the French AI model developer Mistral AI, the German digital bank N26 and Basecamp Research, a London company that uses AI to design proteins from biodiversity data. The firm says it has backed more than 130 companies, which have created more than 10,000 jobs and raised more than $3 billion between them. Twelve of its portfolio companies have been sold or otherwise exited since 2023, a period in which exits across the technology sector were scarce. They include Lakera, the Zurich AI security company bought by Check Point; Araris Biotech, acquired by Japan's Taiho Pharmaceutical; and Memo Therapeutics, which Ipsen agreed to buy in July. The companies backed by RAC VII have raised more than $1.1 billion between them since that fund closed. **About redalpine** redalpine is a European venture capital firm founded in Zurich in 2006 that invests in software and science companies from seed to IPO. It manages more than $1.4 billion, has offices in Zug, Berlin and London, and has backed companies including Proxima Fusion, Mistral AI and N26. [Website](https://www.redalpine.com) ## FAQ **Q: What does it mean when a venture capital fund is oversubscribed?** A fund is oversubscribed when investors offer to commit more money than the firm set out to raise. redalpine's RAC VIII closed oversubscribed at $250 million, 25% more than its previous early-stage fund. **Q: What is an early-stage venture capital fund?** An early-stage fund invests in young companies, usually at the seed and Series A rounds, when a product or technology is still being proven. RAC VIII will mostly lead seed and Series A rounds in about 20 European companies, with first investments of $1 million to $15 million. **Q: Who invested in redalpine's RAC VIII fund?** The fund's limited partners include Aviva Investors, Flexstone Partners and KfW, alongside other returning and new institutions, entrepreneurs, executives and business owners. **Q: Which companies has redalpine backed?** redalpine has backed more than 130 companies, including Proxima Fusion, Mistral AI, N26 and Basecamp Research. The first companies in RAC VIII are Enact Intelligence, Helical and Arlequin AI.