Calm/Storm Ventures closes €27M Fund II, expanding AUM to €50M
Vienna-based Calm/Storm Ventures has announced the close of its second early-stage fund at €27 million, alongside a €3 million co-investment vehicle. The milestone doubles the firm’s total assets under management to €50 million and signals a confident step for Austria’s most visible early-stage venture fund as it scales across Europe.
The fund follows a dual-track model: one dedicated to HealthTech, where Europe’s innovation momentum is accelerating, and another focused on Austrian Entrepreneurs, empowering homegrown founders to build globally competitive startups.
With average tickets now around €500k, Calm/Storm is evolving from a micro-seed fund into a more assertive pre-seed and seed lead investor. This shift allows for stronger participation, follow-on capacity, and a higher impact per portfolio company — essential in today’s compressed funding landscape. Around 75 percent of investments will target startups headquartered in Europe, balancing regional loyalty with pan-European ambition.
Fund II brings on SwissHealth Ventures, Bertelsmann Investments, Natural X Health Ventures, and Raiffeisen-Landesbank Steiermark as new limited partners, strengthening the firm’s healthcare, finance, and corporate reach. The fund continues under the leadership of Lucanus Polagnoli, joined by a growing team of founders and operators who blend venture experience with first-hand startup know-how. Together, they emphasize active, high-touch support — bridging early product work to scalable business execution.
HealthTech remains the fund’s cornerstone, addressing Europe’s aging population, digitization of care, and regulatory shifts. Calm/Storm aims to fund startups in preventive medicine, digital therapeutics, diagnostics, and mental health. The Austrian Entrepreneurs track ensures the firm continues to champion its home market, offering founders access to international capital and networks without leaving the region.
Why it matters:
- Maturing ecosystem: Calm/Storm’s €50M AUM positions it among Central Europe’s top early-stage players.
- HealthTech leverage: Strategic LPs open doors to real healthcare distribution and partnerships.
- Portfolio proof: Fund I hits include Storyblok, Kaleido AI (acquired by Canva), and Allyance.
- Regional leadership: The firm’s evolution provides Austria’s ecosystem a strong VC identity with European reach.
Calm/Storm’s Fund II embodies Europe’s shift toward focused, founder-centric early-stage funds that balance regional authenticity with global potential. For founders, it’s one of the few VCs capable of leading substantial first rounds while offering genuine HealthTech expertise. For LPs, it’s a thematic play on Europe’s health innovation wave, anchored by an operator-driven team and validated early exits.
Fund Momentum Take:
Calm/Storm’s Fund II positions the firm as both Austria’s flagship early-stage investor and a rising European HealthTech specialist. Bigger checks, smarter LPs, and an execution-driven team — a potent mix for the next wave of founders ready to build calm in the storm.