Uplift Ventures Launches EUR100M Fund for European Deep Tech
TL;DR
Uplift Ventures, the deep tech investment vehicle built and single-handedly backed by German intralogistics giant Jungheinrich, has launched a €100 million fund led by founding General Partner Christian Noske, a veteran deep tech investor who previously helped start BMW i Ventures and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi's Alliance Ventures before spending five years leading European investments at NGP Capital. The fund will write €1-5 million checks, mostly €2-3 million, into Seed and Series A companies across Physical AI, Energy, Enterprise AI, and Logistics, split roughly 80% Europe and 20% US, with a target of up to 20 portfolio positions. It's a genuinely well-timed launch: European deep tech pulled in a record $20.3 billion in VC in 2025, but the region still produces roughly 45% of the world's deep tech startups while capturing only 17% of global deep tech funding, and fewer than 55% of the continent's large funding rounds are even led by local investors.
Key Takeaways
This is a single-LP fund, and that's worth being direct about. Uplift Ventures is backed entirely by Jungheinrich, a 70-plus-year-old, publicly listed German intralogistics and material handling company, rather than a diversified LP base of pension funds, endowments, and family offices. That's structurally closer to a strategic corporate venture vehicle than a traditional independent fund, even though it's described as operating independently and investing well beyond Jungheinrich's core business. Founders should understand that dynamic going in, since a single corporate LP means the fund's longevity and appetite for follow-on funds ultimately depends on one company's continued strategic commitment rather than a broad LP base re-upping.
Christian Noske's résumé is about as strong as corporate deep tech venture credentials get. Founding partner roles at both BMW i Ventures and Alliance Ventures, plus five years running NGP Capital's European deep tech investing, is a genuinely rare combination, and his prior portfolio, The Exploration Company, ANYbotics, Tekion, Dataloop, and WeRide, includes several category-defining deep tech names. That track record is likely exactly why Jungheinrich was able to attract him to build an externally-focused fund rather than keep deep tech investing purely in-house.
The European deep tech funding gap this fund is targeting is real and well-documented. Europe generates around 45% of the world's deep tech startups but captures only about 17% of global deep tech funding, and only 54% of the continent's €15 million-plus rounds are led by local investors, compared to roughly 80% in the US. A dedicated, well-capitalized European deep tech fund with US reach addresses a structural imbalance the ecosystem has been flagging for years, not a manufactured narrative.
Twenty portfolio companies from €100 million is a concentrated, high-conviction construction. At €1-5 million checks and a 20-company target, this isn't a spray-and-pray seed fund, it's built for meaningful ownership and real reserves per company. That construction fits Noske's stated emphasis on product-obsessed founders and genuine conviction, but it also means the fund has less room for error than a more diversified vehicle, and each investment decision carries outsized weight in the fund's eventual returns.
Fund Overview
Fund Name: Uplift Ventures DeepTech Fund
Fund Size: €100 million
Stage: Seed to Series A
Check Size: €1-5 million, mostly €2-3 million
Geography: Roughly 80% Europe, 20% US
Focus: Physical AI, Energy, Enterprise AI, and Logistics
Key LPs: Jungheinrich (sole disclosed limited partner)
Why This Fund Matters
The European deep tech funding gap isn't a new observation, but the numbers behind it remain genuinely striking: a region producing roughly 45% of the world's deep tech startups capturing only about 17% of global deep tech funding is a structural mismatch, not a temporary dip. Uplift Ventures is positioning itself directly inside that gap, with enough capital and check size flexibility to lead or co-lead the Series A rounds where European deep tech companies most often have to look to US investors, since fewer than 55% of the continent's largest rounds currently have a European lead.
The corporate backing is the part of this story that deserves the most scrutiny, in both directions. On the positive side, a single, deep-pocketed strategic LP like Jungheinrich can offer patient capital and real industrial expertise and customer relationships in logistics, automation, and physical AI, exactly the domains where the fund is investing, and exactly where founders often struggle to get credible customer introductions from purely financial investors. On the more cautious side, single-LP funds carry concentration risk: if Jungheinrich's strategic priorities or financial position shift, the fund's ability to raise a follow-on vehicle or even fully deploy this one could be affected in ways a diversified LP base would better insulate against.
Noske's personal background is arguably the strongest signal in this announcement. Having helped stand up two separate major automotive corporate venture programs, BMW i Ventures and Alliance Ventures, before running NGP Capital's European deep tech book, he's one of a small number of investors globally with real pattern recognition across both the corporate-strategic and financial-return sides of deep tech investing. That dual fluency should help Uplift Ventures credibly compete for deals against both traditional VCs and other strategic investors, which is a genuine differentiation in a category where founders often have to choose between smart money and patient money.
The 80/20 Europe-US split is also a deliberate structural choice worth noting. Rather than positioning as a purely European fund, Uplift is explicitly building transatlantic reach from day one, which mirrors Noske's own career path and should help portfolio companies that need US customers, talent, or follow-on capital, a persistent weak point for European deep tech companies trying to scale globally.
The Team
Christian Noske is Founding General Partner, bringing more than a decade of deep tech investing experience including founding partner roles at BMW i Ventures and at Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi's Alliance Ventures, followed by five years leading European investments at NGP Capital. His prior investments are reported to include The Exploration Company, ANYbotics, Tekion, Dataloop, and WeRide. Noske also hosts the "Deep Tech Unleashed" podcast. He has said he is building Uplift Ventures together with Christina Hammes, Kerk Wichmann, and Maike Steding, who lead the broader Uplift Ventures platform at Jungheinrich (Hammes as Managing Director and Venture Building Lead, Wichmann as Managing Director, and Steding leading venture clienting and operations, per the firm's own site), alongside an investment team including Helge Jelinski, Katharina Schild, Lukas Böttcher, and Susan Suzart. It's worth noting that Hammes, Wichmann, and Steding's primary public roles as described by Uplift Ventures relate to the broader venture-building platform rather than being named General Partners of the €100 million DeepTech Fund specifically, so founders and co-investors should confirm current fund-level titles directly with the firm.
Early Portfolio
Uplift Ventures' broader platform has already built turnus.ai, a compliance automation company founded in-house in October 2025 by Tobias Seidel and Ferdinand Heck, ahead of this fund's launch. No direct portfolio companies backed specifically by the €100 million DeepTech Fund have been publicly named yet, with first investments reportedly expected by the end of 2026.
What This Means for Founders
If you're a Seed-to-Series A deep tech founder in Physical AI, Energy, Enterprise AI, or Logistics, particularly if you need a credible European lead investor rather than defaulting to a US fund for your next round, Uplift Ventures is now a legitimate option with real check size and conviction to lead. Given Noske's stated emphasis on product obsession, clear communication, and speed, and his explicit skepticism toward vague competitive claims, come prepared with a sharp, specific articulation of why your technology wins and concrete evidence of customer usage patterns, not generic percentage-better-than-competitor claims.
Founders whose businesses could plausibly benefit from intralogistics, automation, or industrial customer relationships should also recognize the potential value of Jungheinrich's backing beyond the check itself, but should go in with realistic expectations about what a single-corporate-LP fund can and can't offer relative to a traditional multi-LP fund when it comes to long-term capital availability across market cycles.
Fund Momentum Take
We like the thesis here more than we're neutral on the structure. The European deep tech financing gap is one of the more legitimate, data-backed narratives in venture right now, not a fundraising talking point, and a €100 million fund with real check size and a genuinely credentialed GP is a meaningful addition to a still-thin field of dedicated European deep tech Series A leads. Noske's track record gives this fund real credibility from day one in a way that's rare for a first-time fund, corporate-backed or not.
Our honest reservation is the single-LP structure. Jungheinrich's backing gives Uplift real patient capital and strategic value today, but it also means the fund's future is more tightly coupled to one company's fortunes and strategic priorities than a traditional diversified fund would be. We'd want to see how Uplift talks about follow-on fund plans and LP diversification over the next few years before treating this as a fully independent, durable platform rather than a very well-resourced corporate venture program with unusually strong outside talent running it.
Our bet: Noske's network and credibility land Uplift several strong deals fast, the fund becomes a go-to European co-lead for Series A deep tech rounds that would otherwise default to a US investor, and the more interesting question in two to three years is whether Jungheinrich lets this platform bring in outside LPs for a Fund II, which would be the real test of whether this becomes a lasting independent firm rather than a corporate venture program with a great GP.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Uplift Ventures?
It's a €100 million deep tech investment fund backed by German intralogistics company Jungheinrich, led by founding General Partner Christian Noske, investing in Seed-to-Series A companies across Physical AI, Energy, Enterprise AI, and Logistics.
Who backs the fund?
Jungheinrich is the fund's sole disclosed limited partner. Uplift Ventures operates as an independently-run venture platform built and financed by Jungheinrich as part of its broader industrial strategy.
What check sizes does the fund write?
Typically €1-5 million, with most checks in the €2-3 million range, targeting a portfolio of up to 20 companies.
What geography does the fund cover?
Roughly 80% of investments are expected in Europe, with about 20% in the US, reflecting founding GP Christian Noske's transatlantic investing background.
Who is Christian Noske?
He's a deep tech investor with more than a decade of experience, including founding partner roles at BMW i Ventures and Alliance Ventures, and five years leading European investments at NGP Capital, with prior portfolio companies reported to include The Exploration Company, ANYbotics, Tekion, Dataloop, and WeRide.
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