Earlybird Fund VIII

About Earlybird Fund VIII

Berlin-based Earlybird Venture Capital closed Fund VIII at €360 million on April 30, 2026, the largest fund in the firm's 29-year history. The firm also formalized a perpetual ownership model where GP equity stays exclusively with active partners. Total platform AUM is €2.5 billion. Thesis covers AI applications, software infrastructure, foundation models, and deeptech across Europe.

Investment Focus

Location / RegionGermany

Funding StageSeed

Industry Focus

Ai Ml

Data Infrastructure

Deep Tech

Enterprise Software

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

European seed/Series A founder building AI applications, software infrastructure, foundation models, or genuine deeptech with technical defensibility

Deeptech

AI Applications

Software Infrastructure

Foundation Models

European Early-Stage

Seed / Series A

Bullish Signals

€360M Fund VIII closed Apr 2026, largest in firm's 29-year history, oversubscribed with repeat institutional LPs and family officesfundmomentum.vc/blog/...

Perpetual ownership model: GP equity stays with active partners only, no external sale, no buy-in requirement — most significant structural innovation in European VC this yearfundmomentum.vc/blog/...

€2.5B total AUM across all strategies including Earlybird Health and growth; portfolio includes Black Forest Labs, SpAItial AI, Sintra AI, Arago, Porters, Riviafundmomentum.vc/blog/...

Contrarian Signals

Perpetual ownership model is unproven across a real generational handoff; carry-only retention works only while performance stays top-quartilefundmomentum.vc/blog/...

Exposed to European deeptech growth-stage funding gap — best portfolio companies may still need transatlantic capital partners to scalefundmomentum.vc/blog/...

Founder Do's

Build in AI applications, software infra, or frontier deeptech

Have genuine technical moat (90/10 tech vs business model)

Be European or building with European operations

Expect active board partnership, not passive capital

Target seed or Series A with €5–15M check sizes

Founder Don'ts

Don't pitch pure business model innovation without tech moat

Don't pitch consumer plays without a technology-differentiated layer

Don't expect Earlybird to be a passive financial investor

Key GPs & Partners

Dr. Hendrik Brandis

Co-Founder & General Partner

Dr. Christian Nagel

Co-Founder & General Partner

Paul Klemm

General Partner

Tim Rehder

General Partner

Dr. Andre Retterath

General Partner

Jochen Küst

Operating Partner & CFO

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Fund Overview

Fund Size€360M

Saves0

Website

Key People

Earlybird Venture Capital

Dr. Hendrik BrandisCo-Founder & General Partner

Dr. Christian NagelCo-Founder & General Partner

Paul KlemmGeneral Partner

Tim RehderGeneral Partner

Dr. Andre RetterathGeneral Partner

Jochen KüstOperating Partner & CFO

About Earlybird Fund VIII

Investment Focus

Investor Signals Profile

Sweet Spot

Bullish Signals

Contrarian Signals

Founder Do's

Founder Don'ts

Key GPs & Partners

Unlock Investor Signals

Fund Overview

Key People

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