Fund profile / Switzerland

Herbert Ventures Fund I

Geography: Switzerland
Stage: Pre-Seed
Fund size: €32.5M
Focus: AI/ML and Deep Tech
Signals: Published

N°01 / About

About Herbert Ventures Fund I

Herbert Ventures Fund I is a €32.5M (CHF 30M) pre-seed and seed deeptech fund targeting DACH and pan-European founders. Unique no follow-on reserves model with ~30 concentrated bets and 8% hurdle rate. Structured as Luxembourg SCSP via HS Capital AG.

N°02 / Thesis

Investment Focus

Location / RegionSwitzerland

Funding StagePre-Seed

Industry Focus

AI/ML

Deep Tech

Investor Signals Profile

active

Sweet Spot

European founder team, Pre-Seed/Seed, power-law conviction, co-investor aligned

Pre-Seed/Seed

Europe-wide

founder-teams-only

power-law-outliers

pre-category-bets

Bullish Signals

First close announced April 2026, actively writing checks nowblog

8% LP hurdle rate signals high conviction and outperformance orientationblog

No follow-on reserves eliminates downstream cap table politicsblog

Portfolio: Droidrun, Pluto, Rheo, DPHI Space, Helio, Logbook, Lumvin, Billtewebsite

Strong founder NPS — multiple unsolicited testimonials on value-addwebsite

Always co-invests — founder gets broader VC network instantlywebsite

Check size 500K–1M — transparent, no ambiguitywebsite

Luis: Zurich + Madrid dual hub coveragewebsite

Back founders wherever they build, not Europe-lockedwebsite

LP base: experienced entrepreneurs + industry leaders alignedwebsite

Ben: direct guidance on vision, strengthens commercial tractionwebsite

Luis: connector sparks opportunities, relentless founder supportwebsite

Ben challenges teams think bigger, bolder growthnew_content

Underpromise, overdeliver — transparent + intellectually honest partnershipnew_content

Find people that build the future, not predict itnew_content

Outcomes driven by people, not industriesnew_content

Disciplined operators with straightforward partnership ethosnew_content

Built clear industry understanding, valid assumptions over hypenew_content

Connects expert reviewers, strengthens commercial traction directlynew_content

Contrarian Signals

No follow-on reserves — cannot back winners post-Series Ablog

Only ~30 slots; binary selection, no exploratory checksblog

Consumer-only or non-DeepTech pitches poor fitblog

Solo founders categorically excluded — hard filterwebsite

Opportunistic by nature — no defined sector focusnew_content

Pre-category bets — market validation not requirednew_content

Founder Do's

Come as team — solo founders rejected

Show relentless drive + operational excellence

Build Europe-based or Europe-connected

Embrace co-investor syndicates for network

Have clear conviction on future differentiation

Founder Don'ts

Pitch solo — non-negotiable team requirement

Expect follow-on reserves or Series A backing

Lead with hype — intellectually honest diligence required

35 signals on Herbert Ventures Fund I

19 bullish · 6 contrarian · 5 pitch do's · 3 don'ts · 2 GP profiles, each with its source. From €9/month, cancel anytime.

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Facts

Fund Overview

Fund Size€32.5M

Saves0

Website

People

Key People

Ben Simon, Luis Huber

Ben SimonGeneral Partner

Luis HuberGeneral Partner

N°04 / See also

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