Vi Partners unveils $189M fund for European deeptech founders
Vi Partners, one of Switzerland’s longest-standing venture capital firms, has launched a new fund of approximately $189 million (around €175 million) to support Europe’s next wave of deeptech and life sciences startups. The fund is backed by leading institutional players, including ETH Zurich and Nestlé, underscoring the growing confidence in research-driven innovation across the continent.
The fresh capital will be deployed to early-stage founders building breakthrough technologies in areas such as advanced materials, AI and machine learning, robotics, semiconductors, biotech and digital health. With this vehicle, Vi Partners aims to bridge the gap between world-class European research and globally scalable companies.
Deep academic roots: ETH Zurich at the core
Founded more than two decades ago, Vi Partners has its origins in the innovation ecosystem surrounding ETH Zurich, one of Europe’s leading technical universities. Over the years, the firm has built a reputation for helping spin out high-potential startups from academic laboratories and research institutes.
By participating as a key backer in the new fund, ETH Zurich is reinforcing its strategy of turning fundamental research into market-ready products. The partnership provides a structured pathway for scientists and engineers seeking to commercialise their work, while giving Vi Partners privileged access to a steady pipeline of cutting-edge technologies.
From lab to market
The fund will focus primarily on seed and Series A rounds, where the gap between scientific proof-of-concept and commercial traction is often the widest. This is typically the stage at which deeptech startups need not only capital, but also guidance on regulatory strategy, industrial partnerships, and international expansion.
With its academic network and long-standing relationships with European universities, Vi Partners is positioning itself as a specialised partner for founders navigating this complex journey.
Nestlé’s strategic interest in frontier innovation
The participation of Nestlé, one of the world’s largest food and nutrition companies, highlights the strategic relevance of deeptech and life science innovation for established corporates. As consumer behaviour, health expectations and sustainability requirements evolve, large groups are increasingly looking to startups for disruptive technologies.
For Nestlé, backing a specialised fund like Vi Partners offers exposure to novel solutions in areas such as nutrition science, metabolic health, personalised healthcare, bioprocessing and sustainable materials that could reshape supply chains and product portfolios.
Corporate–startup collaboration
While financial returns remain a core objective, corporate investors increasingly seek strategic alignment. Through the fund, startups may gain access to potential pilot projects, distribution channels and domain expertise from large industrial partners, while maintaining their independence.
Such collaboration models are becoming a cornerstone of the European innovation ecosystem, particularly in capital-intensive fields where early customers and industrial validation can be as valuable as funding.
Why deeptech in Europe is attracting larger funds
Europe has long been recognised for its strength in fundamental research, but historically lagged behind the US in converting that research into venture-backed companies. Over the last five years, this dynamic has started to shift, especially in deeptech, where the continent’s engineering and scientific talent is a key competitive advantage.
Several macro trends are driving investor interest:
- Geopolitical pressure to secure supply chains in semiconductors, energy and critical materials.
- Regulatory support from initiatives like the EU’s Horizon Europe and national innovation programs.
- Growing pools of experienced founders emerging from earlier waves of European tech successes.
- Increased appetite from institutional investors for differentiated, high-impact strategies.
The $189 million fund from Vi Partners slots into this broader movement, adding another specialised player capable of writing meaningful tickets at the early stages while staying close to the scientific frontier.
Investment strategy: from Switzerland to pan-European reach
Although rooted in Switzerland, Vi Partners is targeting a pan-European portfolio. The firm is expected to prioritise startups emerging from leading research hubs in Switzerland, Germany, France, the Nordics and the Benelux region, where concentrations of technical universities and research institutes are highest.
Ticket sizes and portfolio construction
The fund is likely to back:
- Seed rounds with initial tickets in the low-to-mid single-digit millions of dollars, with reserves for follow-on funding.
- Series A rounds where capital is required for industrialisation, clinical validation or regulatory approval.
- A diversified portfolio across software-driven deeptech and hardware-intensive ventures to balance risk and capital needs.
By combining financial capital with operational support, network access and strategic partnerships, Vi Partners aims to help founders navigate complex go-to-market paths in regulated and infrastructure-heavy sectors.
What this means for founders and the European ecosystem
For early-stage founders in deeptech and life sciences, the new fund represents an additional, highly specialised source of capital at a time when broader venture markets have cooled. While generalist investors have become more cautious, dedicated funds with long time horizons and scientific expertise continue to deploy into high-conviction opportunities.
The backing of institutions like ETH Zurich and Nestlé also sends a signal to the market: deep, research-based innovation remains a priority, even amid macroeconomic uncertainty. This can encourage more researchers to consider entrepreneurship and more corporates to engage with startups as partners in transformation.
For the wider European ecosystem, the launch of the $189 million vehicle by Vi Partners adds momentum to a growing cluster of funds focused on frontier technologies. As these funds scale, they may help Europe retain more of its top talent, commercialise more of its intellectual property, and build globally relevant companies in sectors that define the next industrial era.
Outlook: deeptech as a long-term play
Deeptech investing typically requires longer time horizons than consumer or pure software plays, with extended R&D cycles and significant regulatory hurdles. Yet it also offers the potential for defensible intellectual property, high barriers to entry and transformative impact.
By raising a substantial, targeted fund, Vi Partners is betting that Europe’s combination of scientific excellence, supportive regulation and maturing venture infrastructure can produce the next generation of category-defining companies. For founders in labs and research centres across the continent, the signal is clear: capital and support are increasingly available for those ready to turn breakthrough science into scalable businesses.