Swiss VC firm Founderful closes oversubscribed $140M Fund II

Swiss VC Firm Founderful has closed an oversubscribed $140 million Fund II. 

Established in 2019 by a trio of successful entrepreneurs and investors – GetYourGuide co-founder Pascal Mathis, former Creathor Ventures Switzerland Lead Alex Stöckl, and EAT.ch co-founder Lukas Weder – Founderful has maintained its founding vision of transforming Swiss tech startups into global market leaders.

Founderful’s proven thesis on Swiss tech and talent has already seen Fund II back 15 companies featuring breakthrough technologies, from Chiral Nano’s alternative silicon chips to Eigthinks’ advances in lithium-ion batteries.

This momentum builds on Founderful’s track record with $90m Fund I, which has been fully deployed across 40 startups, with portfolio companies creating over 1,100 jobs and securing more than $450 million in follow-on funding from leading international venture firms. 

Notable successes include manufacturing analytics startup Ethon AI, Grape Insurance (raised $10m from Spark), and DePoly, who are building a commercial demonstration plant able to recycle 500 tons of plastic waste per year, among others.

Alex Stöckl, Partner at Founderful, commented: 

“From day one, we have been relentless in our efforts to create a foothold for the Swiss tech ecosystem on the global stage.

Fund II is evidence that we have walked the talk, and investors have taken note. This was no easy win, but we fought hard.”

Founderful’s new Fund II is backed by a range of institutions, family offices, and founders who have successfully scaled their startups into global unicorns such as Duolingo, Climeworks, GetYourGuide, On, Proton, and Scandit.

The fund’s strategy is laser-focused on leading first rounds in Switzerland’s tech landscape, where Founderful works in close partnership with leading academic institutions and industry players to identify and nurture breakthrough technologies.

-For the 13th consecutive year, Switzerland has ranked first in the    Global Innovation Index – topping the lists for technology, knowledge, and creative output. It also has the world’s highest patent per capita ratio,    and ETH Zurich produces more university spin-outs than any other university worldwide.

Switzerland is a Unicorn state – there are more billion-dollar tech startups per capita in Switzerland than anywhere else in Europe. 

Looking ahead, Founderful will leverage its strong ties with academia and industry to identify promising breakthroughs at their earliest stages.