Insider Brief
- First Momentum Ventures has closed an oversubscribed €35 million Fund II to back deeply technical founders in compute infrastructure, AI systems, and semiconductor innovation across Europe.
- The fund will invest €200,000 to €1 million at the pre-seed stage, supporting companies often before incorporation and focusing on areas such as new compute architectures, semiconductor tooling, and edge-native infrastructure.
- With a portfolio already exceeding €1 billion in value, First Momentum combines deep tech expertise, a grassroots platform for academic entrepreneurship, and a pan-European scout network to support early-stage innovation.
PRESS RELEASE — First Momentum Ventures today announces the close of its oversubscribed €35 million Fund II, with a focused mission: backing deeply technical founders building Europe’s next-generation compute infrastructure, AI systems, and semiconductor innovation.
At nearly 10x the size of its 2018 debut, Fund II enables First Momentum to support founders at the pre-seed stage with initial investments between €200k and €1M — often before the company is incorporated.
“Modern AI and data workloads are pushing the limits of our current compute infrastructure. We’re entering a new era where full-stack innovation — from chip to compiler — is back on the table. In addition, semiconductor manufacturing is reaching the limits of Moore’s law and, at the same time, becoming a matter of strategic importance. Whether it’s new compute architectures, semiconductor tooling, or edge-native infrastructure, this is one of the few categories where technical edge truly compounds. European research is excellent in these areas, and we see this as a tremendous opportunity to build European champions.” — Dr. Maximilian Ochs, VC at First Momentum Ventures
Backing the Foundations of the AI Era
The rise of GenAI, distributed workloads, and data-hungry systems has created an urgent need for foundational innovation in compute, from hardware accelerators to full-stack optimization.
First Momentum is focused on identifying and backing early-stage teams working at the bleeding edge of these systems, often before others understand their market.
The team combines engineering and operating experience from MIT, KIT, Max Planck, LMU, ETH, and compute-native startups — and has invested in nearly 50 companies to date, with follow-on capital from leading global VCs including Khosla Ventures and Insight Partners.
- 23 first investments from the new fund
- Portfolio value exceeds €1 billion
- LP base includes exited deep tech founders, domain experts, and strategic institutional backers
What Fund II Backs in Compute
First Momentum is actively investing in early-stage innovation across:
- New compute architectures and heterogeneous systems
- Semiconductor tooling, packaging, and design automation
- Edge-native compute infrastructure for distributed AI and real-time inference
- Compiler tech, runtime environments, and performance engineering platforms
- Secure and efficient data movement, storage, and compute orchestration
Europe’s world-class research in quantum, photonics, microelectronics, and AI infrastructure creates fertile ground for category-defining companies. First Momentum exists to help those founders bridge the gap from prototype to product.
A Platform for Compute Builders
First Momentum isn’t just a capital provider — it’s a launch partner. Through a unique grassroots model and deep tech ecosystem, the fund supports technical founders from the earliest inflection points:
- The Deep Tech Hardware Napkin: a fundraising guide for hardware-heavy and infrastructure startups
- The Spinoff Summit: Europe’s platform for academic entrepreneurship in hard tech, semiconductors, and computing
- A PhD Fellowship program: unlocking the entrepreneurial potential of compute-focused researchers
- A pan-European Scout network identifying high-potential founders in labs, HPC environments, and deep tech hubs
What Our Founders Say:
“I never had to explain what a compiler is or why a new compute architecture matters — the team at First Momentum already got it. That’s rare. And it’s exactly what has made their support so valuable: from shaping our first features to building our brand, to making our first hires and winning early customers.”— *Dr. Thomas Zimmermann, Co-Founder of Roofline.AI*
“In quantum sensing, every early technical decision matters — especially the team you build. First Momentum helped us hire our Lead Software Engineer before they had even invested. That level of technical conviction and support is incredibly rare. It showed they understood both the science and the urgency of building in deep tech.” — Kevin Berghoff, Co-Founder of QuantumDiamonds
The First Momentum Edge in Compute
Network across European research institutes, compute-focused founders, and infrastructure operators
Deep tech backgrounds across AI, HPC, quantum, embedded systems, and silicon
Pre-seed investment model designed for zero-to-one tech infrastructure companies
Hands-on support in technical hiring, GTM strategy, investor materials, and customer access
