Mario Götze etched his name in the history of world football with the winning goal at the 2014 World Cup, which brought Germany the title. Alongside a stellar career on the field, he is building a parallel path as an angel investor.
His personal platform Companion M unites more than 70 companies in its portfolio. In 2025, two of them became unicorns: Danish fintech Flatpay and German AI startup Parloa. The process of selecting promising companies gave Götze a clear rule: “I agree to invest only when the startup and its founders meet all the requirements.”.
“I agree to invest only when the startup and its founders meet all the requirements.”
Usually his investments cover pre-seed and seed stages with amounts from €25k to €50k. Companion M focuses on areas with a strong network of experts: B2B SaaS, software infrastructure, cybersecurity, as well as health and biotechnology. Sport as such is not the main priority, but health and biotechnology remain a natural niche for an athlete who is interested in human performance.
In 2020, Götze drew the attention of investors by investing in the German cannabis startup Sanity Group – at a time when many European institutions stayed away from the sector. Over time, Germany partially liberalized the legislation, creating a favorable climate for a company that by 2024 had around 10% of the German medical cannabis market.
Because cannabis is banned for athletes during competitions, Götze cannot yet try the product himself: he is 33 years old and continues to play for Eintracht Frankfurt in the top flight. However, he has borrowed the pragmatism of American athlete-investors, such as NBA champion Kevin Durant.
Götze does not act alone: Companion M is a small team that supports his angel investments, partnerships and other ventures. “These years are important for me as a brand, especially in the long term after my active career.”, he explained.
There is also an obvious branding aspect: when Götze became the first brand ambassador for Revolut in Germany, the fintech company noted his investment experience as a driver for collaboration. And while preparing for the post‑career period, he discovered another passion outside sport.
This passion has family roots: his father Jürgen was a professor of electrical engineering and information technology at TU Dortmund; the family lived in Houston during Jürgen’s postdoctoral work at Rice University.
Götze mostly invests in Europe and the US: among his past projects are Miami-based Arcee AI and Frankfurt-based Qualifyze. Some portfolio companies raised significant funding after coming under his wing, and KoRo from Berlin became one of the notable cases on the market.
As a limited partner, Companion has backed more than 20 venture funds, including 20VC, Cherry Ventures, EQT Ventures, Planet A, Merantix, Visionaries Club and World Fund. After finishing his sports career, Götze plans to focus on investment activities but does not promise a full portfolio – every mistake for him is a lesson that helps him avoid impulsive decisions in the future.
“There are plenty of new startups every year, and there will be those you miss. However, dwelling on past decisions leads to uninformed or impulsive choices in the future.”
