Earlybird VC has closed Fund VIII at €360 million, making it the largest fund in the Berlin-based firm’s nearly 30-year history. Supported by major institutions and family offices, Earlybird now manages €2.5 billion in total assets
Earlybird was founded in 1997 by Dr Hendrik Brandis and Dr Christian Nagel, making it one of Europe’s oldest early-stage VC firms. Its portfolio includes 9 IPOs and 41 trade sales, as well as investments in N26, Trendyol, and Snyk. The investment team is led by Brandis and Nagel, with partners Paul Klemm, Tim Rehder, and Dr Andre Retterath, who joined in 2017 and leads the AI and infrastructure practice.
Fund VIII will focus on three main areas: AI applications, software infrastructure and foundation models, and DeepTech and hardware. The fund has already invested in companies like Black Forest Labs, SpAItial AI, Sintra AI, Arago, Porters, and Rivia.
Earlybird has a strong track record in deep tech, investing in Isar Aerospace before European space tech was widely recognised and in Marvel Fusion when nuclear fusion was still mostly academic, which adds to its credibility in this field.
With Fund VIII, Earlybird has introduced what it calls a perpetual active ownership model. Only active partners own the firm, and ownership is passed to the next generation of partners when someone leaves. There are no external sales, no outside investors, and no carried interest structures that benefit former partners over new ones.
The firm says this approach removes the usual barrier that requires new partners to have significant personal wealth. Instead, ownership is based on merit and contribution.
The firm has also created its own AI platform, EagleEye, which it uses internally to identify and evaluate deals and to support portfolio companies post-investment. Retterath, who leads this project, says it is meant to strengthen conviction rather than replace judgment, helping the team identify Europe’s top early-stage founders more efficiently.
After 29 years, many VC firms have sold, stalled, or faded away. Earlybird is raising its largest fund, passing ownership to the next generation, and investing in AI infrastructure from a strong position that many newer European funds lack.
