German startups scored a win yesterday with Deutsche Telekom’s announcement that it will be launching Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, a $620 million fund focusing on Germany’s tech scene, in January 2015.

T-Venture, DT’s initial venture capital fund that currently holds down 7th place on the all-time Investor Leaderboard for German companies, will be closed to new investments.

T-Venture recorded only two investments in Germany this year, although it’s already seen 2 exits – a third of the total exits seen for its German-based startups.

Startups out of Germany saw a peak in venture capital committed last quarter, reaching a total of $693 million in 55 deals.

However the $350M mega-round for sole German unicorn Delivery Hero accounts for over half of that total. Number of investments per quarter have experienced a steady decline since late last year.

This year, aside from a $12M Series A for biotech startup Rigontec, not a single venture round over $10 million has been recorded out of Germany and total number of venture investments stands at a low of 34.

With DT doubling the amount of venture dollars available and focusing on German startups, number of investments in the region should pick back up in the coming year.

Image via Flickr user Matteo Solbiati.

  • Originally published November 12, 2014, updated April 26, 2023