An update from APEX Ventures — 2023 is on a roll!
2023 has been an exciting whirlwind of activity so far across the board for our companies and for the APEX team. In this update, we’re looking back at the year’s highlights so far and what lies ahead.
Our New Investments
- Refined Laser Systems secured €2.7M in Seed funding from APEX Ventures to further develop its biophotonics technology for tumour identification during surgery. With the new funding, Refined Laser Systems plans to build a prototype of an intraoperative microscope that will enable remote diagnosis by a pathologist and AI support within minutes of tumour identification.
- Our newly-created Amadeus APEX Technology Fund for early-stage deep tech startups made its first investment in German space startup OKAPI:Orbits adding to a Seed funding round of $6.7M.
- The Amadeus Apex Technology Fund has also supported planqc, a Munich-based startup commercialising neutral-atom quantum technologies, with a seven-figure investment. Planqc’s innovative processors use atoms in artificial crystals of light, enabling fast scaling to useful quantum advantage.
- UniSieve has also raised a Seed round of $5.5M from the Amadeus Apex Technology Fund, Wingman Ventures, CIECH Ventures and Zürcher Kantonalbank. The company provides membrane solutions for a broad range of applications, with a patent-pending platform technology that promises to save a significant fraction of the energy costs and CO2 emissions on many manufacturing processes.
Upcoming Events
Meet the APEX Ventures team at:
Ion Hauer at APEX Ventures will be hosting a #roundtable, leveraging his expertise in #QuantumComputing to discuss the technology’s past achievements, current development and future outlook.
La French Tech Munich — 23 June, Munich, Germany — Ion Hauer
Co-Founder Match — 29 June — Munich, Germany — Ion Hauer
Saxon Investor Day and Innovation Conference — 3 and 4 July — Dresden, Germany — Ion Hauer
Business Angel Summit — 6 and 7 July — Kitzbühel, Austria — Andreas Riegle, Wolfgang Neubert, Tim Hos
Portfolio Company Updates
Kiutra
Wolfgang Neubert, General Partner at APEX Ventures, recently had an insightful conversation with Alexander Regnat, CEO and Co-Founder of kiutra. They delved into kiutra’s mission to simplify the process of achieving ultra-low temperatures for quantum engineers and researchers while revolutionising the field of cryogenics. Enjoy their discussion here.
Quibim
Angel Alberich-Bayarri, CEO and Co-Founder of Quibim, enjoyed a chat with Dr. Gordon Euller, our General Partner in charge of APEX Medical. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn more about Quibim’s work with imaging data and its goal of using imaging to advance precision medicine.
There’s also an impressive partnership for Quibim as it joins EUCAIM, a new European Commission project to create a federated infrastructure for European cancer. The first-of-its-kind European ‘pan-cancer’ project aims to create an easy-access to cancer images for clinicians, researchers and innovators to streamline cancer diagnosis, treatment and care.
OroraTech
APEX portfolio company OroraTech, a leader in space-based thermal-infrared data intelligence, has developed a breakthrough in fire detection. The new technology detects and sends fire alarms to customers within three minutes of the satellite passing the affected area. This is done via an inter-satellite link, allowing for real-time data without the need for a ground station
Upfront Diagnostics
It’s a pat on the back for Gonzalo Ladreda, CEO of Upfront Diagnostics, for being honoured by Forbes 30 under 30 as one of Europe’s leading changemakers in Science & Healthcare. The list highlights the potential of young entrepreneurs and leaders to drive change in business and society.
Zetta Genomics
Congrats too to Zetta Genomics, a company at the forefront of large-scale genomic data management for precision medicine, for featuring as one of Europe’s startups to watch on Pitchbook. The website, known for its comprehensive data on global capital markets, recognised Zetta Genomics for its innovative solutions and significant potential for growth in the industry.
TriLite Technologies
A round of applause is also in order for TriLite Technologies. Its innovative laser beam scanner designed for high-volume consumer augmented reality (AR) applications has scooped top honours in the AR VR MR category at the SPIE Prism Awards 2023, the annual awards celebrating the best of photonics innovation.
Our General Partner Andreas Riegler recently discussed the excellent work of TriLite Technologies in Austrian newspaper Kurier. In a feature on Austrian startups to watch, Andreas provides insight into TriLite’s work in building the world’s smallest projection displays.
Celeris Therapeutics
Exciting times for Celeris Therapeutics with the expansion of its Research and Innovation Centre in Austria. Be prepared to be impressed with this virtual tour of its new automated laboratory supporting its work in rationalising the design of proximity-inducing compounds such as degrades.
Sewts
Munich-based startup sewts has launched VELUM, the first automated system for processing deformable materials in industrial laundries. VELUM can process up to 600 textiles per hour, helping to address the shortage of labour in the textile service sector.
Mindpeak
Fantastic news for Mindpeak after labs at Ziekenhuis Netwerk Antwerpen (ZNA) and GZA Hospitals in Belgium plumped for its artificial intelligence software in the fight against cancer. Its AI will help pathologists diagnose patients quicker and more reproducible by considering the complete tissue on images from biopsies, especially from the lung.
Other Activities
It’s been a hugely successful time for APEX Ventures, with an impressive quarter leading to recognition as one of the most active venture capital firms in the DACH region. We were chuffed to see the impact of our efforts in supporting innovative startups in the region noted by startupdetector.
We also caught the eye of the Financial Times-backed startup news website Sifted in its recent focus on the hottest seed rounds. It highlighted our support of Germany’s Refined Laser Systems and its work on a new microscopy procedure that aims to speed up cancer diagnosis.
Our very own Dr Gordon Euller featured in an insightful article on the ‘4 Major Trends to Watch for Health Tech Startups’ in Business Insider. He also hit the mark in a list by the multinational financial and business news website of the top mental health startups to watch this year, including a special mention of Novoic and its groundbreaking work in early Alzheimer’s detection.
It was excellent to also see Pooja Sikka, Venture Partner at APEX, invited to speak about the growth of femtech in global media platform Femtech World. She speaks about key developments that are contributing to the development of the healthtech industry as women become more aware and involved with their health care. Have a read here.
Wonderful to see our own founding partner Christoph Kanneberger, and Amadeus Capital Partners co-founder Hermann Hauser featured in Sifted’s Tech in Vienna report.
Our Team
We are delighted to welcome Maru Winnacker to our board and Ion Hauer as Principal.
Maru brings over 17 years of experience in entrepreneurship and fundraising in the DACH region. With positions at growth-stage VC fund Red River West and Urania Ventures, Maru has a wealth of experience as both a founder and advisor, and we are thrilled to have her on our team.
Ion has a PhD in quantum physics from Heidelberg University and brings over a decade of experience in digital strategy, new business models and technology innovations, having worked as Chief Operating Officer at GlassDollar, VP of Corporate Venturing at BSH and Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman, while actively angel investing for many years. Ion will focus on investments in quantum technologies, the future of computing and AI infrastructure. He is based in Munich, Germany.
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