The German start-up is one of Atomico’s holdings.
(Photo: Infarm)
Berlin The European start-up investor Atomico is increasing its involvement in German-speaking countries and is opening an office in Germany for the first time. “Historically, ten percent of Atomico’s capital has already flowed into the German-speaking region,” Atomico partner Luca Eisensteck told Handelsblatt. The office in Berlin is “a natural step”. Despite the trend towards working from home, it is still important to exchange ideas “face to face”.
With the opening, Atomico is also setting a counterpoint to the current low mood in the industry. The investor barometer drawn up by the KfW development bank and the BVK industry association fell by 25.6 points to minus 42.9 points in the final quarter. Apart from the unprecedented corona shock in the first quarter of 2020, the climate among financiers investing in young growth companies was last worse around 20 years ago.
Atomico’s partner, EisenStetten, sees it calmly. “The current challenges are part of normal economic cycles,” he said. Anyone who invests in start-ups has to think long-term: “Our investment horizon is ten years.”
Atomico has invested in 120 start-ups
The start-up industry keeps a close eye on where venture capitalists operate their offices and uses this to determine the location’s importance in international competition. When the US venture capitalist Activant opened its first European office in Berlin in 2021, it was perceived as a kind of accolade.
“We are very pleased that respected investors like Atomico are increasing their presence in Berlin. For us, this is an important signal for the international venture capital markets,” says Christian Miele, President of the Association of German Start-ups.
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Atomico was founded in 2006 by Skype founder Niklas Zennström. Since then, the investor has invested in 120 start-ups. These include Finnish games developer Supercell, fintechs Klarna and Stripe, as well as German air taxi company Lilium and greenhouse start-up Infarm. All of these companies are currently feeling the effects of the economic slowdown, interest rate turnaround and the recent reluctance of investors.
“The amount of talent in Germany has increased significantly.”
(Photo: Atomico, Cherie Birkner)
Eisensteck does not want to comment on the situation of portfolio companies such as Lilium or Infarm. He only says in general: “There are currently a few hurdles. Many start-up customers are having their budgets cut and their purchasing cycles getting longer.” Infarm only had to lay off half its workforce in December.
Atomico: The amount of German talent has increased
So far, Atomico has its own locations in London, Paris and Luxembourg. Atomico manager Konstantin Zedelius explains the increased focus on Germany with what he considers to be greater potential: “The amount of talent in Germany has increased significantly.” Since the start-up ecosystem has matured, it is more important to start with founders earlier to get in touch.
The latest investments in Germany include the Cologne-based online translator DeepL, which recently rose to become a unicorn, a company valued at more than one billion dollars, also thanks to the cash injection from Atomico.
The company is also invested in the software company Y42 and the CO2 tracking platform Vaayu from Berlin. “Start-ups that deal with climate technology or engineering are particularly exciting at the moment,” says Zedelius.
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