Update May 2022: In the meantime, a general election brought in a new government under chancellor Olaf Scholz, which in turn put a new digital commissioner in place. We have already an interview request out, but the policy formulation of the new government is not finalized yet and it may take some time until we can give you an update here.
New Blog
This blog post first appeared first on old medium publication (https://medium.com/startuprad-io), and was moved to this blog with the relaunch of our website in summer 2024.
We are not only spending 10 bn € on startups, but we also have 5–6 bn € from older programs. … we will spend in total 15–16 bn EurosThomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
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Startups with a significant presence in Germany — from abroad — also can receive money from the funds.Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
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The Commissioner for Digital and Startups
In this interview we talk to Thomas Jarzombek (https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-jarzombek-a4227183/) a member of the German Parliament Bundestag, also the Commissioner for Digital and Startups of Germany and in charge of the newly started 10 bn startup program. Thomas is a member of the CDU, Christian Democratic Union, the party of chancellor Merkel. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Democratic_Union_of_Germany). Thomas has also been an entrepreneur before he was an elected official. He started out with implementing Windows 95.
Note: In the name tag in the YouTube video, we shorted this to “Digital commissioner”, due to the available space.
We want to get better in the commercialization of German innovations.Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
How the money will be invested
Note: There is a general election coming up in Germany on September 26th, 2021. This will lead to a new government since chancellor Merkel will retire. Therefore, another government may change this allocation.
We also invest in rocket technology. We have been looking at what Elon Musk does with SpaceX and adapted some of his strategies.Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
Investing Indirectly (as LP)
The new investment program is looking to invest 50% together with private investors, who also chip in the other half.
The program will invest in European VCs, focusing on Germany. They are looking for VCs, investing in Germany approx. the money they receive from the program.
The largest single investment will be as LP of the European Investment Fund, which will get 3 bn Euros (https://www.eif.org/).
HTGF will start the 4th fund with money from the program. Look in our show notes below for the interview with the CEO of HTGF. They raise funds with half of the money coming from the Government and half from private investors, which include already household names like Bosch, BASF, B. Braun, Boehringer, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Post DHL, Lanxess, RWE, SAP, and many others. You can learn more about HTGF in our interview, see links below.
We have patient money and I expect the money to be spent over the next 10 years.Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
Investing Directly: Deep Tech Future Fund
The Deep Tech Future Fund (https://deeptech-future-fonds.de/) is aiming to commercialize innovations from Germany. They are even investing in startups directly, who do not have a business model yet, for example working in quantum computing.
2 bn Euros will be managed by KfW in discretionary accounts to set up specific investment vehicles and their subsidiary Coparion (https://www.coparion.vc/). Part of the money will be managed in discretionary accounts. These vehicles can invest directly in startups.
We expect with our investment to double — with private investors approximately 2x — in the German startup scene.Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Commissioner for Digital and Startups
The Video Interview is set to go live on Thursday, July 29th, 2021 at 17.00 CET
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Further Readings / Additional Resources
Limited Partners (LP) for VCs: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2156750
Konrad Zuse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Zuse
And his Z3 computer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z3_(computer)
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The Interviewer
This interview was conducted by Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. Reach out to him:
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