Generalist · VC Firm

Bayern Kapital

State-backed Bavarian investor (100% LfA Förderbank Bayern) deploying EUR 250k to EUR 50M from pre-seed to scale-up, always pari-passu alongside private leads. Quantum lines on the official portfolio: IQM, planqc, Munich Quantum Instruments and Akhetonics, plus adjacent deep tech such as Proxima Fusion (fusion) and THEVA superconductors.

Active Landshut, GermanyFounded 1995

Investment thesis

Public mandate vehicle of the Free State of Bavaria (100% LfA Förderbank Bayern): backs Bavarian high-tech from pre-seed to scale-up with tickets of EUR 250k to EUR 50M, always pari-passu next to private investors.

Active fund stack: Wachstumsfonds Bayern 2 (EUR 165M target incl. EUR 50M from the EIB), ScaleUp-Fonds Bayern (EUR 200M, tickets EUR 10M to 25M) and Innovationsfonds EFRE II (EUR 20M, 2024) on top of the early-stage Innovationsfonds line.

Quantum exposure is real and current: IQM (Series A2 2022, Series B EUR 275M in 2025), planqc (Series A EUR 50M, 2024), Munich Quantum Instruments (pre-seed 2025) and photonic computing via Akhetonics (EUR 6M, 2024); Proxima Fusion in portfolio is fusion energy, not quantum.

Value add is the Bavarian ecosystem itself: Hightech Agenda Bayern alignment, Munich Quantum Valley proximity (planqc and MQI both sit in it) and a 30-year network of private co-investors it can mobilise.

Anti-thesis

The patterns that trigger a fast no with this fund.

  1. Hard Bavarian constraint: the main parts of the funded innovation project must be carried out in Bavaria; a Karlsruhe, Berlin or non-German quantum company is structurally out of scope
  2. Never prices a round: strict pari-passu co-investment doctrine means a private lead must already be at the table; Bayern Kapital will not set terms or anchor a round alone
  3. Minority stakes only with a five to ten year stated holding horizon; not a source of control capital or of very large solo follow-ons
  4. Public mandate (LfA, Free State of Bavaria) brings reporting and policy alignment expectations that pure financial investors do not impose
  5. Generalist deep tech team: quantum conviction is voiced at managing director level (Monika Steger on planqc) but there is no publicly named dedicated quantum partner

Notable quantum portfolio

Full portfolio
IQM Quantum ComputersplanqcMunich Quantum InstrumentsAkhetonics

Frequent co-investors