Project A

New fund. Same commitment. With €325m in fresh capital, we’re continuing to partner with Europe’s most ambitious founders from idea to scale, and beyond. Now with €1.2b under management. Project A is built for the earliest stage, where clarity is rare, belief matters most, and long-term partners can make a difference. It’s where we’ve always focused, with partners like Trade Republic, sennder, Zepz, and Quantum Systems amongst others. With Fund V, we’re deepening that commitment: → Pre-seed and seed, with founder-aligned capital and sharp, early conviction. → A hands-on Studio model for co-creating with exceptional entrepreneurs from day zero. Ventures like 11x, ARX Robotics, and ENAPI started that way. → A pan-European approach, with teams in Berlin and London and now, a new partner on the ground in the UK: congratulations to Jack Wang on his promotion! This is a pivotal moment for European tech. Governments are advancing the role of innovation. AI is a catalyst for tech transformation. And with the world shifting, Europe is becoming a haven for founders, for capital, for the tension between doubt and doing. Thanks to the founders who’ve trusted us early. Thanks to our LPs for believing in us. And thanks to our team, who show up with conviction and clarity every day. 📰 For more on Project A and Fund V, check out Bloomberg (Christina Kyriasoglou) and Handelsblatt (Nadine Schimroszik) — link in comments.

🇪🇺 Europe has a subsurface paradox. The same hard rock that traps deep geothermal heat also locks away critical minerals like tungsten and rare earths. Both are essential to energy security, green manufacturing, and credible defence; however, conventional drilling breaks down exactly where access matters most. That’s why Project A is excited to partner with Dr Max Werner, Björn Dressler and Dan Gengenbach at Hades Mining . Their non-contact drilling system unlocks the deep, hard formations that others can’t reach, making geothermal and mineral access technically and economically viable. Read more about why we invested in Hades Mining in our latest entry (link in comments). Thanks to Jannic Meyer for co-authoring this with me. We’ve spent months digging into this challenge 😉

Europe imports nearly 60% of its energy and 90% of its critical minerals. 🔋⚒️ That could change if we can access the extreme depths of the continent’s crust. Hades Mining is developing the deep-tech needed to do just that. Their platform is built to tap geothermal energy and critical minerals at depths previously unreachable in ways that are faster, more sustainable and cost-efficient, both for the environment and for surrounding communities. If they succeed, Europe’s homes and factories could rely on local, stable geothermal heat and secure key minerals with greater autonomy. That’s a future worth building. We are proudly partnering with Hades in their €5.5M pre-seed round, alongside Visionaries Tomorrow and strategic angels from aerospace, energy and advanced manufacturing. Read more in Sifted’s piece by Anne Sraders below ☟ CC Dr Max Werner, Björn Dressler, Dan Gengenbach, Jack Wang, Jannic Meyer, Florian Seibel, Roman Hölzl, Daniel Wiegand, Moritz von der Linden, Hélène Huby, Chris O'Connor, Dr. Nicolas Burkardt, Viessmann Generations Group

Kappa x Trade Republic. The European pension system is broken. People are frustrated and politicians hide behind outdated promises. This is why we joined forces with the iconic Italian fashion brand Kappa to bring out a “Retire Rich” jersey. “Retire Rich” is more than a provocation. It’s an ambition for a new generation that understands: if we want to retire rich, we have to do it ourselves. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eXNVcgew #TradeRepublic #RetireRich Investments involve risks.

After a few weeks off, feels great to be back in! I’ve joined Project A as a Senior Investment Associate in Berlin, where I will focus on Pre-Seed & Seed investments in startups reshaping Global Supply Chains. Super happy, as this felt absolutely right from the get-go. Looking forward to meeting great founders and investors around Europe! Feel free to reach out for a virtual or in-person coffee. Philipp Werner Anton Waitz Jack Wang Malin Posern Florian Heinemann Thies Sander Uwe Horstmann Mila Cramer Ciara Gumsheimer Jannic Meyer Daria Gneusheva Marjorie Lengereau Paola Compés Tatay

Building with voice? 🔊 Join Daria Gneusheva and Leeho Lim in London on September 3rd to live test your Voice AI idea. You’ll demo in front of teams from ElevenLabs, Cohere, Mistral AI, Canopy Labs, ACI.dev, Oxbridge-AIx, and Expedite, and get instant feedback. Whether you're looking for technical sparring, first users or future collaborators — this is the room to validate fast. Details and sign-up via Luma. 🔗 in comments.

Voice AI Test Night is coming to London 🚀 Leeho and I are bringing together the top 30 early-stage founders who want to get immediate product feedback from other founders building in Voice AI. We will be joined by partners from ElevenLabs, Cohere, Mistral AI, ACI.dev, Canopy Labs, Expedite, Oxbridge-AIx, and Project A. Whether you’re looking for your first users, a critical partnership, or just want to see if your idea holds up under pressure, this is the room you want to be in. No panels, no endless slides, just honest feedback and sharp questions from people who are in the trenches with you. Register via the link in the comments. See you on the 3rd of September. #TestNights William Lee, Hanyi D., Amu Varma, Carles Reina, Angelo Giacco, Sophia Yang, Nick Carmont, Udai D.

Cross-border payments shouldn't slow down ambitious businesses. Yet most companies still face expensive transfers routed through multiple intermediaries, costing time and margin. Niklas Höjman and Mahendra P S Katoch saw this friction clearly. Their expertise from Revolut, Wise, Goldman Sachs, and Citi positioned them to build something better: Riva Money. Riva's approach is pragmatic. Whether blockchain rails or traditional fiat channels work best for each transfer, they adapt. This flexibility transforms payments from complexity into a seamless customer experience: everything starts and ends in traditional currency, with Riva finding the smartest route in the background. The market fundamentals are aligning: stablecoins are gaining traction, regulations are clarifying, yet payment infrastructure remains stuck in the past. Riva's hybrid system cuts through this gap, delivering both the speed businesses need and the adaptability today's global markets demand. That's why we are proud to lead their $3M pre-seed round. Welcome to the Project A family! Read more about why we invested 👇 CC Malin Posern, Marjorie Lengereau, Daniel Leveau

Europe's VCs are pouring cash into defence startups like never before as hype mounts around the sector. The boom in defence-focused funds seems to mirror the spurt of climate funds raised in the early 2020s which are now looking to rebrand. A number of first-time defence funds have announced a first or final close so far this year, while Sifted counts at least 12 European defence-focused funds active in 2025.   Jack Wang, partner at VC firm Project A, says there’s a lot of pressure on general partners from LPs to raise defence funds, after they’ve seen drones startups such as Helsing, Quantum Systems and Tekever all hitting $1bn unicorn status. https://lnkd.in/ee2X-7Cx

What makes a founding team truly investable? It's rarely just the market or model. It’s about understanding what drives the founders, how they balance each other, and how they show up in hard moments. General Partner Anton Waitz sat down with Gründerszene to share how we think about founder relationships at Project A: what we look for early, how those dynamics shape outcomes, and which areas we’re most excited to invest in right now. Thank you, Nicole Plich, for the thoughtful conversation and coverage. 👉 Full interview in the comments.