Linse Capital has raised $150 million through its new Ignition strategy to increase its investment in early-stage deep tech companies, marking a shift from the firm’s decade-long focus on late-stage deals. The strategy combines a $75 million early-stage fund with $75 million in co-investment vehicles and has already been largely deployed across 14 companies. The investments represent about 10% of the $1.5 billion Linse Capital has invested in deep tech since its founding in 2015. Its early-stage portfolio spans areas including aerospace and defense supply chains, in-space manufacturing, semiconductor production, energy-efficient edge computing, fusion power, and advanced additive manufacturing.
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Companies backed through the strategy include Amca, Varda, Fab2, Lace Lithography, Mythic, Thea Energy, and Freeform. “While we historically focused on leading growth rounds, we have always met founders early-on to begin fostering those relationships. Now, besides helping founders from those early stages, we can also put our money where our mouth is and deploy early checks,” said Bastiaan Janmaat, General Partner at Linse Capital. “With Ignition, we will work with the next generation of deep tech companies early, and put real heft behind the ones that we believe will become industry leaders.” Linse Capital has raised more than $1.7 billion since inception and plans to introduce additional growth initiatives and a refreshed brand identity later this year.
