Funding
Access to capital is crucial for building and scaling deep-tech ventures — especially for hardware-heavy or research-driven startups facing high early costs and long development cycles. We work hard to ensure that outstanding teams receive the right funding at the right time.
Pree-seed Investment
GF BRYCK Ventures is a dedicated €10M pre-seed fund supporting the most promising deep-tech and hardware startups emerging from BRYCK programmes or ecosystem. The Gründerfonds Ruhr and the RAG-Stiftung joined forces to give you fast, founder-friendly access to capital where it matters most — at the earliest, riskiest stages of building a company.
The GF BRYCK Ventures fund at a glance
What we offer:
Up to €300k in convertible loans or equity investment (possibly as lead investor) for early validation, prototyping, and faster time-to-market — without interference in daily business. We also ensure you’re connected to the industry partners who can accelerate your next steps.
Who is eligible:
Early-stage deep-tech and hardware startups from BRYCK’s accelerator programmes or ecosystem across all innovation clusters that demonstrate clear progress and strong potential.
How it works:
Participation in BRYCK programmes is equity-free and free of charge. Funding is provided by GF BRYCK Ventures and will be managed by an experienced investment manager and venture partner once you are part of the portfolio.
Follow-on investment
After validating your solution, we connect you with regional and national seed investors. Partners such as Gründerfonds Ruhr (GFR), HTGF, DeepTech & Climate Fonds, BonVenture, Vireo Ventures, and eCAPITAL help you transform early traction into scalable growth.
When you are ready to expand into larger markets or raise Series A/B rounds, we provide warm introductions to more than 40 national and international VC partners. Through the RAG-Stiftung’s global LP network, representing over €10B in capital, you gain access to funds that support global scale and long-term success.
Corporate Investment
Through BRYCK’s innovation clusters, startups also gain access to strategic corporate partners such as E.ON, RWE, Evonik, RAG AG, LEG, and VIVAWEST. These collaborations open doors to pilot projects, co-development opportunities, and — where relevant — corporate venture investment.