About Discovery Ventures
Discovery Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2015. It is primarily based out of Berlin, Germany. As of May 2026, Discovery Ventures is an active investor, having invested in 58 companies, with 2 new investments in the last 12 months. It primarily invests in Seed round in Germany based startups. Its investments are spread across a wide range of sectors from Enterprise Applications to FinTech and High Tech. Most recently it participated in the $***** Series A round of CopilotKit Overall, Discovery Ventures portfolio has seen 8 unicorns, 1 IPO and 7 acquisitions including key companies like SumUp, Deel and Navan. A lot of funds co-invest with Discovery Ventures, with names like Earlybird sharing a substantial percentage of its portfolio. Discovery Ventures has team of 7 people including 6 partners.Key Metrics
Team Members
Portfolio Sectors
Portfolio Locations
Rounds of Entry
Seed, Series A & 1 more
Portfolio IPOs
Deals in last 12 months
Discovery Ventures' List of Top Investments
Discovery Ventures has a portfolio of 58 companies, including 8 unicorns. Their most notable investments are in Naro and Warehousing1.Their portfolio spans across Germany, United States, United Kingdom and 7 more locations. They have invested in Enterprise Applications, FinTech, High Tech and 24 other sectors, across stages such as Seed, Series A and 1 more. Here is the list of top investments by Discovery Ventures:1. SumUp
Provider of card payment terminals and point of sale systems. These hardware and software tools facilitate transaction processing for merchants. The offerings include mobile card readers, self-service kiosks, and digital invoicing capabilities. Merchants utilize these tools to accept contactless payments and manage financial records. The system integrates with mobile applications to support business operations and order processing.
Key facts about SumUp
- Founded Year: 2012
- Location: Wilmington (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $997M
- Employee Count: 4,196 as on May 31, 2026
- Investors: Goldman Sachs, AllianceBernstein and 52 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Conventional Debt, May 19, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
2. Deel
Provider of human resources and international payroll compliance software tools. The platform facilitates global hiring, automated payroll processing, workforce management, and legal compliance for personnel located across different jurisdictions. It handles visa processing, equipment provisioning, benefits administration, and multi-currency payouts through a centralized digital interface. The technology automates contract generation and tax documentation to manage international teams.
Key facts about Deel
- Founded Year: 2019
- Location: San Francisco (United States)
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $986M
- Employee Count: 9,671 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Spark Capital, Mubadala and 58 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Oct 16, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
3. Navan
Provider of a platform for business travel and expense management. The platform offers tools for booking trips, managing expenses, and processing payments. It provides features such as travel program management, analytics, and support services. The platform also allows for expense tracking, corporate card integration, and security measures.
Key facts about Navan
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Palo Alto (United States)
- Stage: Public
- Total Funding till date: $1.58B
- Employee Count: 3,881 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Goldman Sachs, Comerica and 23 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series G, Oct 13, 2025, $*****
- Highlight: Public
Broker-based multi asset trading and investment platform. It is a German online broker and bank offering a range of financial services, including investing, spending, and banking. Its platform allows users to start invest and features a subscription-free card for spending and earning rewards. It allows users to buy, sell & trade stocks, ETFs and cryptos and more through multiple trading platforms. Provides trading tools, economic calendar, market analysis, market news, Islamic account and more to assist brokers. The app is available for Android and iOS platforms.
Key facts about Trade Republic
- Founded Year: 2015
- Location: Berlin (Germany)
- Annual Revenue: €10M - €50M as on Sep 30, 2023
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series C
- Total Funding till date: $1.25B
- Employee Count: 1,776 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: TCV, Founders Growth Equity Fund and 26 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series C, Jun 03, 2022, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
5. Pennylane
Cloud-based financial management and accounting software platform. It centralizes invoicing, expense tracking, purchasing, cash flow monitoring, and accounting data into a single real-time dashboard. It integrates with banking tools, payment systems, and third-party business applications to streamline financial operations and improve collaboration between business owners and accountants. It also supports automated workflows, reporting, document management, and compliance-ready electronic invoicing, helping organizations improve efficiency, accuracy, and financial visibility across all operations.
Key facts about Pennylane
- Founded Year: 2020
- Location: Paris (France)
- Annual Revenue: €10M - €50M as on Dec 31, 2022
- Valuation: $*****
- Stage: Series E
- Total Funding till date: $442M
- Employee Count: 1,241 as on Sep 30, 2026
- Investors: Meritech, CapitalG and 9 Others
- Latest Funding Round: Series E, Jan 20, 2026, $*****
- Highlight: Editors' Pick
Discovery Ventures' Year-on-Year Investment Trends
Discovery Ventures has invested in 58 companies over the last 6 years, with an average of 3 new investments annually in the last 5 years. As of May 2026, it has made 2 investments in this year. Its most recent first time investment was in CopilotKit.Year | No. of Investments | ||
|---|---|---|---|
1st Round | Follow-on | Total | |
2026 (YTD) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2024 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
2023 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2022 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
2021 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
2020 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Discovery Ventures' Investments by Stage
Discovery Ventures has made 15 investments in Seed stage with an average round size of $5.41M, 2 investments in Series A stage with an average round size of $37.3M and 2 investments in Series B stage with an average round size of $18.1M.Stage of entry | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Seed | 15 |
Series A | 2 |
Series B | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Discovery Ventures' Investments by Sector
Discovery Ventures has a diverse portfolio, with companies operating in the Enterprise Applications, FinTech, Retail, High Tech and Consumer. Notably, it has invested in 57 Tech companies, 41 Enterprise (B2B) companies, 34 Software companies and at least 26 companies focusing on Consumer (B2C).Sector | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Enterprise Applications | 9 |
FinTech | 6 |
Retail | 5 |
High Tech | 4 |
Consumer | 3 |
Others | 19 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Discovery Ventures' Investments by Geography
Discovery Ventures has made most investments in Germany (10), followed by France where it has made 2 investments.Country | No. of Investments |
|---|---|
Germany | 10 |
France | 2 |
India | 2 |
United States | 2 |
Finland | 1 |
Others | 2 |
Note: We have considered here, only first round of investments
Discovery Ventures' recent investments
Discovery Ventures has made 2 investments in 2026 so far - CopilotKit and Plato.Here are the most recent investments by Discovery Ventures:
Filter this listDate | Company | Location | Round Details | Round Amount | Co-Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 05, 2026 | United States | Series A | 4069 | ||
Feb 19, 2026 | Germany | Seed | 5380 | [+3] | |
Dec 02, 2024 | Finland | Seed | 2728 | [+5] | |
Mar 14, 2024 | Germany | Seed | 2211 | [+2] | |
Nov 07, 2023 | United Kingdom | Seed | 5375 | [+7] |
Unicorns in Discovery Ventures' Portfolio
Discovery Ventures has 8 unicorns in its portfolio - Jumbotail, Pennylane, Choco and others. The most recent unicorn in their portfolio is Jumbotail. It became a unicorn in 2025, 4 years after Discovery Ventures first invested in it.Here is a list of unicorns in Discovery Ventures' portfolio:
Tracxn Score | Company | Short Description | Founded year | Sector | Location | Company Stage | First Investment/ Acquisition Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
61 | Operator of B2B marketplace and retail platform for food and grocery | 2015 | Bengaluru | Series D | bbhkuab | ||
77 | Cloud-based financial management and accounting software platform | 2020 | Paris | Series E | t{cufab | ||
73 | Provider of a platform streamlining order and payment processes for distributors | 2018 | Berlin | Series B | wzohsxg | ||
75 | Provider of cloud and AI-based natural language processing platform to develop speech recognition applications | 2017 | New York City | Series E | sjgpekq | ||
74 | App based platform offering multi-category grocery products | 2015 | Istanbul | Series E | okodqul |
IPOs and Publicly Listed companies in Discovery Ventures' Portfolio
1 of Discovery Ventures' portfolio company became public - Navan. It got listed on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (NASDAQ), in Oct 2025 at marketcap of $5.82BHere are Discovery Ventures' portfolio companies that went public:
Company | IPO Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 30, 2025 | - | - | 6866 |
Acquired companies in Discovery Ventures' Portfolio
7 companies from Discovery Ventures' portfolio have been acquired. The most recent acquisition was Kadmos in Jun 2025 by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha for $*****.Here are Discovery Ventures' portfolio companies that got acquired most recently:
Company | Acquisition Date | First Invested on | First Round of Investment | Round Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 12, 2025 | - | - | 5100 | |
Dec 08, 2022 | - | - | 8312 | |
Feb 08, 2022 | - | - | 6264 | |
May 11, 2021 | - | - | 3015 | |
Nov 01, 2020 | - | - | 9044 |
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Team profile of Discovery Ventures
Discovery Ventures has a team of 7 members including 6 Partners located in Germany. Discovery Ventures' team does not sit on the board of any company as of now.Here is a list of all team members in Discovery Ventures:
Name | Designation | Location | Board Memberships | Contact Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Partner | Berlin | - | ||
Partner | Berlin | - | ||
Partner | Berlin | - | - | |
Partner | Berlin | - | ||
Partner | Berlin | - | - | |
Partner | Berlin | - |
Co-investors of Discovery Ventures
Over the past 6 years, 224 investors have co-invested in Discovery Ventures's portfolio companies. This includes funds and angels.
- Invested before Discovery Ventures: HV Capital, Freie Universitat Berlin and 42 others have invested in rounds before Discovery Ventures. There are 2 companies where HV Capital has invested before Discovery Ventures and 2 companies where Freie Universitat Berlin has invested before Discovery Ventures.
- Top Co-investors of Discovery Ventures: 125 investors entered a company along with Discovery Ventures. These include investors like Earlybird (2 companies).
- Invested after Discovery Ventures: A total of 55 investors have invested in Discovery Ventures's portfolio after their investments. Top Investors include XAnge (1 company), Educapital (1 company) and Isomer Capital (1 company).
Recent News related to Discovery Ventures
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Finnish startup Zero secures $2.7M in pre-seed funding to develop AI-powered 'zero-click' CRMAin•Dec 04, 2024•Zero, 20VC Fund, The Twenty Minute, Discovery Ventures and 2 others
•
German fintech startup Naro exits stealth mode with €2.7M pre-seed fundingSilicon Canals•Mar 14, 2024•Naro, La Famiglia, Discovery Ventures, Flix and 11 others
•
Due secures £2.7 million Seed investment led by Semantic and Fabric VenturesUK Tech Investment News•Nov 07, 2023•Fabric Ventures, Due, Semantic Ventures, BlockTower and 5 others
