SAP and HTGF deepen tech startup investors’ funding alliance to strengthen the burgeoning international startup ecosystem, specifically in Germany and across Europe.
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), a venture capital investor for innovative technologies and business models, has recently added SAP as one of its key investors in its 4th fund for startups in the Industrial Tech, Digital Tech, Chemicals, and Life Sciences domains. With the shared goal of helping tech startups scale their businesses while championing sustainability, the joint investment intends to accelerate startup innovation and deliver next-gen solutions to help customers become intelligent sustainable enterprises.
Noted as one of the most outstanding examples of a successful public-private partnership, HTGF collaborates with its investors to finance high-tech startups with significant growth potential, ultimately contributing to the advancement of the startup ecosystem in Europe. Initially anchored on the mission to revive the market for startup financing in 2005, to date, the venture capital firm had already launched a total of three funds that supported over 650 companies. Through more than 1,900 follow-on financing rounds, HTGF company has also added over 4 billion euros of private funds to its portfolio companies.
Bolstering Startup Investors Funding Alliance with SAP
HTGF has been a trusted partner of tech giant SAP– supporting startups through SAP.iO, the company’s strategic business unit focused on incubating startup innovation to help them scale and integrate their innovative solutions with SAP and, eventually, make them available on the SAP Store. In addition, the Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen-headquartered firm’s portfolio companies have participated in SAP’s accelerator programmes with five already available in SAP Store, demonstrating the two German enterprises’ mutually advantageous partnership.
Tech startups Datarade and 4tiitoo are two of the SAP.iO participants that have received funding support from HTGF. Provider of cloud-based data commerce platform Datarade joined the SAP.iO Foundry Berlin programme in 2018 and received seed investment from HTGF two years later. Similarly, 4tiitoo, a provider of AI-based solutions for intuitive eye control for smart workplaces also received HTGF financing in 2014 for the SAP.iO’s Industry 4.0 programme and later on secured Series B funding. 4tiitoo’s solution, piloted by both SAP and customers, is now available in SAP Store.
Sharing about the long time SAP- HTGF strategic partnership, Alexa Gorman, SVP, Global Head of SAP.iO Foundries & Intrapreneurship at SAP, earlier said that collaborating with the investment firm provides the software multinational deep insight into the startup landscape. She emphasised that SAP can significantly benefit from HTGF’s excellent standing and remarkably broad network. She explained:
“The exchange is always at eye level here. We have a very lively exchange, we work with the HTGF for the sourcing of our programs and have already been able to take a very nice number of startups from the High-Tech Gründerfonds portfolio into our programs; and vice versa, the HTGF has invested in some startups from the SAP.iO programs. We already had a joint investment. It’s a good partnership working with strong results.”
Today, with SAP as an investor in HTGF’s 4th fund, Gorman commented:
“We are therefore looking forward to our continued fruitful cooperation with HTGF and seeing our community of founders and startups grow. Our renewed support for the High-Tech Gründerfonds emphasizes our joint belief in a promising future for entrepreneurialism.”
