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A fresh speculation house calledLeitmotifhas been on a quiet blitz for the last 16 months , funding around 20 startups broadly focused on decarbonization . Its portfolio let in EV companies , space and bombardment play , and four atomic optical fusion startups . But the business firm has only said its funding is from “ European industrial interest . ”
Now , Leitmotif has tell TechCrunch where the money came from : the Volkswagen Group .
The German automotive giant star has committed $ 300 million to Leitmotif ’s first investment firm and is its sole limited spouse ; Leitmotif has deployed roughly one third of that so far . During a conference on Tuesday , Volkswagen Group ’s chief executive officer Oliver Blume said Leitmotif ’s investments could help lower the automaker ’s carbon paper footprint and produce a “ rotary economy inside and outside ” the ship’s company .
“ Volkswagen culture is squad culture , ” he said .
Leitmotif wants to go even further , according to the young firm ’s oversee partners Matt Trevithick and Jens Wiese . They go for to spin up sequential funds that depict in more European industrial stake beyond Volkswagen .
It ’s an ambitious effort . Securing financial backing for hardware startups , specially I with a serious manufacture constituent , has been tough the last few years . But Trevithick trust it ’s the right-hand time to endeavor to adorn in these kinds of companies .
“ Technology has always been a driver of human progress , and I mean the United States is about to supercharge that , ” he told TechCrunch . “ I think the next several years are about to produce a number of proficient capacity in the United States that the rest of the world will marvel at . ”
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Leitmotif is also make a transatlantic fund while the geopolitical environment is being separate out by the Trump government .
Despite that tumult , Wiese — who was the head of Volkswagen Group ’s M&A , Investment Advisory , and Partnerships division before starting Leitmotif — said the overarching goal of the new business firm is to “ create a bridge between the European industrial establishment and the U.S. innovation ecosystem . ”
Priority one: Make money
Trevithick and Wiese said Volkswagen had a top priority when it agreed to invest in the investment company : make money .
“ First and foremost , this is about determine up a successful speculation house , ” Wiese said .
While Volkswagen Group rakes in hundreds of billions of dollars per year in revenue , Wiese articulate making money is still authoritative in part because it ’s “ how the manufacture continue grievance . ”
After that , the VC firm said it be after to invest in “ category - determine companies within our field of pursuit , ” agree to Wiese , and also identify “ new pockets of innovation ” that could profit the Volkswagen Group .
Wiese said he have a bun in the oven roughly one fourth part of Leitmotif ’s portfolio over time to interact with Volkswagen and its myriad brands .
EV motortruck inauguration Harbinger is one example . Leitmotif co - led Harbinger ’s $ 100 millionSeries B in January , and Wiese said the startup has had discussions about collaborating with Volkswagen ’s hauling division .
Geographically , Leitmotif ’s investment scheme is structure so that roughly 70 % of its capital will be deployed in the U.S. , with the other 30 % being invested in the EU . The firm will maintain offices in both Palo Alto and in Munich .
Trevithick said 70 % of Leitmotif ’s global investment funds in this first fund will be made in startup that are “ puzzle out today ’s hump problems ” and exist in “ billion - buck - plus marketplace with customers ready to bribe the innovation . ”
The other 30 % of the fund will be focused on what he bid “ revolutionary innovation ” that will make “ billion - one dollar bill - market in the 2030s and beyond . ”
So far , this scheme has direct to investments in battery recycling companionship Redwood Materials , reusable rocket company Stoke Space , and even circular polyester startup Syre . Leitmotif has publically backed 13 startup to date , though there are more in its portfolio that have not been announced .
Leitmotif will finally have other funds ; Trevithick and Wiese said they ’re particularly eyeball robotics and AI next . Volkswagen will have the right hand to empower in those if it chooses , but Leitmotif is main and , for now , focalize on finish out its first monetary fund .
Timing is everything
Late 2023 was arguably the worst time for startups in recent store to lock down large funding cycle , especially ones focused on ironware or “ bass tech , ” thanks to mellow interest rate .
Trevithick said that made it a capital time to start Leitmotif .
“ It ’s in down mart when the strong company separate from the feeble . In a house of cards , everyone gets fund , ” he said .
That fundraising retardation caused other firms to take few risks outside the inauguration they were already adorn in , Trevithick say .
“ There were less Modern one dollar bill uncommitted to fund good companies that were there , because everyone puzzle shortsighted about their own portfolio , ” he said . “ I guess that ’s why we get a fate of inward interestingness to participate in rounds that , in the house of cards sentence , maybe we would n’t have had access to . ”
That involvement came in large part thanks to Wiese and Trevithick ’s backgrounds .
Wiese pass nearly eight old age at Volkswagen Group , where he incline fusion , acquisition , and investment for the German automaker . During this stint at Volkswagen , Wiese developed what he called “ quite a rich net into the venture residential district , both in Europe and in the U.S. ” That included forging a family relationship with barrage maker QuantumScape , where Wiese was a board member until 2024 .
Trevithick , meanwhile , was a pardner at Venrock for a decade . There , he center on making investing in immature energy during the original clean technical school bunce in the other 2010s , with his gamy - profile bet being an former one on battery maker Atieva — the society that eventually became Lucid Motors .
Investing , advising , and guiding ship’s company through the subsequent clean technical school bust was valuable experience for navigating the uncertainty presently plaguing the industry , Trevithick said .
While many corporate “ net zero ” goals are being either put off or abandoned outright , Trevithick said the clear technical school industry is “ starting in a much expert lieu this time around . ”
Plus , Trevithick say he consider the volatility will present more chance for firm like Leitmotif — and the startups it backs .
“ I opine we can all concur it ’s just going to be a highly volatile surround . Which should disproportionately favour entrepreneurs , startup , and venture capitalist , ” he said .
“ We feel very surefooted about our portfolio , ” Wiese tot . “ Yes , [ decarbonization ] is our overarching motif . At the same sentence , we seat in companies where we are convinced they have the business case to succeed regardless of what , let ’s say , the theme of the day is . ”
