JOIN CAPITAL

Overview

JOIN Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2015 that invests in deep tech startups across Europe, with a focus on industrial tech, enterprise tech, and defense sectors. The firm specializes in backing companies at the Pre-Seed to Series A stage, typically investing €1–5M in startups with strong intellectual property and technical innovation. JOIN Capital positions itself as a sector-specialized investor with operational support for technical founders building in complex, capital-intensive domains where domain expertise and long development cycles are critical.

History

JOIN Capital was founded in 2015 by Jan Borgstädt and Tobias Schirmer as a Berlin-based venture firm with the conviction that Europe has strong deep tech talent but lacks patient, sector-specialized capital. The firm expanded its geographic footprint by establishing offices in London and Milan to reflect its pan-European investment strategy. As of 2026, JOIN Capital is deploying from its second fund, which totals €112 million, and has tracked more than 26 investments across 24 companies, with recent activity including a €4.1M seed round co-led for enclaive in early 2026.

Notable Products

• Fund II - €112 million second fund currently being deployed for early-stage deep tech investments
• Pre-Seed to Series A Investment Program - Focused investment program providing €1–5M to startups with real IP in industrial, enterprise, and defense sectors
• enclaive Investment - €4.1M seed round co-led by JOIN Capital for a German cybersecurity company specializing in confidential computing

Reputation

JOIN Capital is recognized within the European venture capital ecosystem as a specialized investor with deep domain expertise in industrial and enterprise technology. The firm is valued by technical founders for its hands-on partnership approach and long-term commitment to complex, capital-intensive ventures. Its focus on patient capital and operational support differentiates it from generalist VCs, though its relatively small team size and concentrated portfolio strategy may limit its capacity for rapid scaling across numerous investments.