Berlin-based Auxxo, a sector agnostic pre-seed and seed stage investor that backs female (co-)founded startups in Europe, announced the first closing of its new fund — the Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund II, at €26M.
The fund’s first closing is over one-third more than the previous fund’s total of €19M (Auxxo Female Catalyst Fund I).
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has joined as an anchor investor, together with Aurum Impact, Cherry Ventures, Speedinvest, as well as a large number of renowned family offices, business angels, and founders from all over Europe.
“We’re glad to be continuing the drive for greater gender diversity in European venture capital alongside Auxxo. Diversity and financial return can go hand in hand, and we look forward to this new fund making that a reality,” says Marjut Falkstedt, Chief Executive of the European Investment Fund.
In an industry where women are underrepresented, the fund sends a strong message: over 50% of the Limited Partners are women, marking an important step toward increased diversity in the investment sector and fair access to it.
“We’re proud to back Auxxo’s bold vision for a more inclusive and high-performing venture ecosystem. They’ve consistently shown that investing in female founders isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s smart, strategic, and delivers results,” says Deepali Nangia, Partner at Speedinvest.
For Auxxo’s portfolio companies, the investment grants access to a carefully curated ecosystem of mentors, advisors, and co-founders who understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by female founders in today’s market.
Focus on Europe’s female founders
Auxxo aims to support Europe’s female founders and create positive change in the venture capital ecosystem. The fund invests in early-stage startups in Europe with at least one female founder who holds at least 20 per cent of the shares.
Auxxo takes a collaborative approach, acting as a connection between founders and traditional venture capital. The fund focuses on identifying potential in startups and assists them through coaching, support, and access to a network of investors.
Their involvement in competitive funding rounds highlights Auxxo’s role as a trusted partner in the European VC landscape.
Three investments have already been made from Fund II:
Emidat, a pioneer in climate data infrastructure for the construction industryResolutiion, an AI-driven platform revolutionising the resolution of commercial legal disputesStanhope.ai, enables autonomous real-time machine learning and iteration using an innovative “Active Inference”-based framework from computational neuroscience.
“We’re incredibly proud to be partnering with EIF and other inspiring LPs who understand that diversity drives returns,” says Bettine Schmitz, Co-Founder and General Partner at Auxxo. “Our network is growing – not only in size but also in influence and effectiveness. The fact that more than half of our LPs are women is a clear sign that the industry is moving toward the future we’ve always envisioned.”
Auxxo: Female founder-centric fund
Founded by Bettine Schmitz and Dr. Gesa Miczaika, Auxxo is Europe’s leading venture capital fund focused exclusively on investments in teams with at least one female founder.
The team combines over 25 years of technical VC experience with deep operational expertise in startups.
Before founding Auxxo, Bettine worked as an investor at Axel Springer Plug & Play Accelerator, helping companies like N26 and Studysmarter succeed.
Dr. Gesa Miczaika was the first employee at Blacklane, where she played a key role in the company’s international expansion. She is the former Vice President of the Board of the German Startup Association (Bundesverband Deutsche Startups).
“Our model has always been based on trust, transparency, and teamwork,” adds Dr. Gesa Miczaika, Co-Founder and General Partner. “We bring the full force of our movement and our decades of combined experience into each of our portfolio companies. We look forward to building on the extraordinary momentum of Fund I and continuing to prove that female founders are not just an investment opportunity – they are the future of European innovation.”
