This year, Sifted has combined its Germany, Central and Eastern Europe rankings into one powerhouse list: the Sifted 100: DACH & CEE. The leaderboard highlights the 100 fastest-growing startups in the region, ranked by revenue growth over the past three years.
While the startups may be getting the spotlight, it’s the investors behind them who’ve helped fuel their rise. HV Capital, Speedinvest and Startup Wise Guys are the most active private backers of this year’s cohort, each with six portfolio companies. On the public side, the European Innovation Council (EIC) leads with stakes in five.
The 2025 cohort has raised an average of €100m — up 28% from the €78m raised by companies across the three individual leaderboards last year. Between them the 100 startups have raised money from 765 investors; 47% of them backed at least one company that made the cut in both 2024 and 2025.
VCs make up half of that group — led by HV Capital. Angel investors accounted for 14%, including notable names like Bolt backer Mikko Silventola, who’s invested in three companies on the list.
Sifted ranked investors first by the number of portfolio companies that feature in this year’s cohort, followed by the average two-year revenue CAGR of those startups. The full ranking is available to Pro subscribers here.
Top 10 DACH & CEE leaderboard investors
1/ HV Capital
HQ: Germany
2025 count: 6 (same as 2024)
Average company CAGR: 303.97%
Companies: Finn (#1), N8n (#9), Neura Robotics (#13), Charles (#33), KoRo (#93), CoachHub (#98)
2024 rank: 4
A mainstay of the German VC scene, HV Capital has been backing European tech startups since 2000. With offices in Berlin and Munich, the firm is deeply rooted in the DACH ecosystem. Its portfolio includes standout exits like e-commerce platform Depop, food delivery app Delivery Hero and meal prep company HelloFresh, and it continues to bet on Europe’s future giants. HV backed this year’s fastest-growing startup, Finn, from seed through to Series C.
2/ Startup Wise Guys
HQ: Estonia
2025 count: 6 (-1 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 147.44%
Companies: Turing College (#14), Supliful (#18), Montonio (#24), Torus (#51), Ringy (#57), Yaga (#72)
2024 rank: 3
Founded in 2012 in Estonia, Startup Wise Guys has built its name on a mentorship-driven approach to early-stage investing. Alongside capital, the Baltic accelerator brings deep operational support to companies and has worked with more than 400 B2B startups across Europe and beyond.
3/ Speedinvest
HQ: Austria
2025 count: 6 (+2 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 122.85%
Companies: Wefox (#12), Nilo (#23), Pliant (#32),Tuum (#68), Refurbed (#76), CoachHub (#98)
2024 rank: 10
Founded in 2011, Speedinvest is Austria’s leading early-stage investor, managing more than €1bn in assets. With offices in Vienna, Berlin, London and Paris, the firm uses its extensive network and expertise to back standout companies. Notable investments include its participation in Wefox’s $650m Series C at a $3bn valuation in 2021, which ranked 12th on this year’s leaderboard.
4/ Plug and Play
HQ: United States
2025 count: 5 (-3 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 290.37%
Companies: Finn (#1), Charles (#33), Parloa (#43), Tuum (#68), Seon (#74)
2024 rank: 2
Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play operates both as an accelerator and a VC, investing in early-stage startups across 15 countries. Since expanding to London in 2019, the investor has scaled its presence across the continent — with local programmes in Berlin and Vienna connecting startups to corporates like Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Bank and Vodafone. It was also the fourth most successful investor on this year’s Sifted 100: UK & Ireland investor ranking.
5/ European Innovation Council
HQ: Belgium
2025 count: 5 (same as 2024)
Average company CAGR: 136.28%
Companies: Turing College (#14), Avelios Medical (#20), xFarm Technologies (#37), Patchstack (#52), Creal (#97)
2024 rank: 5
The EIC is the EU’s flagship public tech investor, offering a mix of grant funding and equity investment via its €4bn EIC Fund.
6/ Specialist VC
HQ: Germany
2025 count: 5 (+3 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 125.55%
Companies: Vok Bikes (#17), Montonio (#24), Patchstack (#52), MyDello (#69), Yaga (#72)
2024 rank: 69
Estonia-based Specialist VC backs early-stage startups in B2B SaaS, fintech and deeptech, investing from pre-seed to Series A across the Baltics, Finland and Ukraine. It writes cheques of €250k-3m. The firm is an early-backer of some of Estonia’s success stories, such as mobility giant Bolt and delivery robot startup Starship Technologies.
7/ EIT
HQ: Estonia
2025 count: 5 (-8 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 79.48%
Companies: PVcase (#40), Roofit.Solar (#46), Ampeco (#63), Jentis (#81), Walk15 (#84)
2024 rank: 1
EU body EIT provides early- and growth-stage funding, combining capital, tech transfer, ecosystem connectivity and grant leverage to support science-based startups.
8/ Partech
HQ: France
2025 count: 4 (+2 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 153.79%
Companies: The Exploration Company (#7), xFarm Technologies (#37), KoRo (#93), CoachHub (#98)
2024 rank: 80
With roots in both Silicon Valley and Paris, Partech invests across all stages, from seed to growth, and has a particularly strong track record in B2B SaaS and fintech. It’s been an early supporter of standout European companies, including space startup The Exploration Company, ranked 7th on the leaderboard, backing both its Series A and B rounds.
9/ SevenVentures
HQ: Germany
2025 count: 4 (same as 2024)
Average company CAGR: 85.18%
Companies: mybacs (#31), Timeless Investments (#48), Refurbed (#76), KoRo (#93)
2024 rank: 11
The venture arm of German media giant ProSiebenSat.1, SevenVentures offers startups TV advertising in exchange for equity, giving startups the opportunity to scale quickly by reaching mass-market audiences.
10/ Citi
HQ: United States
2025 count: 3 (+1 vs. 2024)
Average company CAGR: 414.39%
Companies: Finn (#1), Everphone (#49), Tuum (#68)
2024 rank: 98
As one of the largest banks in the US, Citi deploys capital across its venture arms, with Citi Ventures focusing on fintech, data and cybersecurity. Often co-investing with top VCs, the firm aligns its investments with Citi’s broader innovation strategy to help shape the future of finance and tech. Beyond equity, Citi also provides venture debt, including a €1bn facility with Jefferies to Finn earlier this year, giving startups flexible funding options as they scale.
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/investors-backing-dach-cee-fastest-growing-startups/
