Lakestar
Pan-European VC backing visionary tech entrepreneurs from seed to scale.
Lakestar is a leading pan-European venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Klaus Hommels, based in Zurich with offices in Berlin, London, New York, and Hong Kong. With over €2 billion in assets under management across four early-stage and two growth funds, Lakestar backs groundbreaking technology companies from seed stage to scale. The firm has backed global leaders including Spotify, Revolut, Klarna, Skype, Aleph Alpha, Isar Aerospace, and Neko Health. Klaus Hommels also serves as chair of the NATO Innovation Fund, underscoring Lakestar's deep involvement in Europe's defence and dual-use technology ecosystem.
Overview
- Firm
- Lakestar
- Headquarters
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Founded
- 2012
- AUM
- €2B+
- Stages
- Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
- Thesis
- Back visionary tech entrepreneurs building globally scalable businesses across deep tech, fintech, healthcare, digitalisation, and defence.
- Website
- lakestar.com/
Portfolio companies10
- CompanySE3 LabsSpatial AI platform for autonomous systems, enabling machines to perceive, reason, and act in 3D.
- CompanyAuterionOpen-source drone operating system and fleet management software for defense and enterprise.
- CompanyCosineBritish sovereign-AI company building air-gapped, on-premise foundation models for defense and critical infrastructure.
- CompanyOnodrimAmsterdam-based defense industrial platform helping established European defense/industrial producers scale manufacturing capacity, multi-domain sensing, and networked systems.
- CompanyUforceUkraine's first defense-tech unicorn — combat-proven unmanned systems and battlefield C2 software.
- CompanyCambridge AerospaceUK counter-drone startup building the Skyhammer interceptor family (range 30km+, top speed 700km/h) for drones and low-speed cruise missiles; UK Ministry of Defence agreed in April 2026 to buy hundreds of Skyhammer systems.
- CompanyExeinRome-based embedded/IoT cybersecurity firm securing firmware across critical infrastructure, industrial, and aerospace devices.
- CompanyTwentyfour IndustriesGerman maker of a cost-efficient, mass-manufacturable quadcopter drone for short military missions.
- CompanyDominion DynamicsOttawa-based Arctic sensor-network and autonomous-drone maker building Canada's 'defence neoprime.'
- CompanyAgonLondon/Berlin-based defense AI startup building synthetic-battlefield infrastructure to train and validate autonomous weapon systems.
Partners0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What is Lakestar?
- Back visionary tech entrepreneurs building globally scalable businesses across deep tech, fintech, healthcare, digitalisation, and defence.
- How much does Lakestar manage?
- Lakestar manages €2B+ in assets, and was founded in 2012.
- What stages does Lakestar invest at?
- Lakestar invests at Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth.
Sources & citations1
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- 1
Lakestar founded in 2012 by Klaus Hommels; €2B+ AUM; portfolio includes Spotify, Revolut, Klarna, Isar Aerospace, Aleph Alpha.
Lakestar: Lakestar — AboutReported2026-06-30