May Ventures Launches With Over €30M In Capital And An AI-Focused Mission

The fund, targeting €50 million in total, is backed by NRW.BANK, Sparkassen and Volksbanken group banks, and Helaba.

May Ventures, founded in 2025 and based in Münster, Germany, is an early-stage venture capital fund. Focusing on next-generation tech, industry, and impact innovation, the firm invests in pre-seed and seed startups, providing capital, guidance, and support to help founders scale transformative businesses across Europe and beyond.

“We see ourselves as partners for Founders who are bold enough to take new paths – just like we did ourselves,” says Managing Partner Maximilian Derpa. “Our goal is to support startups at an early stage and accompany their growth with capital, know-how, and a strong network.”

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May Ventures’ launch coincides with accelerating AI investment across Europe. In Germany, startups like yasp (€4.2M seed), Mercanis (€17.3M Series A), Makersite (€60M Series B), and 36ZERO Vision (€3.6M pre-Series A) have all raised rounds in 2025. Alongside new funds like Paris-based C4 Ventures (€100M), May Ventures’ €30M first close toward its €50M target highlights strong momentum in AI funding, with a focus on backing early-stage Founders in the DACH region.

Commenting on the investment focus, Managing Partner Dominik Lohle adds: “We are convinced that the next wave of European tech successes will be driven by artificial intelligence. With May Ventures, we are building a fund out of Münster that not only finances AI but applies it consistently – as an AI-native VC with international ambition.”

“I have known Founder Christian Ninstel, a young but already serial entrepreneur, for several years. We supported his journey early on and initially inspired him for the startup world through a university seminar. The success of Droidrun and its global attention show that ambitious founding teams do not have to hide outside of traditional startup hubs and can succeed internationally,” says Lohle.