Project A

📣 Congratulations to portfolio company VÆRIDION for reaching new altitudes after raising a €14 million Series A round to decarbonize short-haul flights by 2030 with their zero-emission electric Microliner. VÆRIDION is the first e-aviation company to have secured a milestone Pre-Application Contract (PAC) with the EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency. This landmark achievement demonstrates their product compliance with certification standards for commercial passenger aircraft, positioning the company ahead of its competitors. Project A first invested in VÆRIDION at Seed alongside Vsquared Ventures in 2022; we have since been following their journey with excitement due to the enormous opportunity to future-proof one of the most carbon-intensive industries on the planet. The company’s Series A funding round has been led by World Fund alongside Vsquared Ventures, Andreas Kupke, Schwarz Holding GmbH, InnovationQuarter, and Project A. 📰 For more details about their future horizons and milestones, read their press coverage in Reuters, Sifted, Börsen-Zeitung, and Business Insider (link in comments) CC. Ivor van Dartel, Dr. Sebastian Seemann, Bozhena H., Markus Ekert, Markus Kochs-Kämper, Douglas Costa, Evan O'Connor, Nando van Arnhem and Marina Hutter

This week, we hosted a Product Community Meetup at Project A with berlin product managers (BPM) - and it was great to see so many highly engaged people join us! The panel on Funnel Optimization was a great reminder that improving conversion rates is always a team effort. It was inspiring to see data, marketing, CRM, and product experts sharing ideas and collaborating 💪 A big thank-you to our panelists, Raluca Bujoreanu, João Colaco de Freitas (JCF), Faithful Adia, and our very own Winnie Leung, Jessica Jantzen and Johanna Gmelin, for their practical and inspiring insights. And thanks to the Berlin product community for showing up and making it such a meaningful evening 👏

We’re excited to co-host this fantastic event with berlin product managers! Join us on 3rd December at the Project A office for an insightful panel discussion on Funnel Optimization, featuring: Jessica Jantzen (Head of Marketing, Project A) Winnie Leung (Senior Data Analyst, Project A) Julian Eisele (Product Manager, Project A) Johanna Gmelin (Head of Product, Project A) Raluca Bujoreanu (Product Lead, Zalando) João Colaco de Freitas (JCF) (CPO, Banxware) Faithful Adia (Marketing Automation Lead, HelloFresh) We’ll explore how to transform user signals into actionable strategies that enhance your product funnels and drive growth 😎 ➡️ Secure your spot here: https://lu.ma/qd90sq1z Looking forward to seeing the Berlin product community there! #FunnelOptimization #ConversionRateOptimization #CRO #ProductManagement #UserExperience #ProductCommunity #ProjectA

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐀 𝐱 𝐈𝐐𝐓 - 𝐒𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 Last night, we cohosted an evening dedicated to Resilience and DeepTech with our friends at IQT (In-Q-Tel), bringing together over 150 founders, investors and LPs during Slush in Helsinki. With Trump's victory in the US and Ursula von der Leyen public proposal of the 28th regime, enabling a single rulebook for the whole of the EU, there was optimism in the room for the future home-grown of DefenseTech in Europe. Thank you to everyone that came over to contribute to the conversation! We are looking forward to seeing you in the next one 🔜 . 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘶𝘱𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴? Sign up to our Resilience Newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/eCJzzTCS cc Jack Wang, NATO Innovation Fund (NIF), Top Tier Capital Partners, Vsquared Ventures, General Catalyst, Lakestar, OTB Ventures, Nordic Defence Innovation Foundry

The US electorate has spoken and Germany is heading to the polls –  are we ready for the post-Zeitenwende era?   We’re thrilled to share the latest edition of our newsletter written by our Head of Platform and ESG Paola Compés Tatay, featuring key takeaways from the recent American Academy open session titled "Getting the Zeitenwende Right: Military and Society in Modern Germany" led by Academy president Daniel Benjamin, Wolfgang Ischinger, Amb. (rtd), President of the Munich Security Conference Foundation and Distinguished Visitor Dr. Mara Karlin, former United States Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities. This important discussion, co-sponsored by Project A and Sequoia Capital, offered a summary of a day-long workshop that brought together 27 distinguished defense experts to analyze Germany's evolving military role amid increasing international pressures. In this edition, we explore: 🔹 Germany's Pivotal Defense Investment: How Olaf Scholz's bold  €100 billion commitment is reshaping military strategy and public perception. 🔹 From Pacifism to Pragmatism: The significant shift in public support for the Bundeswehr and the ongoing challenges of bridging gaps in military preparedness. 🔹 Sustaining Support for Ukraine: Insights on the evolving narrative of Ukraine's resilience and the importance of continuous support amidst rising "compassion fatigue." 🔹 Overhauling Defense Procurement: The urgent need to adapt European defense systems to meet modern warfare demands. Join us in understanding the complexities of Germany’s defense strategy and the broader implications for NATO and European security. 📸 Annette Hornischer 👉 Read the full newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/ecZWHZhW

Today, our portfolio company 11x is announcing a $50 million Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The round comes exactly two years after Project A led their pre-seed as part of our Studio, and just two months after Benchmark led their Series A. 11x is redefining the workforce by developing AI-powered digital workers that autonomously execute workflows in revenue teams. By unbundling roles traditionally performed by employees, these digital workers can be “hired” to handle tasks efficiently and at scale. Their first two workers, Alice and Jordan, an AI sales development rep and an AI phone rep, are already supporting global companies in streamlining their processes and building more productive sales teams, by having their teams focus on important matters. Our Principal Mila Cramer has written down some thoughts on investing in 11x for the series A, link in the comments. Congratulations, Hasan, Prabhav and team 11x! PS: They are hiring across their offices in SF & London, link in comments.

Hei Helsinki! ❄️ The Project A team is heading to Slush! Catch Malin, Jack, Mila, Daria, Aggy, and Andrea as we pack our winter boots to join founders and fellow investors. Have an idea or just want to chat? Drop us a message! 📩 P.S. Daria is on a mission to try Karjalanpiirakka. Any tips on where to find the best? 🥟 Looking forward to some great conversations! #slush2024 #founders #helsinki #venturecapital

Hosting Early Builders at Project A for their first event outside Paris was truly enjoyable, especially for me as someone who's transitioned from operator to investor. Their initiative to create a community for the early employees, the pivotal yet often overlooked operators who take almost as big a risk as entrepreneurs and join a company as employee #1, deeply resonates with me. Having worked hands-on with many startups from the get-go, I can recall countless times when a 'support group' of like-minded operators would have been immensely beneficial. The team around Victoria, Baptiste and Hamza is building this community and put together a fantastic panel of three first employees from German startups that reached unicorn status: Sara Fee Kirschhausen (Trade Republic), Nina Göntgen-Voss (Forto) and Robert Friedemann (Gorillas), who engaged with an audience of 40 operators from early-stage startups and scale-ups, making for a memorable event. If you're thinking of joining a rocket ship early on, I can point you towards some companies that we've collaborated with at our Project A #Studio like: 11x, ARX Robotics, Root Global, ENAPI, Copay, montamo, Tabular – and some still in stealth where you'd truly be employee #1. Get in touch if you're interested! -- Video credits: Diego Jordi Perret & Jose Sanchez Galindo And follow Early Builders on LinkedIn to not miss their next events!

🎥 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗔𝗞𝗖𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰! 🎉 From prepping in our 12 different stages over 9 buzzing Hives to the epic afterparty with over 2,000 amazing guests, PAKCon 2024 was unforgettable! A massive shoutout to everyone who came and to our fantastic speakers for sharing such wisdom. We’re already excited for PAKCon 2025 and have some thrilling new surprises in store! 📺 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲: https://lnkd.in/exAuQCWx! More awesome moments coming soon.

🚚 Yesterday Philipp Werner and Ciara Gumsheimer brought together a group of founders, investors, and experts in the global supply chains to discuss changes in the funding environment in #SupplyChainTech over the past few years. Many thanks to AlbionVC for co-hosting this breakfast with us! Some key takeaways from the discussion: From 2022 onwards, supply chain disruptions have continued, prompting ongoing tech adoption across various verticals, with applied AI emerging as a transformative force and critical answer to “why now?”. The investor landscape is witnessing accelerated adoption of supply chain tech, sparking heightened interest despite some hesitation due scar tissue from the 2020-2022 period. Many do not realise how pen and paper driven supply chains still are, which is why we are excited about the opportunity for innovation and transformation across all parts of the supply chain. Thanks to everyone who joined and contributed to the discussion! Valérie Aelbrecht, Adam Chirkowski, Cato Davies, Christy McCaig, Daniel Sharp, Dylan Maxwell, Duran Cesur, Eyal Goldberg, Gaurav Bajaj, James Coombes, James Kellett, Laure Kierszenbaum, Jonathan Jenssen, Nicole Mazza, Lorenzo Cerchi, Max Roz, Mark Batunskiy, Sarah Montgomery, Tom Hibbard. #GlobalSupplyChains #SupplyChainTech #Innovation #VentureCapital #Founders #FundingTrends