Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Heinemannstraße 2, Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, 53175, Germany
Overview
The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research funds research programs and institutions, supervises nuclear energy, and establishes educational policy in general.
- Total investments
- 4
- Lead investments
- 2
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Education
- Government
Investment portfolio
- NetBird
Participated · Seed · Dec 2024
NetBird is a Berlin-based software company that offers an open-source network security platform designed to create secure, private networks for organisations of all sizes. The product eliminates the need for port configuration, centralised gateways, and complex firewall rules, dramatically reducing operational complexity for engineers and DevOps teams. Since launching on GitHub in 2021, NetBird has grown through a product-led, community-driven model in which users freely test the software in their homelabs before championing wider adoption. Its customer roster spans managed service providers, technology firms, large enterprises, and public-sector organisations, with names such as Sport Alliance, netgo, Signicat, and VIEW Group already deploying the platform. NetBird positions itself as a European-developed, privacy-focused alternative to legacy VPN solutions that often suffer from recurring security vulnerabilities and heavy maintenance burdens. The company’s go-to-market strategy centres on transparent open-source development, minimal friction onboarding, and strong community engagement. Fresh capital from its Series A round gives NetBird the resources to extend engineering efforts, broaden product use cases, bolster community support, and continue global expansion.
- Ebenbuild
Led · Equity · Nov 2023
Ebenbuild is a Munich-based start-up that develops personalized lung simulation models—digital lung twins—built from patient-specific data to support intensive care treatment decisions. Its platform aims to replicate individual lungs so clinicians can evaluate different treatment options under real-life conditions to improve ventilation quality for mechanically ventilated ARDS patients. Ebenbuild will use BMBF grant funding (up to €900,000 as part of a €1.8M UBIC consortium award) to advance AI and simulation technologies to model heterogeneously damaged lungs. The company plans to work with multiple university hospitals in a multicenter study to collect and evaluate patient data and validate its digital twin models. Management frames this work as crucial for improving digitally supported decision-making in intensive care medicine and reducing ARDS mortality by enabling tailored ventilation strategies. There are no operating metrics reported in the article beyond the grant award; leadership includes CEO and co-founder Dr. Kei Müller. Ebenbuild develops patient-specific lung simulation models — “digital twins” — that predict airflow, pressure and tissue strain to guide mechanical ventilation for ICU patients with ARDS. The software uses patient data such as medical images to generate virtual models and evaluate digital biomarkers for individualized treatment decisions. The company was founded in April 2019 following research at the Technical University of Munich and is based in Munich. Ebenbuild says its product is intended to reduce lung damage, shorten hospital stays and improve treatment outcomes and mortality for ARDS patients. The team plans to use new funding to advance its prototype toward clinical application, market launch and medicinal product approval. Financially, Ebenbuild announced a seven-figure seed financing round totaling €2.5 million.
- OMEICOS Therapeutics
Led · Grant · Jun 2023
OMEICOS Therapeutics is developing first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics derived from omega-3 fatty acid metabolism, with a lead candidate OMT-28. OMT-28 is an orally available synthetic analogue of omega-3–derived epoxyeicosanoids with improved biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties. The company plans to expand OMT-28’s clinical development into Primary Mitochondrial Disease (PMD) and other indications including inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases. OMEICOS received a €2.5 million grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the “KMU-innovativ: Biomedizin” program to co-finance an upcoming Phase 2a clinical study in PMD. The Phase 2a study design received first approvals from regulatory authorities in April 2023 and will be conducted in leading European clinical centres for mitochondrial pathologies. In prior development, OMT-28 showed an excellent safety profile across two clinical trials involving 162 individuals and demonstrated effects on biomarkers including GDF-15, IL-6, PTX-3 and hs-CRP. The BMBF funding supplements the company’s own investment and is presented as validation for advancing OMT-28 into PMD. OMEICOS develops first-in-class small-molecule therapeutics—metabolically robust synthetic analogues of omega-3–derived epoxyeicosanoids—that activate anti-arrhythmic, cardioprotective and anti-inflammatory pathways. Its lead candidate, OMT-28, is being advanced for atrial fibrillation and has shown favorable safety and pharmacokinetic properties versus natural counterparts. The company plans to use the financing to fund PROMISE-AF, a placebo-controlled, double-blinded, randomized, dose-finding Phase II study of OMT-28 for maintenance of sinus rhythm after electrical cardioversion in persistent atrial fibrillation. OMEICOS is also expanding its pipeline into ophthalmology; its U.S.-based subsidiary OMEICOS Ophthalmics (established in Boston in August 2017) is pursuing preclinical programs for macular edema, wet AMD and diabetic retinopathy. The compounds are orally available and intended to offer improved biological activity and dosing convenience compared with existing treatments. The Series C proceeds will support pivotal-stage development plans in atrial fibrillation and continued work on novel indications including ophthalmology. OMEICOS Therapeutics is a Berlin-based biopharmaceutical spin-off from the Max Delbrueck Center developing first-in-class, orally available small-molecule therapeutics that mimic omega-3–derived lipid mediators. Its proprietary synthetic epoxyeicosanoid analogues aim to prevent and treat inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases and show improved biological activity and pharmacokinetic properties versus natural counterparts. The company secured an extension of its recently closed Series B financing from US-based REMIGES Ventures, which joins an existing investor consortium including Vesalius Biocapital II, a SMS Group company, VC Fonds Technologie Berlin, Hightech Gründerfonds II and KfW. Financial details of the additional investment were not disclosed. Proceeds will fund expansion of the technology into ophthalmology, including preclinical testing of multiple compounds and routes of administration for eye diseases such as age-related macular degeneration. In conjunction with the extension, OMEICOS established a U.S. subsidiary, OMEICOS Ophthalmics, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support the new ophthalmic development efforts and access local biotech expertise. OMEICOS is advancing orally available, metabolically robust synthetic analogues of omega-3 fatty acid–derived epoxyeicosanoids as small-molecule therapeutics with organ- and tissue-protective properties. Its lead candidate, OMT-28, is a stable synthetic analog optimized for efficacy, safety and oral bioavailability and has shown anti-arrhythmic and cardioprotective potential in in vivo models. OMT-28 is currently being evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study in Germany. The company recently received approval of an approximately €1.7 million research grant from the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to advance a specific research project. That grant covers half of the project investment, with the other half funded from a Series B round closed earlier this year. As part of the Ascenion Spinnovator program and the Series B proceeds, OMEICOS has secured roughly €4 million in non-dilutive funding to date. The funds will be used to advance clinical development in atrial fibrillation and to explore other potential applications of its mode of action within cardiovascular disease and beyond. OMEICOS is a spin-off from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. OMEICOS develops metabolically robust synthetic analogs of omega‑3 fatty acid epoxyeicosanoids, with lead candidate OMT‑28 optimized for high efficacy, safety and oral bioavailability. OMT‑28 is a stable synthetic analog of the natural metabolite 17,18‑EEQ and has shown anti‑arrhythmic and cardioprotective effects in in vivo experimental models. The company is initially focused on atrial fibrillation and other inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, while noting potential wider application across disease areas. OMEICOS has initiated a first‑in‑human, randomized, double‑blind, placebo‑controlled Phase 1 study in Germany to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single and multiple ascending doses in up to 100 healthy volunteers. Research was originated as a spin‑off from the Max Delbrueck Center and is supported in part by a grant from the German Ministry of Education and Research. The company intends to use clinical data to progress rapidly toward a subsequent Phase 2 trial.
- Galantos Pharma
Participated · Series C · May 2010
Galantos Pharma develops therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases with a primary focus on Alzheimer’s dementia. Its lead compound is Memogain®, which the company plans to advance into clinical testing. The company raised €4.4m in a Series C financing to support that progression and the development of additional neuroprotective AD compounds. Investors in the round include VRP, KfW, FIB, WFT and HTGF, and it also received public funds from the BMBF. The financing will be used specifically to bring Memogain® into the clinic and to develop novel Alzheimer’s disease compounds. Galantos is based in Mainz, Germany.
Team
No current team members are available.