10x Founders

What an incredible few days we had at #Bits24, immersed in the energy, innovation, and passion of our network 🥨 In addition to the content-packed sessions we hosted on stage, we welcomed top entrepreneurs, VCs, and investors to our VIP lounge, offered a pitch training session with Broadway actor Chris Roe, and provided the most fun shuttle to the Speaker Dinner and Afterparty. Thank you to everyone who joined us, stopped by to say hello, and made this year's Bits & Pretzels so special. We're beyond grateful to have such a thriving venture network. See you next year! 🙌

Today, iGent AI introduces Maestro, a revolutionary platform that brings engineering intelligence to software development. iGent AI is backed by £6.3M ($8M) from leading European investors including HV Capital, XTX Ventures, TwinPath, 10x Founders, and Dhyan, Maestro represents a quantum leap in how software is conceived, architected, and evolved.   At its core, Maestro embodies a vision where AI doesn't just assist in coding tasks but actively participates in the entire development lifecycle. This vision is born from the diverse experiences of co-founders Sean Ward and Martin Szummer, each of whom has pushed the boundaries of human-machine collaboration in their respective fields.   "Maestro transforms how we approach software engineering," explains Sean Ward, CEO and co-founder of iGent AI. "By combining sophisticated reasoning with adaptive autonomy, it enables developers to focus on the 'why' and 'what' of their systems, while maintaining sustained engineering intelligence across extended sessions. This ability to seamlessly transition between collaborative refinement and autonomous execution fundamentally changes what's possible in software development."   Martin Szummer, whose work on conversational AI at VocalIQ (later acquired by Apple) transformed how machines understand and respond to human intent, saw the potential for AI to engage in high-level design decisions. "What distinguishes Maestro is its mastery of the full spectrum of software engineering," Szummer notes. "It makes informed architectural choices, anticipates scalability challenges, and maintains consistency across extensive codebases."   Maestro has been instrumental in its own development, showcasing remarkable autonomous capabilities. Its unique adaptive autonomy allows seamless transitions between interactive collaboration and independent execution - from rapid iteration on sophisticated designs to sustained development sessions that deliver production-ready code. The implications extend beyond traditional development teams. Domain experts can now directly shape their software solutions, startup founders can accelerate from idea to implementation, and enterprise teams can focus on innovation rather than technical details. Legacy system maintenance becomes an opportunity for advancement rather than a burden, while comprehensive refactoring initiatives can be executed with confidence.   We're building a team as ambitious as our vision. If you're passionate about reshaping software development through intelligence, visit igent.ai/join-us to explore opportunities to join us in London.   For developers ready to experience this advancement firsthand, we're opening access to Maestro through our partner program. Whether you're creating innovative systems, reimagining existing code, or taking on architectural challenges, apply now at igent.ai to be among the first to leverage Maestro's capabilities.

Munich-based startup Beyond Presence has just secured $3.1M in pre-seed funding led by HV Capital, with participation from us, Alba VC, and angels from the likes of Meta, DeepMind, and Zalando 🌟 👥 Beyond Presence is revolutionizing the digital space by creating hyper-realistic avatars for real-time, unscripted conversations. Imagine a video version of text-based chatbots powered by AI, but with avatars that look and sound exactly like their human counterparts. Beyond Presence is poised to transform industries such as customer service, recruitment, sales, and e-learning. Their product is currently being developed, with 300 companies on the waiting list. 💡 Led by Awais Shafique, whose previous startup Presize was acquired by Meta, the Beyond Presence team is no stranger to success in the AI space. 🔐 The startup's proprietary technology integrates voice and AI models, allowing companies to create avatars that maintain privacy and ensure GDPR compliance - all while delivering natural, high-quality communication. ➡️ Read more about Beyond Presence and their vision on TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/gtdE3mPr

It’s about time - we are finally out of stealth with Jam! We build an AI-first operating system for sales enablement, starting with the very core: closing the training gap in sales organizations by integrating highly individualized AI-powered role-plays with a performance management toolkit for managers into one platform that is loved by sales reps and brings an unfair advantage to any sales team. 💥 🚀 More than excited to have started this journey together with incredible co-founders, both brilliant in their domain and beyond: Tobias Hoelzer & Clemens Lechner. Together with our rockstar triple-A team around Slobodan Utvić, Nikolaos Souris and Nils Lepper we have already achieved great things since we founded the company early this year: ✅ Closing an oversubscribed pre-seed round in March with some of the best seed investors you can imagine: Picus Capital, 10x Founders and First Momentum Ventures ✅ Launching in September with our first customers who strongly believe in the impact of effective sales training, only 6 months after the first line of code ✅ Expanding our product in lightspeed and delivering what sales reps and managers truly want, based on the invaluable feedback from our users We are just getting started - stay tuned and reach out if you want us to supercharge your sales team 🚀🚀 Thanks to all our investors, backers and believers for your early support and trust: Robin Godenrath, Lorenz Kammer, Rupert Schaefer, Nico Schoenenberger, David Meiborg, Felix Jahn, Philipp Kreibohm, Stefan Zuschke, Milos Rusic, Dr. Alexander Stage, Björn Goß, Sven Gasper, Adrian Frenzel, Matthias Heinz, Robin Steps, Sebastian Schuon, Jens Quadbeck, Ralf Neeb

We’re excited to welcome Stella Xu, CFA to 10x Founders as our Transaction and Fund Manager 🎉 Stella’s career journey has taken her from the Deal Advisory Financial Services team at KPMG to FINN, where she played a key role during their hyper-growth phase as the first strategic finance hire. With a strong foundation in business planning and strategic finance, as well as being a CFA program graduate, Stella now brings her expertise to our Finance team. In her new role, she’ll be instrumental in shaping our investment infrastructure, working closely with the CFO, partners, and investment team. Her contributions will directly impact how we source, evaluate, and execute investments while managing our portfolio. Outside of work, Stella enjoys exploring new cultures and cuisines and staying active in nature—having lived in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, and the UK before returning to Munich. Welcome to the team, Stella! We’re thrilled to have you on board and can’t wait to see the impact you’ll make at 10x Founders.

📣 We’re excited to announce fynk’s €3.1M financing round, led by 3VC, with participation from Hans(wo)men Group, CoastCap, and us! 📝 Fynk is transforming Contract Lifecycle Management with its AI-powered platform, making contract management more accessible. By streamlining the drafting, reviewing, and management of contracts, fynk addresses a key pain point for teams without dedicated legal resources. 📈 Since their founding in 2022, fynk has shown remarkable growth, securing a strong customer base and significant revenue traction. Their success is highlighted by recognition on platforms like G2, where they’ve earned the titles of Best Support and Easiest Setup in G2’s Fall 2024 report. 💪 Backed by a seasoned founding team with a proven track record, we believe fynk is set to lead in the expanding CLM market, projected to reach between €1.3B and €3B. As Felix Haas puts it, “With its software, fynk is transforming a market that has seen little innovation in recent years. Fynk’s solution not only saves time but also empowers non-lawyers to significantly increase their productivity, aligning perfectly with our investment philosophy. The founders have already demonstrated their ability to scale a software company successfully.” We’re thrilled to support Constantin Wintoniak, Dominik Hackl, Markus Presle, and their talented team as they continue to harness AI to redefine contract management in today’s fast-moving business landscape!

One of our favorite weeks of the year is finally here – we can’t wait to experience the Magic of Many at #Bits24 ✨ Here are some highlights of what our team is up to, sorted by day. Bits & Pretzels Day 1: Nico Schoenenberger is one of the Money Pit stage hosts and will lead a session on Shaping the Future: Gen Z Visionaries in Venture Capital (11:30 AM - 12:05 PM). Jan Reichelt shares key trends and insights on the same stage hosting the session Navigating Today’s Market: Trends, Insights, and Future Outlooks (1:00 PM - 1:30 PM). And of course, you will see Felix Haas on stage plenty of times during Bits & Pretzels, for example on the Main Stage in conversation with Verena Pausder, President of the German Startup Association (10:45 AM - 11:05 AM). Pauline Maria Brenninkmeyer will be back to co-host the ever-popular pitch competition on both days. Day 2 is all about the Investor Summit: Join Omar Hedeya's insightful talk on building a VC co-pilot there (10:15 - 10:25 AM). Felix Haas co-hosts the Investor Summit, then returns to the Main Stage with Philipp Freise to discuss Europe’s Competitiveness (3:55 PM - 4:20 PM). And if you’re an Arab founder, Arab investor, or Arab operational staff, reach out to Omar to join his #Habibits side event on Day 2. On Day 3, join Rupert Schaefer at his table, guiding meaningful discussions on the state of investing. As always, our full team will be ready to greet you at our VIP lounge right by the entrance. Stop by, say hello, and let’s make this year’s Bits & Pretzels truly unforgettable! 🥨

Our paths have crossed many times before and now we welcome Rupert Schaefer as a General Partner 🎉! His journey with 10x Founders began as a Limited Partner, later evolving into a role as Venture Partner. Rupert's entrepreneurial background, including the successful exit of the Nunatak Group, and his deep expertise in angel investing further strengthen our promise to founders to share our own hard-earned insights and provide access to an amazing network. As an angel investor for over a decade, Rupert co-founded the angel syndicate buildery.vc in Munich and has invested in multiple companies. In addition, he is the co-founder of the European Entrepreneurs Forum (EEF), a non-profit, which brings together 100 of Europe's most successful entrepreneurs and business leaders who are using their entrepreneurial power to drive social progress. We would also like to express our gratitude to Claudius Jablonka, who has played a pivotal role in the building of 10x Founders. Whilst he has transitioned out of his General Partner role, Claudius will remain close to 10x Founders as a Senior Advisor, and we look forward to collaborating in this new capacity.

Relive the magic of our 10x Founders Summit with us 🎬 About a month ago, 150 of our incredible portfolio founders, LPs, and co-investors gathered in sunny Stockholm. We can't wait to bring this vibrant network together again next month for Bits & Pretzels. See you there!

𝟭𝟬𝘅 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗺: Celebrating the Magic of Many ✨ We just wrapped up an amazing three days in the beautiful Swedish countryside with our unique venture network. We had so many insightful, joyful, and inspiring conversations that we’re bringing back home with us. Our agenda highlights: 🤝 We focused on creating genuine relationships and discussed vital topics like community-driven investors. 🎤 Each attending portfolio founder had three minutes on stage, impressively showcasing our diverse and strong portfolio performance. Thank you so much again to our portfolio champions! 🇸🇪 Fredrik Hjelm and John Elvesjö shared hands on insights from the Swedish startup ecosystem. 🧘 We prioritized mental well-being with breathwork sessions, ice bathing, and discussions on mental health as a cornerstone of longevity, providing space for reflection and relaxation during these busy days. Thank you all so much for coming. You made the Magic of Many come to life!