Cherry Ventures

Slush delivered again! From founder conversations to stage insights, here's Cherry's week in Helsinki: Day 0 saw Filip Felician Dames on stage with Hussein Kanji and Gil Dibner at the Cable Factory – setting the tone for a week of real talk about VC fund structures and European tech's future. Sustainability took centre stage as Christian Meermann and Jochen Engert cut through the noise in green-transport. Big questions and honest answers about what's actually scaling in mobility. On the Builders Stage, Sophia Bendz lifted the lid on early-stage fundraising. We're proud our Cherry team has experience on both sides of the table so we never miss a chance to share our operator-turned-investor perspective with founders. The main event, Slush 100, was special this year – Maximilian Brückner joining forces with Henrietta Moon, Otto Söderlund, and Marta Sjögren for the semis, before Filip took the finals stage with Cal Henderson, Juliet Bailin from General Catalyst and Jochen Engert. In their panel discussion, Filip and Juliet broke down what we look for at seed: • Strong teams over polished pitches – we back founders who can weather storms together • Concrete solutions + transformative visions – the ability to execute today while building for tomorrow • Global ambition – with 10x more capital and deeper talent pools, European founders are thinking bigger than ever We couldn't be more excited to welcome the winners, OASYS NOW, to the Cherry portfolio! Beyond the numbers (13k attendees, 5.5k startups, 3.3k investors), we love meeting founders redefining what's possible in European tech. Major props to the Slush crew – Aino Bergius, Kalle Kahanpää, Konrad Kordowski, and the army of volunteers, to just name a few. You've built something extraordinary here. Until next year! 🍒 Alexander Langholz-Baikousis, Christian Meermann, Jasper Masemann, Bruno A. Wisniewski, Maximilian Brückner, Juliette Berri 📷 Otto Jahnukainen, Julius Konttinen Riikka Vaahtera 

Last day at Slush and we're going big! 🚀 Don't miss Sophia Bendz at 12:30 PM on the Builders Stage sharing what makes a winning early-stage pitch. One of Europe's most renowned operators-turned-VCs, Sophia brings deep Nordic ecosystem knowledge and sharp insights on what actually moves the needle in early fundraising. Then: The Slush 100 Finals! Watch OASYS NOW, DevAlly, and Mohana compete for investment from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst. Filip Felician Dames joins Cal Henderson (Slack), Jochen Engert (Flix), and General Catalyst to crown this year's winner at 4:30 PM. 📍 Builders Stage | ⏰ 12:30 PM - Sophia on early-stage funding 📍 Main Stage | ⏰ 4:30 PM - Slush 100 Finals Find us between sessions! Alexander Langholz-Baikousis, Christian Meermann, Jasper Masemann, Bruno A. Wisniewski, Maximilian Brückner, and Juliette Berri are here too. 🍒

Day 1 at Slush! The Cherry team is out in full force in Helsinki. 🇫🇮 Catch Christian Meermann and Flix founder Jochen Engert tackling the reality of green transport today. From Hyperloops to better buses, learn what's actually moving the needle on sustainable travel? 📍 Impact Stage ⏰ 3:15 PM EET Alexander Langholz-Baikousis, Sophia Bendz, Filip Felician Dames, Jasper Masemann, Bruno A. Wisniewski, Maximilian Brückner, and Juliette Berri are all here - say hello! 🍒

Before the startups descend on Helsinki, Filip Felician Dames kicks off Cherry at Slush for today’s Day 0 investor gathering. Catch Filip Felician Dames today as he unpacks the science of fund construction with fellow Midas Listers Hussein Kanji (Hoxton Ventures) and Gil Dibner (Angular Ventures). From portfolio construction to return profiles – top-tier investors share their playbook. 📍 Cable Factory ⏰ 2:15 PM EET 🎤 Moderated by Forbes' Iain Martin The rest of the Cherry crew - Alexander Langholz-Baikousis, Sophia Bendz, Christian Meermann, Jasper Masemann, Bruno A. Wisniewski, Maximilian Brückner, and Juliette Berri - are also filtering into town – see you soon! 🍒

We first backed The Exploration Company in 2021 because space logistics needed a European leader. Today marks their $160M Series B - the largest space tech round in European history - alongside Plural, Balderton Capital, and Bessemer Venture Partners! 🍒 From day one, Hélène Huby's vision was clear: build a reusable space capsule that would give Europe true space autonomy. Two years later, TEC has secured landmark contracts with ESA and NASA for cargo services. Their NYX spacecraft makes space logistics reusable, modular, and sustainable - exactly what Europe needs for space autonomy. Read more about why we're doubling down on Europe's space future: https://lnkd.in/evVae9zX and more from the press in the comments below 👇 Filip Felician Dames Christian Meermann Jasper Masemann Sophia Bendz Dinika Mahtani Alexander Langholz-Baikousis

🇫🇮 We are heading to Slush 2024! Excited to join Europe's leading startup event in Helsinki. Here's where you can find us: 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 19 - 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗮𝘆 - Filip Felician Dames joins a panel on fund construction alongside Gil Dibner from Angular Ventures and Hussein Kanji from Hoxton Ventures, moderated by Iain Martin 📍 Cable Factory | ⏰ 2:15 PM EET 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 20 - Christian Meermann & Jochen Engert (Flix) explore "Hype vs. Reality: The Future of Green Transportation" 📍 Impact Stage | ⏰ 3:15 PM EET - Maximilian Brückner joins the Slush 100 Semi-Finals judging panel alongside Henrietta Moon (Carbo Culture), Otto Söderlund (Speechly (acquired by Roblox)), Marta Sjögren, and our friends from General Catalyst. 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 21 - Sophia Bendz shares insights on "How to Raise a Pre-seed/Seed Round" 📍 Builders Stage | ⏰ 12:30 PM EET - Filip Felician Dames joins the Slush 100 Finals judging panel alongside Jochen Engert (Flix), Robert Falck (Einride), and General Catalyst ⏰ 4:30 PM EET Look out for our team members Alexander Langholz-Baikousis, Filip Felician Dames, Sophia Bendz, Christian Meermann, Jasper Masemann, Bruno A. Wisniewski, Maximilian Brückner, and Juliette Berri throughout the event. Let's connect! 🍒

Europe has the talent, resources, and potential to be a global tech leader - but we need a clearer path to innovation. As the US election results remind us of evolving global dynamics, European startups continue to face unnecessary hurdles while other regions streamline their sectors through smart policy and regulatory support. Read Filip Felician Dames' latest opinion piece in Welt on how Europe can unlock its full potential and shape the future of technology. With decisive action and the right framework, Europe can secure its technological independence and lead in crucial areas like AI, defense technologies, and sustainable innovation. https://lnkd.in/e5VuwYj7 Filip Felician Dames Christian Meermann Sophia Bendz Dinika Mahtani Jasper Masemann Alexander Langholz-Baikousis

While tech giants chase perfection, a new wave of focused AI companies is winning by being "good enough." 🎯 In the latest episode of The Edge podcast with Jasper Masemann and Lutz Finger, Ferdinand Terme from Lasqo AI reveals how vertical AI startups are rewriting the rules of product-market fit. Discover why sometimes, doing one thing exceptionally well beats trying to do everything perfectly. Key insights: - Why specialised AI tools are outperforming tech giants in specific niches - How "good enough" with the right focus creates better products - The power of human-in-the-loop approaches for B2B AI solutions 🎧 Listen to the full discussion: bit.ly/cherrytheedge 📝 Read the detailed breakdown: https://lnkd.in/exppsEBB Filip Felician Dames Christian Meermann Sophia Bendz Dinika Mahtani Jasper Masemann Alexander Langholz-Baikousis 

From 0 to AED1.4BN in transactions. That's what Pemo achieved in just two years since launch. We’ve been supporting Pemo from the beginning and are proud to continue supporting them in their $7M Pre-Series A round with Shorooq Partners! 🚀 The founders - Ayham Gorani, Valerie Konde, Alessandro Durì, and Saed Ghorani - have built the leading spend management platform in UAE, now serving 4,000+ companies. Their solution combines corporate cards, invoice payments, and AI-driven accounting - built for the region's unique needs. Since launch, Pemo has transformed expense management from spreadsheets to smart workflows. With corporate tax introduction in UAE, their automated compliance tools couldn't be more timely. What’s next? Expansion across GCC, starting with Saudi Arabia's booming tech ecosystem. We're continuing to back Pemo because they're the clear category leader in an underserved market. While global platforms expand horizontally, MENAP needs solutions built for local requirements - exactly what this team delivers. More here: https://lnkd.in/d6qH8arP Filip Felician Dames Sophia Bendz Dinika Mahtani Jasper Masemann Alexander Langholz-Baikousis Christian Meermann

At Cherry, we’re all about maximising the time we spend with founders. But let’s be real… Venture Capital comes with its fair share of repetitive tasks that rarely make headlines. For years, we have been using data-driven sourcing, but the recent leaps in LLMs have enabled us to go fully AI-enhanced, and that is how ‘Harvester’ was born. Today, we're opening the kimono on how Cherry operates as a data-augmented VC. Building comes naturally to Cherry - we’re a team of operators and entrepreneurs. When faced with thousands of daily startup signals, ‘Harvester' was created. This AI-powered approach helps identify extraordinary founders earlier while maintaining a highly selective 10-12 investments annually. A technical look inside: - The architecture and tools that power Harvester. - Real backtesting results (72% success rate, but human judgement still wins). - Why prioritising founder time matters more than capturing every market signal. - How a team of builders thinks about data-augmentation in VC. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: https://lnkd.in/eYnT5mGJ by Nadja Carina Reischel, Frederik Junge, and Jasper Masemann. After all, the best way to understand AI's impact on venture is to build with it. These learnings belong to the ecosystem. Filip Felician Dames Sophia Bendz Dinika Mahtani Alexander Langholz-Baikousis Christian Meermann