For founders working on hard science and engineering, BlueYard Capital is one of Europe's most thesis-driven early-stage investors. Founded in Berlin in 2016, it opens with a stark question: utopia or oblivion? If your technology could answer that, here is how to get funding from BlueYard Capital — thesis, cheque size, portfolio and the contact route.
BlueYard Capital's investment thesis
BlueYard Capital invests, in its own words, in only two kinds of technologies: those that move us toward utopia, and those that hold the line against oblivion. It hunts for founders with what it calls "n-of-1 visions" and for "fabric-layer" technologies in computation, engineering, biology and crypto that future innovations can be built upon. The firm says it starts paying attention when a technology looks "too hard or too strange for others to touch".
Sectors and stages backed by BlueYard Capital
Four pillars: Computation & Intelligence, Engineering, Aerospace & Defense, Biology & Chemistry, and Crypto. The firm is an early-stage lead investor operating globally, centred on pre-seed, seed, late seed and early growth. Its stated rhythm is typically $1–3 million as an initial investment (directories list €1.5M–€3M).
BlueYard Capital fund size and cheque size
In June 2022 the firm closed BlueYard 3, a $185 million (approx. €173 million) early-stage fund, after BlueYard 1 and BlueYard 2 at $120 million each — bringing total assets managed to $500 million across four funds, backed mainly by US university endowments, foundations, families and selected fund of funds.
Notable portfolio companies
Defence: Castelion (backed at pre-seed; raised a $100m Series A then a $350M Series B in 2025). Fusion: Marvel Fusion ($120M Series B plus $150M US Department of Energy project financing in 2025). Biology: bit.bio, Chemify ($60m Series B in 2025), Transcripta Bio. Computation: Corintis ($50M Series A/A+ in 2025, partnered with Microsoft), Groq, IonQ (IPO), SEEQC. Crypto: Filecoin and Protocol Labs, Flashbots, Privy (acquired by Stripe). Software: Pitch, Vectary.
People and partners
Founded in 2016 by Ciarán O'Leary and Jason Whitmire, both formerly of Earlybird. General Partners today: Ciarán O'Leary, Chad Fowler, David Byrd, Jason Whitmire and Mike Wax — Mike Wax joined in 2025 after founding Forto and has angel-backed over 75 startups.
Programs and initiatives run by BlueYard Capital
The firm convenes founder networks rather than running accelerator cohorts. Its Risk Club dinner series gathers founders and operators to debate the key risks of the time — motto: Semper Audentes. In 2025 it also hosted Climbing Hard AI Peaks at Lake Tegernsee, convening 100 founders, builders and investors. No startup credits or perks are publicly stated.
How to apply for funding
BlueYard Capital publishes no pitch form or founder application page on blueyard.com. The contact path shown on the site runs through its corporate channels — Berlin address (Neue Schönhauser Str. 20, 10178 Berlin) and details in its legal notice, plus active LinkedIn and X (@blueyard) accounts. Without a stated intake route, a warm introduction to a General Partner via a portfolio founder is the most reliable way in — frame the pitch in the firm's own terms: toward utopia, or against oblivion.
Why it matters for founders
BlueYard Capital is a rare fit for deep-tech founders: it explicitly hunts "too hard or too strange" bets, leads early with $1–3m cheques, and manages $500m. If your company sits at the fabric layer — compute, biology, chemistry, defence or open networks — this Berlin firm belongs at the top of your target list.