When founders look up La Famiglia funding, they find one of Europe's most distinctive early-stage investors. La Famiglia is a Berlin-based seed and growth stage venture capital fund that invests in technology companies enabling or disrupting large industries — it acts as an access platform connecting B2B startups with world-leading industrial entrepreneurs, family businesses and industry leaders. For anyone wondering how to get funding from La Famiglia, the short answer is to be building B2B software that Europe's industrial giants actually need.
Thesis: the old world meets the new world
Europe hosts many of the world's B2B market leaders, yet digital transformation has barely touched most of these sectors. La Famiglia brings tech and traditional industry together: reported backers include Mittal, Pictet, Oetker, Hymer and Swarovski, alongside Niklas Zennström (Skype/Atomico), Alex Chesterman (Zoopla/Cazoo) and Hanno Renner (Personio). Portfolio companies gain early market access, partnerships and operational expertise that a standard fund cannot replicate.
La Famiglia funding: fund scale and cheque size
La Famiglia was founded in Berlin in 2016 by Jeannette zu Fürstenberg and Robert Lacher, with Judith Dada joining as a general partner in 2017. The firm started with a $45 million seed fund in 2017, followed by a €50 million second fund in 2020. In 2023 it closed a €165 million third seed fund alongside a €90 million first growth fund, taking total capital raised since 2017 past €500 million. Cheques focus on the early stage: the firm makes initial investments of up to €1.5 million, and has backed rounds with cheques up to €5 million for B2B startups across Europe (and selectively the US).
The portfolio includes genuine European unicorns: Personio, Forto, Deel and y42. More recent bets include Parloa (agentic AI for customer service), Langdock, Atlar, Luminovo (an operating system for the electronics industry), Spread.ai, ChaosIQ and Bling. The firm is among the most active early-stage investors in European B2B.
The General Catalyst combination
In October 2023, La Famiglia combined with General Catalyst, the US venture firm behind Airbnb, Stripe and Anthropic, creating one of Europe's leading venture platforms. The La Famiglia team stayed in Germany and retained the La Famiglia brand, while founding partner Jeannette zu Fürstenberg became a managing director at General Catalyst overseeing its European business. For founders, the combination means seed-stage access to General Catalyst's global platform.
Partners
The partnership centres on Jeannette zu Fürstenberg (of the industrial Krohne Group dynasty), Robert Lacher and general partner Judith Dada.
How to apply for funding
La Famiglia does not run a public accelerator-style application window. Founders typically reach the team through the contact channels on lafamiglia.vc; investor directories also list a direct contact address. The firm invests at pre-seed and seed in B2B SaaS and industrial technology, so a warm introduction through a portfolio founder or one of the firm's industrial backers is the most effective route. No public startup-credit or perks programme has been published.
Why it matters for founders
La Famiglia is the fund to approach if your B2B product needs a customer, not just a cheque. Its industrial LP network can open doors that cold outreach never will — from pilot customers to design partners inside Europe's manufacturing giants. Come with an enterprise-ready product, a clear industrial use case, and a seed-stage raise where €1.5–5 million is the right first institutional capital.