# Cavalry Ventures
Cavalry Ventures is a Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2016 by Rouven Dresselhaus, Claude Ritter, and Stefan Walter, which invests in European software companies at pre-seed and seed stage. It has raised three funds: a €22 million debut vehicle, an €80 million second fund closed in 2020, and a third fund launched in December 2022 with a €100 million first close against a €160 million target.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/) • [2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) • [3](https://tech.eu/2022/12/07/cavalry-ventures-eur160-million/)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016, Berlin[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/) |
| Managing partners | Rouven Dresselhaus, Claude Ritter, Stefan Walter[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) |
| Strategy | Pre-seed/seed European software; initial checks €500k–€4m[4](https://cavalry.vc/) |
| Fund I | €22m[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) |
| Fund II | €80m at hard cap, final close 2020; EIF and KfW Capital among LPs[5](https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/pp-advises-cavalry-ventures-launch-new-eur-80-million-early-stage-venture-capital-fund) |
| Fund III | €100m first close (Dec 2022) against €160m target[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) |
| Known portfolio | Forto, BRYTER, PlanRadar, REKKI, McMakler, Clarisights, Aleph Alpha, Usercentrics[3](https://tech.eu/2022/12/07/cavalry-ventures-eur160-million/) • [4](https://cavalry.vc/) |
| Confirmed exit | Planetly, trade sale, 2021[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) |
## History and people
TechCrunch reported in 2020 that Cavalry was launched by Rouven Dresselhaus, Claude Ritter, and Stefan Walter in 2016; Unquote lists the same three as managing partners.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/) • [2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) The firm's own website names six founding partners, adding [Markus Fuhrmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/markus-fuhrmann), Marcel Hollerbach, and Dominik Matyka to the three managing partners.[4](https://cavalry.vc/) The discrepancy is unresolved: press coverage consistently identifies the three-managing-partner leadership, while the site presents a broader founding group.
The firm's limited-partner base is built like an angel syndicate. TechCrunch described its LPs as active founders and early-stage fund LPs in the DACH region, and the firm's site says it is backed by more than 250 well-connected individual supporters (its own Fund III announcement cites 220+ active supporters).[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/) • [4](https://cavalry.vc/) • [6](https://medium.com/cavalry-chronicle/cavalry-iii-is-here-d24eaf6ff70f) Cavalry II was the partnership's first vintage with institutional funds, including the European Investment Fund, and KfW Capital also joined that fund's investor base.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/) • [5](https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/pp-advises-cavalry-ventures-launch-new-eur-80-million-early-stage-venture-capital-fund) The firm reported a 16-member team at the time of the Fund III launch.[3](https://tech.eu/2022/12/07/cavalry-ventures-eur160-million/)
## Strategy
Cavalry describes itself as stage-focused rather than vertical-focused, investing at the "as early as it makes sense for the company" stage, often pre-product and pre-revenue. It likes to lead pre-seed and seed rounds across European software, in both enterprise and consumer, with initial investments between €500,000 and €4 million in priced rounds and convertibles.[4](https://cavalry.vc/) [TechCrunch](https://www.edgepedia.org/techcrunch) characterized its emphasis as SaaS and B2B infrastructure startups in areas such as HR, sales, PR, fundraising, legal, and internationalization.[1](https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/)
Fund III economics, as described by Claude Ritter to Unquote, allocate about 40% of the fund to initial investments with the rest for follow-ons. The average first equity ticket was €1.3 million in Fund II and was expected to be around €2 million in Fund III, across 30–35 deals over a three-year investment period, roughly 12 investments per year, with each partner limited to two deals.[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) The firm's own Fund III announcement similarly plans 30 investments through the vehicle.[6](https://medium.com/cavalry-chronicle/cavalry-iii-is-here-d24eaf6ff70f)
## Funds by the numbers
The debut fund stood at €22 million.[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) The second fund, 2019 vintage, held a final close at its €80 million hard cap in 2020, more than 3.5x the debut fund's size.[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) • [5](https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/pp-advises-cavalry-ventures-launch-new-eur-80-million-early-stage-venture-capital-fund) In December 2022 the firm launched its third flagship fund with a €100 million first close against a €160 million target; the firm's own announcement states the €120 million in its previous funds would be joined by another €160 million.[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) • [6](https://medium.com/cavalry-chronicle/cavalry-iii-is-here-d24eaf6ff70f)
On outcomes, the firm states it leads more than 80% of its portfolio companies from angel/seed phase to a successful Series A, which it claims is 4x the European industry average.[5](https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/pp-advises-cavalry-ventures-launch-new-eur-80-million-early-stage-venture-capital-fund) This is the firm's own claim; no independent performance data appears in the available sources.
## Portfolio and exits
By December 2022 Cavalry had amassed over 50 portfolio companies, including BRYTER, Clarisights, Forto, McMakler, REKKI, and [PlanRadar](https://www.edgepedia.org/planradar), and was the 2021 winner of the "Hottest Seed Fund" award at The Europas.[3](https://tech.eu/2022/12/07/cavalry-ventures-eur160-million/) The firm's site additionally lists [Aleph Alpha](https://www.edgepedia.org/aleph-alpha), Usercentrics, and Planetly, and marks two acquisitions: Planetly (acquired by [OneTrust](https://www.edgepedia.org/onetrust)) and WhenThen (acquired by Mangopay).[4](https://cavalry.vc/) Unquote records the first Fund II exit as a 2021 trade sale of the firm's stake in the German application-software startup Planetly.[2](https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund) The firm's own announcement also names Flip and Patronus among companies it backed early.[6](https://medium.com/cavalry-chronicle/cavalry-iii-is-here-d24eaf6ff70f)
## Recent developments
Aggregated deal data from tech.eu, as of 13 July 2026, shows Cavalry backed 33 European tech companies across 41 funding rounds between 2016 and 2024, joining rounds totalling €360 million, most actively in software and fintech.[7](https://funding.tech.eu/investors/Cavalry%20Ventures)
Independent press coverage of the firm ends with the December 2022 Fund III launch. No verified reporting establishes whether Fund III reached its €160 million target, what the firm's current assets under management are, or any partner changes since 2022.
## References
1. Berlin's Cavalry Ventures closes €80M, backed by DACH founders and EIF — TechCrunch, https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/berlins-cavalry-ventures-closes-e80m-backed-by-dach-founders-and-eif/
2. Cavalry Ventures holds EUR 100m first close for third fund — Unquote, https://www.unquote.com/dach/official-record/3028331/cavalry-ventures-holds-eur-100m-first-close-for-third-fund
3. Cavalry Ventures continues the charge with third fund at €160 million — tech.eu, https://tech.eu/2022/12/07/cavalry-ventures-eur160-million/
4. Cavalry — firm website, https://cavalry.vc/
5. P+P advises Cavalry Ventures on the launch of a new EUR 80 million early stage venture capital fund — P+P Pöllath + Partners, https://www.pplaw.com/en/transactions/pp-advises-cavalry-ventures-launch-new-eur-80-million-early-stage-venture-capital-fund
6. Cavalry III is here! — Cavalry Chronicle (firm's own announcement), https://medium.com/cavalry-chronicle/cavalry-iii-is-here-d24eaf6ff70f
7. Cavalry Ventures — Tech.eu Funding Explorer, https://funding.tech.eu/investors/Cavalry%20Ventures
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Finance › Venture capital and private equity › Venture capital firms of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa › Venture capital firms of Western Europe › Venture capital firms of Germany and the Nordics*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license