Europe’s Deep Tech Awakening: Mundi Ventures Closes €750M Kembara Fund to Bridge the Continent’s Innovation Gap

In a landmark move for European deep tech, Spain-based Mundi Ventures has closed its Kembara Fund at €750 million, edging closer to its ambitious €1 billion target. The fund is designed to supercharge Europe’s most promising deep tech and climate start-ups by injecting much-needed capital at the critical Series B and C stages—where many promising ventures falter due to funding shortages.

The Funding Cliff: Europe’s Innovation Achilles’ Heel

Deep tech—the cutting-edge field that tackles humanity’s most pressing challenges, from climate change and clean energy to healthcare breakthroughs and defense innovation—has long been Europe’s secret weapon. The continent produces an impressive 28% of the world’s deep tech innovation. Yet, a staggering disparity exists: only 3% of European deep tech companies successfully raise Series B or C funding rounds. This bottleneck stifles growth and prevents many startups from scaling globally.

The Kembara Fund is Mundi Ventures’ bold answer to this funding cliff. By focusing on Series B and C rounds of €15-€40 million and beyond, Kembara aims to back Europe’s deep tech champions precisely when their technology is proven and global scale becomes achievable.

A Personal Mission Born from Setbacks

For Kembara partner Yann de Vries, the funding gap is more than a market inefficiency—it’s deeply personal. His experience with Lilium, the once-promising electric aviation startup, left an indelible mark. After skyrocketing from a “sci-fi idea in a hangar” to a NASDAQ-listed company in just five years, Lilium declared insolvency in 2025 after failing to secure adequate investment. Its patents were subsequently acquired by Archer Aviation.

“I saw first-hand how brutally hard it is for European deep tech teams to raise €50M–€100M rounds and scale globally,” de Vries shared on LinkedIn. “That journey is why we built Kembara.”

This firsthand knowledge fuels Kembara’s mission: to ensure Europe’s deep tech innovators don’t meet the same fate as Lilium, but instead become the global champions the continent desperately needs.

A Powerhouse Team with Unrivaled Experience

Kembara’s strength lies not only in its capital but in its people. The fund’s partners bring a combined 100 years of deep tech expertise, having worked with some of the most disruptive companies on the planet—SpaceX, Palantir, PsiQuantum, OpenAI, Lilium, Ceres Power, Anduril, and The Exploration Company. This roster of experience positions Kembara uniquely to identify, nurture, and scale the next generation of deep tech leaders.

European Investment Fund Leads the Charge

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is a cornerstone investor, committing €350 million to Kembara Fund 1. The EIF’s support underscores confidence in Kembara’s differentiated strategy and the management team’s proven track record. The EIF highlighted that companies achieving strategic autonomy in critical technologies—ranging from AI and quantum computing to space systems and clean energy—have the potential to become trillion-dollar global champions.

“Our ambition is clear: fix Europe’s growth-stage funding gap, where only 3% of deep tech companies make it to Series B/C today,” de Vries emphasized.

Europe’s Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Kembara’s vision extends beyond bridging funding gaps. The fund seeks to ensure Europe remains competitive in the global technology race, tackles the world’s most pressing challenges, and delivers outsized returns. By focusing on deep tech sectors that are critical to the future—AI, quantum, space, clean energy, and defense—Kembara is positioning Europe to lead, not follow, in the next wave of technological revolution.

“We are entrepreneurs united by a shared mission: to build Europe’s leading Deep Tech platform—one that keeps Europe competitive in the global technology race, tackles the world’s most pressing challenges, and delivers outsized returns,” said de Vries. “This is only the beginning…”

The Stakes: Europe’s Strategic Autonomy at Risk

The funding gap isn’t just an economic issue—it’s a matter of strategic autonomy. As global powers race to dominate critical technologies, Europe risks falling behind if its deep tech innovators can’t access the capital needed to scale. Kembara’s approach is designed to ensure that Europe’s best ideas don’t migrate to Silicon Valley or other tech hubs but instead flourish on home soil, creating jobs, driving innovation, and securing Europe’s place at the forefront of the global tech race.

Looking Ahead: A New Era for European Deep Tech

With €750 million already secured and a €1 billion target in sight, Kembara Fund is poised to become a game-changer for European deep tech. Its focus on the Series B and C stages—where so many startups stumble—could be the catalyst that transforms Europe’s innovation landscape. If successful, Kembara won’t just bridge a funding gap; it will help birth a new generation of European tech giants capable of competing on the world stage.

The message from Mundi Ventures and the Kembara team is clear: Europe has the talent, the ideas, and now, the capital. The only question is how many of the continent’s deep tech champions will seize this moment to scale, innovate, and lead.

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