D11Z. Ventures
Also known as D11Z.Ventures, D11Z. Ventures GmbH & Co. KG, Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn, ZFHN, ZFHN Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn GmbH & Co. KG, Born2Grow
Heilbronn evergreen early-stage investor (ex-Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn), described as the single family office of Lidl founder Dieter Schwarz; pre-seed/seed tickets up to €2.5m.
USEFUL FOR Founders · Co-investors
Heilbronn venture vehicle formerly called Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn (ZFHN), with its early-stage vehicle Born2Grow; not the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung (foundation) or the Schwarz Gruppe's corporate units such as Schwarz Digits.
Family & background
- FAMILY
- Schwarz (Dieter Schwarz, Lidl founder)
- WEALTH ORIGIN
- Retail (Lidl / Kaufland, Schwarz Gruppe)
- HEADQUARTERS
- Heilbronn, Germany
- OUTSIDE CAPITAL
- No — own capital only
Investment approach
- GEOGRAPHY
- EuropeGermany
- STAGES
- Pre-SeedSeedSeries A
- ROUTES
- Companies (own capital)
- STRATEGIES
- Venture capital
- TICKET
- Up to €2.5M
- INBOUND
- Accepts submissions
Overview
D11Z. Ventures is an early-stage technology investor headquartered in Heilbronn, with offices in Munich and Zurich. It emerged in early 2024 from the Zukunftsfonds Heilbronn (ZFHN) and its early-stage vehicle Born2Grow, which had invested in the region for about 18 years. Press describes it as the family office of Lidl founder Dieter Schwarz, and its managing partner calls it one of Europe's largest family offices with an evergreen structure. It invests initially up to €2.5m at pre-seed and seed in AI infrastructure, physical AI, enterprise software and cybersecurity across Europe, with follow-on capacity, and in 2024 held the Schwarz Gruppe's Aleph Alpha shares as a minority shareholder (Aleph Alpha is now marked as an exit on its site).
Investment thesis
Frontier software: AI infrastructure, physical AI, enterprise software, cybersecurity and resilience, with a strong preference for software-driven models; first partner at pre-seed and seed in Europe, initial tickets up to €2.5m, follow-ons as companies scale, no fixed fund life.
Holdings & investments (41)
- QutwoNOTABLEArtificial Intelligence
- Aleph AlphaNOTABLEArtificial Intelligence · Exited
- doinstructNOTABLESoftware & SaaS
- InspektoNOTABLEDeep Tech · Exited
- XeniosNOTABLEHealthTech · Exited
- ConfidentialMindArtificial Intelligence
- TerramateArtificial Intelligence
- S2DataArtificial Intelligence
- OtarkSoftware & SaaS
- MogeniusArtificial Intelligence
- StrategyBridgeAIArtificial Intelligence
- AlagoSoftware & SaaS
- AkirolabsSoftware & SaaS
- DreviseArtificial Intelligence
- CertHubSoftware & SaaS
- ClockinSoftware & SaaS
- Plato AISoftware & SaaS
- TrustNXTSoftware & SaaS
- Unchained RoboticsDeep Tech
- DeeplifyArtificial Intelligence
- eedenClimate & Energy
- become1Software & SaaS
- DaphOSSoftware & SaaS
- WhisperSoftware & SaaS
- TheodosianSoftware & SaaS
- EchobotSoftware & SaaS · Exited
- ResourclySoftware & SaaS
- Tabularis.AIArtificial Intelligence
- dataglobal groupSoftware & SaaS · Exited
- FyrfeedSoftware & SaaS · Exited
- traplinkedDeep Tech
- SpinDriveDeep Tech
- SemoraiArtificial Intelligence
- MICE DESKSoftware & SaaS
- PluvionClimate & Energy
- PreventicusHealthTech
- PPSHealthTech · Exited
- baseclickBiotech & Life Sciences · Exited
- SeleonHealthTech · Exited
- ElevaHealthTech
- Palma.aiArtificial Intelligence
People
- Tom VillingerManaging Partner; represents the general partner D11Z.Ventures Verwaltungs-GmbH (Impressum, as Thomas R. Villinger) · source
- Jan LudwigSenior Investment Manager · source
- Sebastian PyzalskiSenior Investment Manager · source
- Julian FaberInvestment Manager · source
- Carsten HanschJunior Investment Manager · source
- Emil BordinInvestment Analyst · source
- Andrea WalterInvestment Controlling · source
- Olga HörnerExecutive Assistant Investment Team · source
- Alexander HoferPrincipal · source
- Patrick KrönleinPrincipal · source
- Andrea MuthPlatform Manager · source
- Katharina HeimExecutive Assistant CEO · source
- Tanja GänsslerOffice Management · source
- Anna AnhaltFinance · source
- Annabell HeineFinance · source
- Arne RosenbergTechnology · source
- Sabine GessmannExternal Lawyer · source
Frequently asked questions
D11Z. Ventures is a single family office based in Heilbronn, Germany.
D11Z. Ventures invests on behalf of the Schwarz (Dieter Schwarz, Lidl founder) family (Retail (Lidl / Kaufland, Schwarz Gruppe)).
D11Z. Ventures invests its own capital into companies. Its stated asset mix includes venture capital.
D11Z. Ventures invests at Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A stages in Artificial Intelligence, Software & SaaS, Deep Tech and HealthTech.
D11Z. Ventures's stated ticket size is Up to €2.5M.
Key people at D11Z. Ventures include Tom Villinger (Managing Partner; represents the general partner D11Z.Ventures Verwaltungs-GmbH (Impressum, as Thomas R. Villinger)), Alexander Hofer (Principal), Patrick Krönlein (Principal) and Jan Ludwig (Senior Investment Manager).
D11Z. Ventures's holdings and investments include Qutwo, Aleph Alpha, doinstruct, Inspekto, Xenios, ConfidentialMind, Terramate and S2Data, among others.
The most recent publicly reported investment by D11Z. Ventures is Palma.ai (USD 1.8m pre-seed, lead investor), announced in Sep 2026.
D11Z. Ventures states that it accepts submissions through its official contact page.
No. D11Z. Ventures invests its own capital and does not raise money from outside investors.