How one venture firm is investing in an increasingly fragmented world
Source: TechCrunch
Overview
Kompas VC has developed a regionally‑sensitive strategy to navigate today’s fragmented world, and it is backing that approach with a new €160 million fund ($187.5 million).
“We see the world really falling into three main spheres of economic activity, of political activity — the U.S., Europe, and China,” said Sebastian Peck, partner at Kompas VC. “We certainly see today that these three domains follow very, very different trajectories.”
Investment focus
Kompas backs startups that tackle core industrial competitiveness challenges—manufacturing, supply chains, critical infrastructure, and sustainability. While these themes remain relevant, their emphasis varies by region.
“There was a lot of enthusiasm around these themes back in 2021. In 2026, we’re in a very, very different paradigm. It’s all about AI, it’s all about fast growth, very explosive growth. A lot of big topics that we partially play to but also are not really part of what we stand for.” — Sebastian Peck
“Our focus is in the physical world, anything around producing physical goods,” Peck added. “We’ve found our niche in decarbonization, productivity, and risk management.”
Kompas VC partners, from left: Talia Rafaeli, Andreas Winter‑Extra, and Sebastian Peck
Regional dynamics
The firm’s niche is broad. Reshoring is “en vogue” across markets, and many startups have enough scale to attract Kompas’s capital. However, cultural and regulatory differences can affect adoption:
- Prefab housing – popular in Scandinavia but less common in Germany, the rest of Europe, and the U.S., largely due to “cultural conditioning.”
- Sustainability – still a strong draw in Europe, whereas its cachet has faded in the U.S.
Peck notes that these variations require careful market sizing: “If the U.S. isn’t the market you can go to, you need to look very, very carefully at whether there’s a large enough addressable market.”
Fund details
Kompas’s newly raised second fund, though modest compared with mega‑funds, will enable the firm to lead early‑stage rounds with checks ranging from €3 million to €5 million. As a European fund, it enjoys access to a wide range of founders across the region, but must weigh how global fragmentation might limit venture‑scale exits.
Challenges and opportunities
Investing over 10‑ to 15‑year horizons means navigating legislative cycles and unpredictable shifts:
“We are investing over 10‑, 15‑year horizons. That’s a few legislative periods to bridge, and sometimes things swing in unexpected directions.” — Peck
Peck believes smaller, highly focused funds can thrive:
“I think there’s a great space for highly focused, highly specialized, smaller funds like ours to be the first check‑in and sweep up certain themes and certain founders.”
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