Three Hamburg-based companies investing with venture capital
Established companies have various options for cooperating with startups. Direct investment with venture capital is one of them. Three examples from Hamburg are Eppendorf, Jungheinrich and the Schulte Group.
Eppendorf Innovation Company (EpIC)
Eppendorf is a life science company that develops, manufactures and distributes products and services worldwide. One division is called Eppendorf Innovation Company (EpIC), whose core task, according to its own statement, is to identify new business opportunities in order to strengthen its innovative edge in a targeted manner. To this end, EpIC has participated in the US fund Osage University Partners, which specialises in university spin-offs. It has also invested in the German High-Tech Gründerfonds, as well as in the Swiss startup BigOmics.
Uplift Ventures by Jungheinrich
Uplift Ventures is a subsidiary of Jungheinrich AG, which is known for its forklift trucks, among other things, and also operates as a service provider for warehouse logistics. Founded in 2025, the corporate venturing unit aims to open up new business areas beyond the core business. Jungheinrich was also previously involved in High-Tech Gründerfonds and is continuing to expand its cooperation via Uplift Ventures. Its first direct investment went to the startup turnus.ai, which automates the response to enquiries in regulatory processes.
Innoport of the Schulte Group
Innoport is the venture capital unit of the Schulte Group shipping company, which identifies investment opportunities in startups from the global shipping, logistics and other related industries and equips them with capital. Since 2019, the Innoport team has been working to build a diversified investment portfolio of innovative and promising early-stage startups in Asia and Europe, while supporting the Schulte Group's business units in their technological transformation. Almost 20 former and current investments are listed on the website.
