Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Claudius is a Tech VC and an experienced investor and operator with a strong track record of identifying and empowering exceptional early stage founders. For more than a decade, he has created a deep network in the European and US tech ecosystem. Prior to being a GP at Volkswagen-backed VC firm Leitmotif, Claudius was a Co-Founder and General Partner at 10x Founders, an early-stage venture capital firm that raised €160 million from an extraordinary network of 200 European and US angel investors. During his tenure, 10x Founders invested in 70 startups across Europe and the US – notably Cylib (battery recycling), Ixana (semiconductors) and Magic (AI foundation models). Previously, Claudius established the Munich office of Plug and Play Tech Center, where he led several deep tech and AI investments – including Recogni and Presize.ai – and successfully facilitated open innovation programs with some of Europe’s largest corporations. As Chief of Staff at notebooksbilliger.de, one of the most successful e-commerce companies in Germany, Claudius was instrumental in scaling the organization to €800 million in annual net revenue. Claudius began his career at the Center for Digital Technology and Management (CDTM) managing an elite entrepreneurship program that included the founders of five unicorn companies – Personio, Razor, Cellares, Trade Republic and Forto. He continues to be a lecturer and advisor at CDTM. Claudius earned a doctorate in Economics and a Master of Business Research from the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). In his PhD thesis he researched successful internationalization strategies of startup companies. He also holds a Master’s degree in Management & Technology, with a minor in Mechanical Engineering, from the Technische Universität München (TUM), during which he spent a semester abroad at UC Berkeley. WHU | CDTM | TUM | LMU | UC Berkeley | Studienstiftung | Rotary | EO
Leitmotif is an independent venture capital firm backed by Volkswagen that actively bridges the innovation ecosystems of the US and Europe. With investors in Palo Alto and Munich, its first fund focuses on deep tech and decarbonization and leans later stage.
I co-founded 10x Founders, a leading early-stage venture capital firm that raised €160 million from an extraordinary network of 200 European and US angel investors. During my tenure as a General Partner, 10x Founders invested in 70 startups across Europe and the US – notably Magic (AI foundation model), Beam (enterprise automation AI), iGent (agentic AI CTO), Cylib (battery recycling), and Ixana (semiconductors), to name a few.
Having co-founded the Munich office of Plug and Play Tech Center, I led deep tech and AI investments in startups including Tensordyne.ai (AI GPU) and Presize.ai (acquired by META) – and successfully facilitated open innovation programs with some of Europe’s largest corporations. Plug and Play is the world's most active Seed VC (2018), and operates the world's largest open innovation platform.
As Chief of Staff at notebooksbilliger.de, one of the most successful e-commerce companies in Germany, I contributed to scaling the organization to €800 million in annual revenue.