Alpana Ventures

Co-founders Vincent Bieri and Maxence Demerlé serve as the firm's managing partners and are the primary investment decision-makers. Both have backgrounds in Swiss private banking and technology investment, with Bieri previously leading venture investments at a Swiss family office. The compact partnership structure means all investment committee decisions flow through the two co-founders.

The firm's Palo Alto office is central to deal origination. By maintaining a permanent presence in Silicon Valley, Alpana accesses deal flow through local syndicate relationships, founder referrals, and proximity to accelerator networks. This direct local footprint distinguishes its sourcing from European venture firms that rely on partner travel or remote diligence for US deals.

Alpana deploys capital exclusively through direct investments into operating companies. It does not operate as a fund-of-funds or allocate to external venture capital funds. The firm leads or co-leads early-stage rounds, typically with initial checks of $1 million to $5 million, and may participate in follow-on financings for portfolio companies.

The firm focuses on pre-Series A and Series A rounds in enterprise technology companies. Its sweet spot is early-stage companies that have achieved some commercial traction and are raising their first institutional round. Alpana occasionally invests at seed stage when the founding team has a prior relationship with the firm.

Alpana invests primarily in North American companies, with a secondary focus on European spin-outs that have US go-to-market strategies. The firm's limited partners are predominantly Swiss institutional investors — including pension funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals — making Alpana a capital conduit from Europe into US venture.

Alpana is structured as a traditional venture capital firm managing third-party capital, not a single-family office. Its limited partners include Swiss pension funds and family offices. The firm closed its second fund, Alpana Ventures II, at $60 million in July 2020 (per the firm, 2020).

The firm concentrates on enterprise technology subsectors including SaaS, applied AI and machine learning, digital health platforms, fintech infrastructure, and mobility. Portfolio companies have included enterprise search provider Algolia, API marketplace RapidAPI, and drone manufacturer senseFly, reflecting a consistent enterprise-software orientation.