Capital-E

Capital-E operates through an entrenched relationship with IMEC, one of Europe’s largest independent micro/nano-electronics research centers. This partnership provides early visibility into commercially viable technologies emerging from IMEC’s labs, effectively turning a 2,000-scientist R&D engine into a proprietary deal-flow channel. The firm also leverages IMEC’s network of 500 global industry partners to validate technology and accelerate adoption.

Through its exclusive collaboration with IMEC, Capital-E can draw directly on over 2,000 scientists and engineers specializing in semiconductors, advanced materials, and metrology. This in-house-like technical resource allows the firm to conduct exhaustive engineering due diligence on complex hardware startups, a capability that most generalist venture funds at seed stage cannot replicate internally.

The firm targets early-stage direct equity investments, with its managing partners typically seeking active board representation in each portfolio company. While it can collaborate with co-investors from its network of R&D centers and venture capital firms, Capital-E’s core approach is writing primary seed and start-up checks into companies within its electronics and materials mandate.

Capital-E maintains an exclusive focus on micro/nano-electronics and advanced materials, explicitly avoiding software-only startups, consumer internet, general IT, biotech, and financial services. Its portfolio clusters around semiconductor architecture, communications networking hardware, and industrial instrumentation — any company without a defensible hardware or materials science core falls outside the firm’s mandate.

Managing Partners Lou Hermans and Marc Wachsmuth lead the firm. The website identifies them as the sole named partners, and the firm describes itself as having a hands-on, independent team with a balanced mix of entrepreneurial, industrial, and venture capital experience. No investment committee or additional general partners are publicly named.

Beyond the IMEC partnership, the firm and its portfolio companies gain access to IMEC’s global industry partners, a list that includes NXP, Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Intel, SK Hynix, Micron, Toshiba, Panasonic, Texas Instruments, Samsung, TSMC, and GlobalFoundries. This network creates a commercial bridge for startups seeking both technical validation and early adopter relationships.

Capital-E describes itself as an early-stage capital provider, operating at seed and start-up stages. The firm’s portfolio companies — such as Silicon Mobility and Accelleran — typically receive their first institutional capital from Capital-E before syndicating larger rounds with sector-specific co-investors like Cogito Capital Partners or Qbic.