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Occident Group
Occident Group operates as the single-family office for the Schützenhöfer family, originating from an insurance brokerage and a multi-city real-estate...
Occident Group
Occident Group operates as the single-family office for the Schützenhöfer family, originating from an insurance brokerage and a multi-city real-estate portfolio across Central Europe and Canada. Patrizia Schützenhöfer took the venture investing activity her father Siegbert incubated and formalized it in 2012, moving operational headquarters from Zug, Switzerland, to Munich by 2021. The office remains proprietor-funded — it does not raise outside capital — and carries a permanent-capital posture inherited from the underlying bricks-and-mortar wealth. The firm selects for scientific spin-outs and early-stage companies where the technology itself constitutes the moat. Its portfolio, which passed the 25-company mark in 2023, splits between life-science platforms — implantable lymphoedema devices (Lymphatica Medtech), magnetic blood purification (hemotune), next-generation antibody-drug conjugates — and industrial-tech bets such as semiconductor test-chip pioneer Chipmetrics and fuel-cell catalyst designer ReCatalyst. The investment team, led by Michael Pauer and senior manager Cédric Barra, writes equity tickets from seed through Series B across Europe, with confirmed positions in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Finland. The office also selectively participates in direct co-investments and secondaries alongside its primary venture activity. The Zurich-anchored real-estate holdings — held through co-investor Cavanto Estates AG and direct property portfolios in Vienna, Graz, Hartberg, and Vancouver — provide the liquidity base that allows Occident to hold positions through clinical-trial milestones and product-market pivots without LP-driven exit pressure. In spring 2026 the firm realized its most visible exit when portfolio company Tubulis was acquired by Gilead Sciences for $3.15 billion plus milestone payments, a transaction that validated its early-life-science thesis. The office couples an owner-operated governance model with a deliberately narrow sector aperture: it funds therapeutic platforms, precision diagnostics, and industrial-deeptech components rather than generalist software deals. Its active membership in the Swiss Biotech Association and SECA underscores a network built around scientific advisory access and co-investor pipeline, not scale-for-scale's-sake portfolio construction.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
2012
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Germany
City
Munich
Corporate office
Klenzestrasse 22, 80469 Munich, Germany
Additional offices
Zug, Switzerland
Principals
Patrizia Schützenhöfer
Chief Executive Officer
Michael Pauer
Chief Investment Officer
Altss tracks 1 additional named team member for this firm — including direct investment leads, IR, and operating principals not listed on the public website.
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Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Occident Group?
Investment decisions are carried jointly by CEO Patrizia Schützenhöfer and CIO Michael Pauer, as stated on the firm's website. The two principals have built the venture portfolio together since 2012 and share responsibility for every commitment. Senior Investment Manager Cédric Barra leads the life-sciences sourcing and diligence workstream, reporting to Pauer.
Is Occident Group structured as a family office or a venture capital firm?
It is a single-family office that invests proprietary capital — it does not accept external limited partners. The firm explicitly states it invests 'its own money' and makes decisions under an evergreen, value-oriented framework, which distinguishes it from a traditional fund manager with a fixed investment period.
What investment stages does Occident Group target?
The firm invests from seed through Series B, with a concentration on early-stage scientific spin-outs. Confirmed commitments span pre-clinical biotech platforms, Series A medtech devices, and growth-stage industrial technology companies across continental Europe.
Does Occident Group participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Occident Group primarily makes direct venture investments and co-investments. Altss research indicates it also pursues secondaries and special-situations transactions, though its public-facing portfolio and team commentary emphasize direct early-stage equity positions in operating companies.
Which sectors does Occident Group explicitly avoid?
The firm's public portfolio does not contain any enterprise-software, consumer-internet, fintech, or generalist SaaS companies. Its capital is concentrated in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices, and industrial deep-tech — the website self-identifies as 'The Science Investor' and filters for technologies that transfer scientific research into concrete applications.
How does Occident Group source proprietary deal flow?
The investment team, led by Cédric Barra and Paul Sunzenauer, builds pipeline through direct relationships with European research institutions and university spin-out ecosystems. The firm's active membership in the Swiss Biotech Association and SECA (Swiss Private Equity & Corporate Finance Association) provides additional proprietary access to scientific founders and co-investor networks.
Where does the underlying wealth come from?
The Schützenhöfer family's wealth originates from a life insurance brokerage that operated across Central and Eastern Europe, layered with long-term mixed-use real-estate holdings in Vienna, Graz, Hartberg, and Vancouver. These property portfolios are held directly and through the affiliated Zug-based entity Cavanto Estates AG, providing permanent capital for the venture operation.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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