Positron Ventures

Joseph Peeraer and Gijs van der Hulst are the Founding Partners who lead investment decisions. Peeraer brings operational experience from founding and exiting the Dutch energy and telecom retailer Budget, along with an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from TU Delft. Van der Hulst joined from Google, where he closed a range of technology deals, and later raised close to $100 million for Dutch science startups before co-founding the firm. Principal Anna-Lena Schindl, who has a physics background and startup operating experience, also plays a central role in the investment process.

Positron frequently engages with academic founders before their companies are incorporated, building relationships inside European research labs and universities. The firm has stated that it 'met the team before incorporation and led the pre-seed round' for portfolio companies including Ore Energy and Aevoloop. This pre-incorporation engagement model, combined with the scientific backgrounds of its team members — several of whom hold PhDs in physics — creates a sourcing channel distinct from traditional venture networks.

Based on the firm's public disclosures, Positron operates exclusively through direct investments in companies at the pre-seed and seed stages. There is no evidence that the firm allocates capital to external venture funds or acts as a fund-of-funds. Its model centers on writing the first institutional check and, where needed, providing operational support to help scientific founders build companies from zero.

Positron targets the earliest stages of company formation: pre-seed and seed. The firm describes itself as 'often the first believers and investors' and seeks to back teams from day one. Examples include leading the first capital raise for Ore Energy and co-leading Thorizon's pre-seed investment in 2021 before participating in its 2022 seed round.

Positron does not invest in enterprise SaaS, consumer apps, fintech, or any business model that is not grounded in a laboratory breakthrough in the natural sciences. Its portfolio is exclusively deep-tech and science-driven, spanning quantum computing, nuclear fusion, advanced materials, battery chemistry, and synthetic biology. Pure software companies are absent from its investment record.

Positron invests across the European Union, with a concentration in the Netherlands, France, and the broader EU research corridor. Portfolio companies have roots in Dutch and French research institutions — PASQAL spun out of France's Institut d'Optique — and the firm also has team presence in Munich and Riga, reflecting a continent-wide sourcing strategy for scientific spinouts.

Positron operates as a venture capital firm but occupies a niche: a (pre-)seed fund exclusively for science-based startups. Unlike multi-stage generalist funds, it does not pursue follow-on growth rounds or maintain a large portfolio. Its six-person team combines former founders, Google dealmakers, and PhD-level scientists, creating a hybrid of operator and research expertise that supports companies from pre-incorporation through their first funded milestones.