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T.Capital
T.Capital launched in 2023 as the formalized successor to Deutsche Telekom's long-running technology investing efforts, which Oliver Schmäschke began...
T.Capital
T.Capital launched in 2023 as the formalized successor to Deutsche Telekom's long-running technology investing efforts, which Oliver Schmäschke began building as a BCG alumnus in 2015 and which coalesced under the DTCP banner. Thorsten Langheim, the Deutsche Telekom board member for USA and Group Development, chairs the platform and co-founded the earlier DTCP structure. The firm functions as the dedicated strategic investment arm of Deutsche Telekom, headquartered in Hamburg with additional investment offices in Frankfurt, Berlin, and London. T.Capital's €2.3 billion in assets splits into two strategies. The Ventures arm targets early- and growth-stage companies across AI, cybersecurity, enterprise software, IoT, and cloud infrastructure, while the Tech Fund pursues control and minority positions in enterprise software and managed service providers. Company-level commitments come with what the firm calls the T.Difference: a structured path to distribution, joint product development, or commercial partnership inside Deutsche Telekom. Confirmed portfolio names include ElevenLabs, Perplexity, Black Forest Labs, n8n, and Nscale on the venture side, alongside cybersecurity positions in Filigran, Mondoo, and Cynet. The Tech Fund team, led by partners Maneesh Sharma and Till Sutor, brings deal experience from Hg, Lazard, and Elvaston Capital. The approach spans North America, Europe, and Israel. The investment team numbers roughly 15 professionals, with commercial and operational support from Deutsche Telekom's broader Group Development division. In May 2023, the firm rebranded from DTCP to T.Capital, signaling a tighter mandate around strategic return rather than pure financial return. Additional Deutsche Telekom-linked structures include the hub:raum early-stage program — whose portfolio T.Capital now manages — and DTCP, which continues as a separate infrastructure and growth equity manager. The platform operates alongside Deutsche Telekom's in-house M&A group, which shares deal flow and board-level reporting through Julia Kainz, who leads both the Tech Fund and Venture Investments for the corporation. T.Capital's structural differentiator is an embedded corporate guarantee: unlike a conventional corporate venture arm, it manages committed, discretionary pools of balance-sheet capital and syndicates selectively with outside co-investors. Portfolio companies gain not just a telecom customer but a European distribution engine, an approach most visible in ElevenLabs' integration into Deutsche Telekom's Magenta AI phone and Perplexity's placement on T Phone devices. The model demands that every deal carry a commercial thesis, making the firm more akin to a strategic growth platform than a pure financial investor.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2023
AUM
€2.3 billion (per the firm, 2025)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Germany
City
Hamburg
Corporate office
Am Sandtorpark 2, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
Additional offices
Frankfurt, Germany · Berlin, Germany · London, United Kingdom
Principals
Oliver Schmäschke
Managing Partner
Thorsten Langheim
Chairman
Julia Kainz
Head of Tech Fund and Venture Investments
Maneesh Sharma
Partner, Tech Fund
Till Sutor
Partner, Tech Fund
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who makes investment decisions at T.Capital?
Managing Partner Oliver Schmäschke steers the overall investment strategies and operations, while the Ventures and Tech Fund teams operate with dedicated partners. Julia Kainz leads the combined Tech Fund and Venture Investments group from Deutsche Telekom's side. The Tech Fund partnership includes Maneesh Sharma, formerly a Managing Director at Aleph Capital, and Till Sutor, who spent six years at Berlin-based private equity firm Elvaston Capital (per the firm, 2025).
How does T.Capital source proprietary deal flow?
Deal flow is heavily relationship-driven and anchored in Deutsche Telekom's global commercial network. Portfolio companies such as ElevenLabs and Perplexity gain direct distribution through Deutsche Telekom's subscriber base and enterprise sales channels, which drives a significant volume of warm introductions. The team also sources through co-investor relationships built from prior DTCP funds and through the hub:raum early-stage program's alumni network.
Is T.Capital a single-family office or does it operate as a venture and growth platform?
T.Capital is the strategic investment arm of Deutsche Telekom AG, a publicly listed corporation, with €2.3 billion in assets under management (per the firm, 2025). It operates like a hybrid of a corporate venture capital unit and a committed-growth platform, not a family office. The firm manages discretionary balance-sheet capital and syndicates with external co-investors, but all positions must carry a commercial partnership theses with Deutsche Telekom.
Does T.Capital participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
The firm is entirely direct in its current mandate — it invests from its own balance sheet and does not operate as a fund-of-funds. It may co-invest alongside external venture and growth equity managers, but its capital goes directly into portfolio companies, not into third-party funds.
What investment stages does T.Capital target?
The Ventures arm covers early-stage and growth-stage rounds, including seed through Series B and later. The Tech Fund targets buyout, expansion, and late-stage growth positions, especially in software and managed service providers. The portfolio reflects this split — recent 2025 rounds include seed-stage AI infrastructure plays like Nscale alongside later-stage Series B observability platform Dash0.
How is T.Capital related to DTCP?
DTCP was the investment platform co-founded by Thorsten Langheim and others inside Deutsche Telekom that has since split into two separate entities. T.Capital is the renamed and refocused strategic investment arm of Deutsche Telekom, while DTCP continues independently as a growth equity and digital infrastructure manager. Oliver Schmäschke was COO of both platforms before becoming Managing Partner of T.Capital outright.
Does T.Capital maintain philanthropic structures?
No. T.Capital itself is a strategic corporate investment platform and does not manage philanthropic capital or DAFs. Deutsche Telekom conducts corporate social responsibility initiatives separately through the corporate parent, not through the T.Capital investment mandate.
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