Klaus Hommels - Venture Capitalist

Klaus Hommels is a venture capitalist focused on early and growth-stage investments. He is the founder of the company Lakestar which primarily invests in internet businesses. He was an angel investor in Facebook and backed several household names such as Coinbase, Spotify, King, Xing, Skype, Airbnb, Revolut, and Klarna.

portfolio comapnies

exits

Data sourced from crunchbase – 2022

About Klaus Hommels

Location

Klaus Hommels is a German citizen based in Zurich, Switzerland. He graduated from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, where he obtained a Master’s in Business Administration, and started his career at Bertelsmann.

In 1995, he moved to AOL in Germany, serving as a board member and began privately investing in technology startups during the height of the dot-com bubble burst. In 2006, Hommels joined Benchmark Capital Europe (now known as Balderton Capital) as a venture partner based in London.

Remarkable Investments

Following his early success, Hommels was able to launch his own Venture Capital firm called Lakestar. Since 2012, Lakestar has established itself as one of the top European venture capital firms and became known for its high returns on investment.

In July 2021, Lakestar became the first venture fund in Europe to launch a SPAC on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. This was achieved when Lakestar merged with travel startup HomeToGo. The deal was worth $1.4 billion. Under Hommels’ direction, Lakestar continues to invest successfully in European tech companies.

In total, Klaus Hommels has made ten investments, making a notable €1 million investment in the venture round of a Berlin factory in 2015.

Achievements

Klaus Hommels is influential in the European tech ecosystems, which he supports passionately through various initiatives such as ‘The Internet Foundation.’

Some of Hommels more notable achievements in the industry include:

Forbes recognized him as being third on its 2017 Midas Touch List.
In 2019, Forbes also named Hommels 5th on the European Midas Touch List and 46th on the Global Midas Touch List.
Lakestar became the first European venture fund in 2021 to launch a special purpose vehicle that totaled $332 million.

Klaus Hommels in the News

In a February 17 2021 CNBC article, Hommels launched a $332 million SPAC in Europe to help European tech companies compete with the US. In a January 21 2022 Sifted article, he said, “It’s become evident that Europe is missing out in financing some of the most successful and forward-thinking startups.”