Private Equity, VC & Investor
Cherry Ventures vs IRIS
Structured technology and market comparison · 2026
Direct Feature Comparison
Cherry Ventures · vs · IRISEuropean early-stage venture capital firm backing technology startups.
European venture capital firm for technology startups and growth companies.
Analyze all overlapping signals and tech stacks for Cherry Ventures and IRIS
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Comparison Analysis
What is the main difference between Cherry Ventures and IRIS?
When comparing Cherry Ventures and IRIS, both platforms operate within the Private Equity, VC & Investor ecosystem. Cherry Ventures is positioned as European early-stage venture capital firm backing technology startups, whereas IRIS focuses on European venture capital firm for technology startups and growth companies. Decision-makers evaluate both solutions when orchestrating their commercial monetization and technology stack.
What are the top alternatives to Cherry Ventures and IRIS?
When evaluating Cherry Ventures and IRIS, enterprise buyers also consider other platforms in Private Equity, VC & Investor. You can discover the full competitive landscape and evaluate other alternatives by viewing their respective footprint profiles on Polaris7.
How do the corporate scale, structure, and headquarters of Cherry Ventures and IRIS compare?
Cherry Ventures is headquartered in DE (founded in 2012) with 10–49 employees. IRIS is based in FR (founding year unrecorded) with 10–49 employees. Complete ownership, subsidiary trees, and corporate affiliations are documented across Polaris7.
Market Signals
Recent Market Signals & Activity: Cherry Ventures vs IRIS
Documented market movements, strategic partnerships, product releases, and regulatory developments mapped across Polaris7.
Cherry Ventures
Recent Signals
- ·Trending Topics (DACH/CEE Innovation & Tech)Startup Research
Cherry Ventures Report: European Startups Mostly Solo Founders
Cherry Ventures' 'Heartbeat' report, based on 10,000 European startups in their first 18 months, reveals key trends: 75% are solo founders, women found only 10.1% of startups, and master's degrees are more common than MBAs. Co-founders are typically met at work, not university. Only 7% went through accelerators. Amsterdam and Zurich lead in per-capita startup creation. AI-first software has overtaken classic SaaS as the largest category. Munich is Europe's hardware hub. The report also highlights a brain drain pattern where many SF founders studied in Europe, and founders with US degrees raise double the capital.
- Cherry Ventures analyzed 10,000 European startups in their first 18 months.
- 75% of startups are founded by a single person.
- Female founders account for only 10.1% of startups.
- ·Trending Topics (DACH/CEE Innovation & Tech)Industry Research
75% of European Founders Start Solo: Cherry Ventures Report
A new report by Berlin-based VC fund Cherry Ventures, titled 'Heartbeat', analyzes 10,000 European startups in their first 18 months, spanning 10,000 founders across 89 cities and over €5 billion in capital raised. Key findings reveal that 75% of startups are solo-founded, with only 10.1% of founders being female. Master's degrees are 4.3 times more common than MBAs, and co-founders are typically met at work. Only 7% attended accelerators, with Y Combinator most common. Amsterdam and Zurich lead per capita, while London leads in absolute numbers. AI-first software has overtaken classic SaaS as the largest category (22.5% vs 20.9%). Munich is Europe's hardware capital. The report highlights a brain drain: 72% of San Francisco founders were educated in Europe, and U.S. degrees correlate with double initial funding.
- 75% of European startups are solo-founded; only 10.1% of founders are women.
- Master's degrees are 4.3 times more common than MBAs; in deep tech, doctorates outnumber MBAs nearly 10 to 1.
- AI-first software is now the largest startup category at 22.5%, surpassing classic SaaS at 20.9%.
- ·Gründerszene (DACH Startups & Scaleups)Startup Funding
Antler Study: Key Factors for German Startups' Series A Success
A new analysis by venture capital firm Antler reveals that only 24% of German startups successfully transition from Seed to Series A funding. The study, which examined 27,602 funding rounds from over 3,000 startups between 2015 and 2026, identifies five key factors that significantly increase the likelihood of reaching a Series A round: raising at least €2 million in the Seed round, having an institutional VC as lead investor, having at least three investors in the Seed round, having a Pre-Seed investor participate in the Seed round, and completing the Seed round within twelve months of the Pre-Seed. Startups meeting all five criteria achieve Series A in 51.1% of cases. The analysis also highlights the growing gap between new startup creations and follow-on financing, with 3,568 startups founded in 2025 but only 71 reaching Series A. Despite this, Germany's conversion rate of 18.9% for the 2022 cohort remains strong compared to other European markets.
- Only 24% of German startups successfully transition from Seed to Series A funding.
- Antler analyzed 27,602 funding rounds from over 3,000 startups between 2015 and 2026.
- Startups meeting all five key criteria reach Series A in 51.1% of cases.
IRIS
Recent Signals
- ·Tech.eu (European Tech & Deals)Infrastructure
Vates raises €30M from IRIS and Bpifrance
French virtualization company Vates has raised €30 million in growth funding from IRIS' Growth fund and Bpifrance's Large Venture fund. The investment comes amid shifts in the global virtualization market, driven by licensing changes, rising infrastructure costs, and complex architectures. Vates offers an open-source virtualization platform designed to give organizations control, reduce technological dependency, and ensure interoperability and reversibility. The company has expanded internationally, with customers in 100 countries and North America as its largest market. It also joined Gartner's Magic Quadrant for virtualization in 2026. The funding will accelerate Vates' strategy, focusing on next-generation platform development, international expansion in North America and Europe, and building a partner ecosystem. Open source remains central to Vates' approach.
- Vates raised €30 million from IRIS' Growth fund and Bpifrance's Large Venture fund.
- Vates serves customers in 100 countries, with North America as its largest market.
- Vates joined Gartner's Magic Quadrant for virtualization in 2026.
Compare their exact ecosystem overlaps.
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