Private Equity, VC & Investor
Cherry Ventures vs Lakestar
Structured technology and market comparison · 2026
Direct Feature Comparison
Cherry Ventures · vs · LakestarEuropean early-stage venture capital firm backing technology startups.
European technology venture capital firm managing private investment funds.
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Comparison Analysis
What is the main difference between Cherry Ventures and Lakestar?
When comparing Cherry Ventures and Lakestar, 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 Lakestar focuses on European technology venture capital firm managing private investment funds. Decision-makers evaluate both solutions when orchestrating their commercial monetization and technology stack.
What are the top alternatives to Cherry Ventures and Lakestar?
When evaluating Cherry Ventures and Lakestar, 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 Lakestar compare?
Cherry Ventures is headquartered in DE (founded in 2012) with 10–49 employees. Lakestar is based in CH (founded in 2012) with 50–200 employees. Complete ownership, subsidiary trees, and corporate affiliations are documented across Polaris7.
Market Signals
Recent Market Signals & Activity: Cherry Ventures vs Lakestar
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.
Lakestar
Recent Signals
- ·Tech.eu (European Tech & Deals)Financials
Yapily CEO Prefers Sidelines amid Open Banking Consolidation
Yapily, a UK-based open banking infrastructure startup backed by Lakestar, reported improved financials for 2025, with turnover rising from £6.7m to £16.7m and a swing from a £16.2m loss to a £355,000 profit. CEO Stefano Vaccino attributes growth to a lean operation and increased revenue from existing customers including Revolut, Intuit, Adyen, and Google. The company, profitable since 2025, last raised a $51m Series B in 2021 led by Sapphire Ventures. Amid expected consolidation in the open banking sector, Vaccino stated a preference to remain on the sidelines and focus on organic growth. He highlighted upcoming catalysts such as Commercial Variable Recurring Payments (CVRPs) and the EU's Financial Data Access (FiDA) framework, while noting recent acquisitions like Paypoint's purchase of obconnect and TrueLayer's acquisitions of in3 and Zimpler.
- Yapily increased 2025 turnover from £6.7m to £16.7m and swung from a £16.2m loss to a £355,000 profit.
- Yapily is profitable since 2025 and has not raised funding since its $51m Series B in 2021.
- Yapily customers include Revolut, Intuit, Adyen, and Google.
- ·techcrunchVoice AI
Modulate raises $25M for voice intelligence platform
Boston-based voice intelligence startup Modulate has raised $25 million in new funding. The round was led by Future Ventures, with participation from Hyperplane and Lakestar. Modulate uses over 100 small models to offer enterprises transcription, emotional analysis, deepfake and AI music detection, and policy enforcement for voice agents in regulated industries. The company was founded in 2017 by Mike Pappas and Carter Huffman, initially focusing on voice modulation for gaming, before pivoting to voice-based moderation and now AI audio detection and intent analysis. With the funding, Modulate plans to expand its on-premises and on-device deployment capabilities for increased privacy and hire around 10 additional employees to bolster model building. The startup currently has 40-45 employees.
- Modulate raised $25 million in new funding
- The round was led by Future Ventures with participation from Hyperplane and Lakestar
- Modulate operates more than 100 models for voice analysis and detection
- ·PocketGamer.bizEmbedded finance / Payments in gaming
ZBD unveils embedded financial platform for games
ZBD (Zebedee) revealed a platform of embedded financial infrastructure for video games, including products named Embedded Accounts, Embedded Payouts, Embedded Rewards and Branded Debit Cards. The offering is designed to support money flowing into games, through player economies, and back out to players and creators — enabling deposits, real-money peer-to-peer marketplaces, creator-economies, compliant cash-outs, and payouts via bank accounts, Cash App, gift cards and push-to-card. ZBD said it has raised $90 million from investors including RAINE, Square Enix and Lakestar, and is a licensed payment provider across most US states and the EEA. Gordon Thornton, ZBD chief commercial officer, framed the move as enabling two-way financial relationships between players and publishers.
- ZBD revealed an embedded financial infrastructure platform for games with multiple products.
- Products announced include Embedded Accounts, Embedded Payouts, Embedded Rewards and Branded Debit Cards.
- Embedded Accounts supports direct deposits, real-money P2P marketplaces, creator economies and compliant cash-outs.
Compare their exact ecosystem overlaps.
Explore all deep relationships in Polaris7. Discover exactly which mutual clients, integrated technologies, and overlapping partners Cherry Ventures and Lakestar share across the market ecosystem.
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