Meet the new VC firm secretly backed by Volkswagen

A new venture firm called Leitmotif has been on a quiet blitz for the last 16 months, funding around 20 startups broadly focused on decarbonization. Its portfolio includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups. But the firm has only said its funding is from “European industrial interests.” Now, Leitmotif has told TechCrunch where the money came from: the Volkswagen Group. The German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotif’s first fund and is its sole limited partner; Leitmotif has deployed roughly one third of that so far. And Leitmotif, according to the young firm’s managing partners Matt Trevithick and Jens Wiese, wants to spin up successive funds that draw in more European industrial interest beyond Volkswagen. (A spokesperson for Volkswagen Group declined to comment citing the communication blackout period ahead of its annual meeting later today.) It’s an ambitious effort. Securing funding for hardware startups, especially ones ... Read full article.