Beyond Division: This VC’s Investment Playbook for a Fragmented Future

The world today is riven by cultural differences, political divisions, and geopolitical disputes — a challenging environment for any investor hunting for startups that can grow large enough to deliver venture-scale returns.

Key Takeaways:

• Kompas VC has successfully raised a new €160 million fund, signaling strong investor confidence in its unique, regionally sensitive strategy amidst a globally fragmented market.
• The firm deliberately focuses on the “physical world,” targeting industrial competitiveness, decarbonization, productivity, and risk management, a strategic pivot away from the prevalent AI-driven “explosive growth” narrative.
• Kompas adopts a nuanced investment approach that acknowledges distinct market trajectories across the US, Europe, and China, adapting to cultural and political specificities that profoundly influence a startup’s potential for scalability.

In an investment landscape increasingly characterized by deep cultural divides, stark political fragmentation, and intensifying geopolitical tensions, the hunt for venture-scale returns has become a significantly more complex endeavor. The global interconnectedness once hailed as a universal accelerator now presents a labyrinth of challenges for startups aiming for broad adoption and investors seeking outsized growth.

Against this backdrop, Kompas VC has not only found its footing but is thriving. Operating from strategic outposts in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Tel Aviv, the firm has meticulously developed a regionally sensitive strategy designed to navigate – and indeed, capitalize on – this fragmented world. This approach has just been significantly bolstered, with Kompas VC exclusively informing TechCrunch of the successful close of its second fund, bringing in a robust €160 million ($187.5 million) in fresh capital.

Deconstructing Global Fragmentation: Kompas’s Core Thesis

Sebastian Peck, a seasoned partner at Kompas VC, offers a clear articulation of the firm’s macro perspective. “We see the world really falling into three main spheres of economic activity, of political activity — the U.S., Europe, and China,” Peck explains. “We certainly see today that these three domains follow very, very different trajectories.” This tripartite understanding forms the bedrock of Kompas’s investment philosophy, recognizing that a “one-size-fits-all” global scalability model is no longer universally applicable, especially for ventures rooted in the physical economy.

This isn’t merely an abstract geopolitical theory; it directly informs Kompas’s due diligence and market assessments. The firm understands that cultural nuances, regulatory differences, and political priorities can create formidable barriers to entry or expansion, even for highly innovative technologies. Instead of fighting these currents, Kompas embraces them, seeking opportunities where a startup’s regional fit provides a significant, albeit sometimes localized, competitive advantage.

A Deliberate Focus on the “Physical World”

Kompas VC has consistently built its reputation on identifying and backing startups that tackle fundamental industrial competitiveness challenges. This encompasses a broad yet specific array of sectors, including advanced manufacturing, resilient supply chains, critical infrastructure development, and sustainable solutions. While these themes were gaining traction when Kompas was founded in 2021, Peck observes a stark shift in the broader venture capital narrative today.

“In 2026, we’re in a very, very different paradigm. It’s all about AI, it’s all about fast growth, very explosive growth,” Peck notes, highlighting the prevailing obsession with generative AI and hyper-growth models. Kompas, however, remains steadfast in its specialized lane. “A lot of big topics that we partially play to but also are not really part of what we stand for.”

Their unyielding focus is “in the physical world, anything around producing physical goods.” This commitment translates into strategic investments aimed at accelerating decarbonization efforts, significantly boosting industrial productivity, and enhancing risk management across complex operational environments. “We’ve found our niche,” Peck asserts, underscoring the firm’s confidence in its focused strategy even as many competitors chase the latest digital gold rush. This specialized approach, coupled with a keen awareness of global trends like reshoring and the drive for supply chain resilience, provides Kompas’s portfolio companies with substantial, if regionally specific, avenues for growth.

Strategic Deployment in a Segmented Global Marketplace

The €160 million raised for Kompas’s second fund, while perhaps not reaching the dizzying heights of some mega-funds, is perfectly calibrated for its strategic intent. This capital empowers the firm to lead early-stage investment rounds, typically deploying checks in the range of €3 million to €5 million. This allows Kompas to be the crucial “first check-in,” providing foundational capital to promising startups within its niche domains.

Operating as a European fund grants Kompas privileged access to a vibrant ecosystem of founders and innovative technologies across the continent. Yet, even within Europe, the firm must meticulously evaluate how global fragmentation might ultimately cap a startup’s potential for venture-grade returns. Peck offers a compelling real-world example: prefab housing.

This construction methodology is highly efficient and widely adopted in Scandinavian countries. “It feels like such an intuitive solution. It’s a product that is effectively an industrial product. It should be highly scalable,” he explains. However, its broader adoption in markets like Germany, other parts of Europe, and particularly the United States, faces significant hurdles. The challenge, Peck suggests, is less about technological viability and more about deeply ingrained “cultural conditioning.” The implications for a VC firm are profound: “In that industry, if the U.S. isn’t the market you can go to, you need to look very, very carefully at whether there’s a large enough addressable market.”

This pattern of fragmentation extends beyond construction. Consider sustainability, a cornerstone of Kompas’s investment thesis. While broadly attractive and often driven by regulatory mandates in Europe, its market dynamics and perceived urgency can differ significantly elsewhere. Peck notes that in the U.S., for instance, sustainability doesn’t necessarily carry the same commercial “cachet” or market momentum it did several years ago, illustrating another critical regional divergence that investors must meticulously navigate.

A Long-Term Vision for a Volatile World

Investing over horizons spanning 10 to 15 years demands a high degree of foresight, patience, and resilience. Peck candidly acknowledges the inherent unpredictability of market cycles and political shifts. “That’s a few legislative periods to bridge, and sometimes things swing in unexpected directions.” This long-term perspective is particularly vital for industrial tech, where development cycles can be protracted and widespread adoption often requires significant time and capital.

For Kompas, the constantly shifting global landscape, while a significant hurdle for many generalist funds, presents a distinct strategic advantage. “I think there’s a great space for highly focused, highly specialized, smaller funds like ours to be the first check-in and bring sweep up certain themes and certain founders,” Peck asserts. By maintaining a laser focus on a defined set of problems within the “physical world” and deeply understanding the regional specificities that influence market success, Kompas can effectively identify and support promising startups that might otherwise be overlooked by larger, less specialized funds chasing more mainstream or globally uniform trends.

The successful close of Kompas VC’s second fund is a testament to the validity and robustness of this nuanced approach. In a world where the dream of global homogeneity appears increasingly distant, Kompas VC’s strategy of deep specialization and regional sensitivity positions it not merely to adapt to fragmentation, but to build a powerful and profitable investment thesis around it.

The Bottom Line: In an investment climate often fixated on universal tech trends and borderless ambition, Kompas VC boldly differentiates itself by embracing – and excelling within – global fragmentation. With its fresh €160 million fund, the firm underscores that a specialized focus on the “physical world” – from industrial efficiency to decarbonization – coupled with a keen, regionally sensitive market understanding, offers a potent and proven pathway to venture success, even when the world isn’t moving in lockstep.