GENERAL INQUIRIES
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ir@forward.oneFund III expands FORWARD.one’s commercialization-first strategy across Europe, backing early-stage industrial technology companies and scaling them into global category leaders. More capital. Same discipline. Greater ambition.
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Europe produces world-class engineers, researchers, and breakthrough technologies. What it consistently lacks is speed in turning that innovation into scalable, global businesses. Too many companies stall between technical validation and commercial success.
FORWARD.one was built to close that gap. The focus is on turning technology into revenue, customers, and ultimately, market leadership.
Technology without commercialization is just expensive science.
That approach has translated into strong outcomes. Funds I and II rank among the top-performing VC funds in Europe, validating a model centered on early-stage investing, active support, and disciplined follow-on allocation.
Fund III builds directly on that foundation. Larger in size, but unchanged in strategy, it is designed to scale what already works: identifying high-potential industrial technologies early and backing the companies that execute.
We have achieved our target of €200 million, and are continuing to raise to meet our hard cap of €250 million. It’s a bigger fund, up from our Fund II of 145m. Still, we have not changed our strategy.
Riemer Smink, Managing Partner at FORWARD.one
Fund III targets early-stage industrial technology companies from pre-seed to Series A. Ideally, we are the first institutional investor. We like to get in as early as possible.
The focus is clear:
At FORWARD.one, we invest in technically differentiated teams solving large industrial problems, with a clear path to commercialization.
Fund III operates with a pan-European strategy, concentrated in regions where engineering depth meets industrial demand:
These regions combine technical expertise, strong industrial ecosystems, and access to early customers. While the Netherlands remains a core market, Germany and the Nordics are increasingly important due to depth in engineering and industrial base.
The model is built around conviction. On a yearly basis, FORWARD.one screens approximately 2,500 companies across Europe and invests in around eight. Selectivity remains high, even as the fund scales.
“The opportunity is to scale what already works. More capital allows us to back more winners, without changing how we operate.”
Cailin Greiner, Investment Manager at FORWARD.one
Turning prototypes into scalable businesses requires more than great technology. FORWARD.one partners closely with founders to develop and execute go-to-market strategies that drive real, repeatable growth. That includes:
Riemer Smink, Managing Partner at FORWARD.one: “Commercial execution always beats technical elegance.”
Too often, European founders assume that strong technology will sell itself. In reality, it rarely does. FORWARD.one’s model helps founders build that commercial muscle early, ensuring technology translates into tangible market traction and revenue.
The approach is hands-on and performance-driven. Follow-on investments focus on companies that execute and deliver measurable commercial progress.
We’re not a family, we’re a sports team.
Riemer Smink, Managing Partner at FORWARD.one
Manufacturing is entering a period of structural strain.
Factories are becoming more complex as systems shift from mechanical to software-driven environments, generating vast amounts of data. At the same time, experienced engineers are becoming scarce. Across Europe, thousands of roles remain unfilled, while a significant share of the workforce is approaching retirement.
The result is a growing gap between data availability and the ability to act on it.
Edmund addresses this problem directly. The company builds an AI-driven troubleshooting platform that connects machine data, documentation, and operational knowledge into a single layer, enabling engineers to diagnose and resolve issues in minutes instead of hours.
From an early stage, Edmund moved beyond experimentation into real-world deployment, working directly with industrial customers in live environments. These are implementations that address critical operational challenges where downtime has immediate financial consequences. The impact is measurable: significantly faster diagnosis, reduced downtime, and clear productivity gains at the factory level. That translates into something that matters most in industrial settings: a clear and immediate return on investment.
This combination is what defines the type of company Fund III is built for.
Edmund combines deep technical capability with a strong commercial mindset from day one, focusing on delivering value in real operational contexts. The team has aligned product development with customer needs and shown early signs that adoption can move beyond isolated use cases.
After screening the market and speaking with a wide range of manufacturing players, we knew we wanted to back a company already selling into top-tier customers. Edmund stood out, demonstrating remarkable commercial performance within just 12 months.
Julia Kuijs, Associate, FORWARD.one
The next phase is scaling early traction into repeatable growth:
FORWARD.one’s engagement extends far beyond capital. From day one, the focus is clear: turn technology into a real business, fast.
The priority is immediate traction:
Support centers on commercialization, including sales, pricing, partnerships, and follow-on fundraising, ensuring founders grow into market winners.
We instill urgency early. Founders are pushed to move fast, make bold decisions, and aim higher than they initially think possible.
FORWARD.one backs ambition and reinforces it.
Capital follows performance, and not all companies receive continued backing. Those who execute receive concentrated support to scale further and faster.
We make winners out of the brave.
Europe’s advantage lies in its deep technical expertise. The depth of engineering talent, research institutions, and industrial ecosystems is unmatched.
Its challenge lies in scaling that expertise globally.
What is needed is stronger commercial execution, faster access to growth capital, and better integration with industrial ecosystems.
Cailin Greiner, Investment Manager at FORWARD.one
Fund III is built to address that gap: by backing companies early, supporting them through commercialization, and scaling the ones that perform into global leaders.
Winning means becoming a global category leader, with strong revenue growth, clear market dominance, and a path to strategic exit or IPO.
Cailin Greiner, Investment Manager at FORWARD.one
Europe builds extraordinary technology. The next step is turning it into global industrial leaders.
We don’t fund comfort zones. We fund winners.
