Curiosity VC Amsterdam, Netherlands
Curiosity VC is a community-driven early-stage venture capital firm based in Amsterdam, founded in 2021 by Herman Kienhuis and Maurice Beckand Verwée. It invests in AI-native B2B software companies across the Benelux, Nordics, and Baltics, backing founders at the pre-seed and seed stages across verticals including finance, legal, real estate, energy, and cybersecurity.
Founded 2021
Type Venture capital 2 Fund II 2026-06-09 2026-06-09 €17M EUR17m first close only; EUR30–40m target and later2026 planned final close unverified. Header5June/body9June publication discrepancy; EUR50m combined AUM distinct.
Fund I 2022-01-18 2022-01-18 — EUR50m launch target; EUR32m reported inJune2026 but no official final close. Neither GroningenLP EUR60m nor EUR50m aggregate AUM is this fund size.
SHOW MORE
$1M $1M – $3M Santa Fe, New Mexico — — – — — — – — — — – — — — – — — — – — — — – — — — – — — — – —
SHOW MORE
No co-investors on record yet.
team@apexlogos.ai · 8 hours ago
Investment-fund research reviewed 2026-10-06. Publicly identified funds, dates, amounts and fundraising status are below. Undisclosed commitments remain unknown; this is not a complete register of private SPVs or parallel entities.
Fund size and status
| Vehicle/metric | Amount and status | Dated evidence and caveat |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First fund launch | €50m **target**, not a verified close | [Official launch](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/new-vc-fund-curiosity-launches-with-first-investment-in-explainable-ai-startup-deeploy ), 2022-01-18; aimed to invest in 20 software companies. |
| Fund I actual size | €32m reported | [Emerce reporting](https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/aivc-curiosity-komt-tweede-fonds ), 2026-06-17, says first fund contains €32m and 23 companies. This is a secondary reported amount; no separate official final-close announcement established. |
| Curiosity Fund II | €17m commitments at **first close**; €30–40m **target** final size | [Official announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/curiosity-vc-closes-eu17m-first-tranche-of-fund-ii-to-back-vertical-ai-startups-across-europe ), page header 2026-06-05 but body dateline 2026-06-09. Still open for commitments with final close planned later in 2026. Latest-known announcement located; no subsequent final close verified. |
| Firm AUM across I and II | €50m combined AUM | Same June announcement. Not Fund II size, not the original €50m target, and not investment check size. Rounded accounting may explain difference from €32m + €17m; do not derive Fund I commitments by subtraction. |
Fund II announcement mentions private investors and Dutch RVO Seed Capital matching for Dutch investments. The extent to which reported commitments include matching arrangements is not separately explained. The Groningen announcement's €60m amount refers to **Investment Fund Groningen**, an LP, not Curiosity.
Funds recorded in Adex after this review:
| Fund | Disclosed amount | Announcement / filing date |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fund I | Undisclosed / unverified | 2022-01-18 |
| Fund II | EUR 17000000 | 2026-06-09 | SHOW MORE
team@apexlogos.ai · 9 hours ago
Match research 2026-10-06 / CuriosityVC / sha256:62a5928e3718205c43f70acc4f51fecbe805327c30fcc146622bb3c7a02c0129 / part 2 of 2
Imported completed research. Baseline Adex/Signal statements describe prior state, not independent verification. Retain cited attribution, date, currency and classification caveats.
| **Imperum** | Persistent AI agents detect/investigate/respond to cybersecurity incidents using telemetry and forensic data. Technically substantial security software; performance/market-leadership claims in announcement are company claims. | [Official firm announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/imperum-funding-round ), 2026-06-11, states Curiosity **led seed** and joined as strategic investor. Amount undisclosed. |
Altura's tender workflow AI, BeCause sustainability data, Moonlit legal search and Dreamdata attribution software may fit the firm's mandate, but AI labeling alone does not establish strict deep-tech credentials; they are not counted as independently established hard deep-tech here.
## Neurotech and adjacent activity
**No verified neurotech investment found in the sources checked.** Checked saved investment list, official portfolio and news, Signal firm/team profiles and targeted searches combining Curiosity VC with neurotech, brain and neuroscience. No supported BCI, neural recording/stimulation, neuroprosthetic or brain-specific computing investment emerged. This is a source-bounded result, not an assertion of zero investments.
**Validfor** is healthcare-adjacent: [official announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/validfor-raises-1-2-million-to-shape-the-future-of-life-sciences-validation-with-agentic-ai ), 2026-02-24, says Curiosity participated in $1.2m **pre-seed**, led by DOMiNO, for AI compliance/validation workflows in pharma, biotech and medtech. It supplies documentation infrastructure, not a verified brain technology or neuroscience drug-discovery program. KPMG's [Q1 2026 Turkish startup report](https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmgsites/tr/pdf/2026/06/turkish-startup-investments-q1-2026.pdf ) classifies it as seed; prefer the firm's explicit pre-seed announcement while preserving the conflict.
## Conflicts, missing information and later Adex review
1. Preserve €50m launch **target**, €32m reported Fund I size, €17m Fund II first close, €30–40m target and €50m AUM as separate dated metrics. Recheck official final close before treating any as current total commitments.
2. Signal Karol Fels' Cottonwood linkage/deep-tech hardware rankings and Herman Kienhuis' River headline make list-level hardware attribution unreliable. Verify current titles individually before changing team records; duplicate Karol roles exist in snapshot.
3. Official portfolio separates **angel/syndicate** from **previous funds**. Cloudify is listed under previous-fund investments; pre-2021 snapshot transactions such as Cloudify (2019) and Lynk (January 2021) need explicit vehicle evidence before attribution to a firm founded in 2021. Current official portfolio has a different invoice-lending Lynk lead; do not merge companies solely on name.
4. Review `Orq` versus `OrqAi` duplicates and repeated seed participation; Orquesta is an earlier brand. Review Freesi versus IISY legal-entity overlap. Do not merge records automatically.
5. Snapshot Objectiv source URL says “30m” while stored amount is USD 3m; insufficient reliable round evidence was located here. Leave pending review rather than adopt either amount.
6. No verified firm-wide current check range, Fund II final size, comprehensive strict deep-tech count, or neurotech transaction found. Most sources establish investment/technology, not patents, scientific validation or capital allocation per investee.
All linked sources were accessed 2026-10-06. Publication dates are stated above where available; undated portfolio/homepage/Signal pages are current access snapshots. Official communications establish firm attribution but are not independent validation of marketing claims. This research preserves existing completed work and authorizes no database updates. SHOW MORE
team@apexlogos.ai · 9 hours ago
Match research 2026-10-06 / CuriosityVC / sha256:62a5928e3718205c43f70acc4f51fecbe805327c30fcc146622bb3c7a02c0129 / part 1 of 2
Imported completed research. Baseline Adex/Signal statements describe prior state, not independent verification. Retain cited attribution, date, currency and classification caveats.
# Curiosity VC
- Exact Adex ID: `CuriosityVC`
- Canonical Adex page: https://adex.page/firms/CuriosityVC
- Research completed/accessed: 2026-10-06
- Output: research for later review; no Adex/database changes made.
## Identity and assessment
Curiosity is an Amsterdam venture firm founded in 2021 by Herman Kienhuis and Maurice Beckand Verwée. Its mandate is early-stage AI B2B software, primarily in Benelux, Nordics and Baltics. Fund II also permits selective co-investments elsewhere in Europe. It is an applied-AI investor with technically substantial software examples, rather than a verified broad hardware/deep-science specialist. The firm explicitly described its preference for AI applications over fundamental technology in its [Groningen LP announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/investment-fund-groningen-joins-curiosity-as-a-limited-partner-to-support-the-emerging-ai-startup-ecosystem ), dated 2024-02-02. No verified neurotech investment found in the sources checked.
## Starting evidence: Adex and NFX Signal
The saved exact-ID snapshot, `data/research/_sources/CuriosityVC.adex.json`, retrieved 2026-10-06, supplies the name, 2021 founding year, website, NFX URL, null firm check range/sweet spot, team roles and 22 investment participation entries. Examples include Deeploy, Freesi/IISY, Orq/Orq.ai, Altura, Moonlit, BeCause, Telescope and Validfor. It also includes historical Cloudify, Lynk, Nosto and Nimbles entries requiring attribution review. These are research leads, not independent verification. The snapshot itself warns that Signal DeepTech list inclusion can reflect historical affiliations.
The [Signal firm page](https://signal.nfx.com/firms/curiosity-vc ) was directly read on 2026-10-06; extracted content contains the firm name and team heading but no useful mandate or checks. Two directly accessed individual profiles provide richer but conflicting context:
- [Herman Kienhuis](https://signal.nfx.com/investors/herman-kienhuis ), undated: headline/current position says River Venture Partners while experience includes Curiosity from 2021. His narrative describes seed/Series A AI B2B software, excludes pre-product companies and hardware, and lists $500k–$1m range/$750k sweet spot. These personal-profile numbers are not verified firm policy and mix affiliations.
- [Karol Fels](https://signal.nfx.com/investors/karol-fels ), undated: calls him a Curiosity analyst, links cottonwood.vc, includes both AI SaaS at Curiosity and deep-tech hardware at Cottonwood, and shows $1m–$3m range/$1.5m sweet spot plus materials/robotics/deep-tech rankings. Do not infer Curiosity hardware appetite or firm checks from this mixed profile.
## Fund size and status
| Vehicle/metric | Amount and status | Dated evidence and caveat |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First fund launch | €50m **target**, not a verified close | [Official launch](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/new-vc-fund-curiosity-launches-with-first-investment-in-explainable-ai-startup-deeploy ), 2022-01-18; aimed to invest in 20 software companies. |
| Fund I actual size | €32m reported | [Emerce reporting](https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/aivc-curiosity-komt-tweede-fonds ), 2026-06-17, says first fund contains €32m and 23 companies. This is a secondary reported amount; no separate official final-close announcement established. |
| Curiosity Fund II | €17m commitments at **first close**; €30–40m **target** final size | [Official announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/curiosity-vc-closes-eu17m-first-tranche-of-fund-ii-to-back-vertical-ai-startups-across-europe ), page header 2026-06-05 but body dateline 2026-06-09. Still open for commitments with final close planned later in 2026. Latest-known announcement located; no subsequent final close verified. |
| Firm AUM across I and II | €50m combined AUM | Same June announcement. Not Fund II size, not the original €50m target, and not investment check size. Rounded accounting may explain difference from €32m + €17m; do not derive Fund I commitments by subtraction. |
Fund II announcement mentions private investors and Dutch RVO Seed Capital matching for Dutch investments. The extent to which reported commitments include matching arrangements is not separately explained. The Groningen announcement's €60m amount refers to **Investment Fund Groningen**, an LP, not Curiosity.
## Investment stages and mandate
Current official Fund II strategy explicitly supports **pre-seed and seed** European AI software. The [homepage](https://www.curiosityvc.com/ ), undated/accessed 2026-10-06, looks for a launched first product with positive customer response and covers sustainable living, trusted society, future of work and commerce. Therefore pre-seed does not automatically imply idea-only funding. Historical Series A/B participation or portfolio follow-on rounds are not a replacement for the entry-stage mandate. Emerce (2026-06-17, linked above) reports initial €0.5m–€1.5m investments for Curiosity Seed Fund I; treat as vehicle-specific reported checks, not a confirmed current Fund II range.
## Named investments with deep-tech relevance
Deep-tech relevance below is an analytical assessment of documented technology. Applied AI, MLOps and cybersecurity are included with qualification; no evidence here establishes a science-origin moat, proprietary foundation model or hardware mandate. The [official portfolio](https://www.curiosityvc.com/portfolio ), undated/accessed 2026-10-06, places these examples in the firm's principal portfolio, separately from angel/syndicate and previous-fund investments.
| Company | Technology rationale and attribution | Funding/date/source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Deeploy** | Explainable-AI deployment and MLOps infrastructure makes ML decisions auditable; stronger technical infrastructure relevance than routine vertical SaaS. Official firm portfolio verifies attribution. | Official launch dated 2022-01-18 states **€0.8m Curiosity investment**. This differs from the roughly €1m total first round, and should not be recorded as a €0.8m total round. [Launch source](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/new-vc-fund-curiosity-launches-with-first-investment-in-explainable-ai-startup-deeploy ). [Emerce](https://www.emerce.nl/wire/miljoeneninvestering-utrechtse-aibewaker-deeploy ), 2023-06-15 (Deeploy-submitted Industry Wire release, not independent editorial reporting), reports a €2.5m total round and describes Curiosity participating again alongside SI3, Bonsai, Emilia Capital and Anton Loeffen. |
| **Alpha3D / former Alpha AR** | AI engine automates conversion of real objects to 3D content, relevant to computer vision/generative geometry. Firm attribution verified by [official portfolio detail](https://www.curiosityvc.com/portfolio-companies/alpha3d ), undated. | [Future of Computing interview](https://www.future-of-computing.com/alpha-3d-shaping-the-future-of-3d-models-for-augmented-reality/ ), 2022-08-31, reports $800k seed from Curiosity and ZAKA but says “last year”; [Estonian VR/AR industry report for 2022](https://eevr.ee/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Estonian-VR-AR-Industry-in-2022.docx-1.pdf ), published 2023, places an $800k co-led round in its 2022 discussion. Attribution is stronger than exact vintage; no precise round date established. |
| **Freesi / IISY Oy** | AI indoor-air analysis/optimization for buildings is applied climate software with physical-world relevance; not evidence Curiosity financed sensors or new materials. | [Official announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/curiosity-invests-in-finnish-indoor-climate-software-company-freesi ), 2022-06-23, states €1.7m financing with Helen Ventures. [AIN reporting](https://en.ain.ua/2022/06/23/finnish-indoor-climate-software-freesi-raises-e1-7m-from-curiosity/ ), same date, identifies seed and Curiosity leading. |
| **Orq.ai / Orquesta** | LLM operations and production AI-agent execution, evaluation and governance infrastructure. Applied AI tooling; no verified proprietary foundational model claim. | [Official firm announcement](https://www.curiosityvc.com/post/curiosity-leads-eu800-000-pre-seed-funding-round-in-first-european-all-in-one-llm-ops-platform-orquesta ), 2023-10-02, identifies Curiosity leading €800k pre-seed. [Investee announcement](https://orq.ai/blog/orq-ai-raises-5m-to-close-the-ai-production-gap-for-enterprises ), 2025-12-03, names Curiosity as continuing investor in €5m seed led by seed + speed and Galion exe. Firm check undisclosed. | SHOW MORE
team@apexlogos.ai · 22 days ago
MATCH 
ValidFor
orq.ai
Altura
Moonlit
Because
Deeploy
IISY Oy
Lynk
Cloudify
Neople
Epicbrief
Display
Clubee