gamma capital partners eyes Austrian early-stage investments

14 October 2002

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

gcp gamma capital partners Beratungs- & Beteiligungs GmbH (gamma capital) is a new independent early-stage venture capital firm launched in the Austrian market. In June 2002 it signed its first management contract with iLab24 Mittelstandsfinanzierungs AG, a EUR 20.4m venture capital fund. Prior to the management agreement iLab24 functioned as a business incubator for the internet and telecommunications industries. Both gamma capital and iLab24 are based in Vienna. gamma capital is now looking for early-stage investment opportunities in technology businesses, operating in the telecommunications, information technology, microelectronics, nanotech and life sciences sectors. gamma capital and iLab24 focus mainly on the Austrian market, but will also invests in Germany and Switzerland.

Gamma capital was founded by a team of three: Oliver Grabherr, Hannes Ambacher and Klaus Matzka. The teamâ€™s mixture of venture and entrepreneurial experience is essential to the firmâ€™s early-stage approach. Oliver Grabherr has seven yearsâ€™ venture capital experience, starting with FGG, where he helped to build up its venture capital support schemes together with Burkhard Feurstein (now Invest Equity early stage). From there he went to Bank-Austria Technologiefinanzierung, which is now 3i Austria, and then joined Investkredit, where he was founding partner and investment director of the first Austria-based pure mezzanine fund, Invest Mezzanin. Hannes Ambacher started his career as a software engineer and moved into the venture capital business after he received a master of business administration (MBA) at Ann Arbor, USA. Following a short interim period in Austria, he joined top.equity, the captive equity arm of Raiffeisen-Group. Klaus Matzka, the entrepreneur in the gamma team, started his career in 1994 with the internet service provider (ISP) magnet, later renamed into nextra, which he built on a cash-flow only basis and sold to the Norwegian incumbent Telenor in 1999/2000. Following that he joined the business incubator iLab24 in October 2000 and was one of its two executive board members. Contact: gcp gamma capital partners Beratungs- & Beteiligungs GmbH, iLab24 Mittelstandsfinanzierungs AG, Marokkanergasse 22/7a, 1030 Vienna, Austria; Tel: +43 1 5131072, Fax: +43 1 5131072 200, Email: office@gamma-capital.com, www.gamma-capital.com