Updated on 20.05.2025.
In 2024, the deeptech sector drew €15 billion in VC funding — nearly a third of all European venture capital — according to Dealroom. Anchored by top institutions like Oxford, ETH Zurich, and Cambridge, as well as hubs in London, Paris, and Munich, deeptech is gaining strategic importance amid geopolitical shifts. The UK led in funding with €4.2 billion, followed by France with €3 billion and Germany with €2.7 billion, with surging interest in areas like synthetic biology, AI drug discovery, and fusion. AI alone saw a 113% jump in funding, hitting €3 billion.
Despite persistent challenges — from fragmented markets to slow-moving corporates and weak tech transfer — VCs see progress in Europe’s deeptech landscape. With better public-private coordination and targeted reforms, the region has a real chance to turn research into scalable companies. To support this shift, Vestbee has updated its list of active deeptech funds backing innovative startups.
Here is a comprehensive list of the top deeptech VC funds investing in Europe in 2025:
7percent Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: early stages
7percent Ventures invests in early-stage startups focused on defence, dual-use aerospace, and AI, with initial ticket sizes of £400,000-500,000. The firm typically joins a startup’s first or second funding round, backing ambitious founders aiming to solve significant global problems. With a portfolio of over 160 startups and 240 founders, 7percent seeks moonshot opportunities that can deliver 200x returns, bypassing less risky ventures.
Alpine Space Ventures
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: technologies along the full space value chain
Stages: pre-seed and early stages
Alpine Space Ventures is a venture capital fund focused exclusively on early-stage investments in the space sector. The fund typically invests up to €5 million in initial rounds, often as lead investor and occasionally as the first institutional backer. It supports follow-on funding and maintains a focused portfolio capped at 15 startups. The geographic scope includes Europe and North America.
Amadeus Capital Partners
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: deeptech, AI, quantum technologies, sustainability
Stages: early-stage to growth
Amadeus Capital Partners is a deeptech venture capital firm that has invested in over 200 companies and raised more than $1.3 billion. The firm targets transformative technologies across sectors such as AI, health tech, sustainability, and space. Its investment philosophy centers on backing companies addressing complex problems in large markets.
APEX Ventures
HQ: Vienna, Austria
Investment focus: deeptech, medical technologies
Stages: seed and early stages
APEX Ventures is a deeptech and medical-focused venture capital firm founded by entrepreneurs and operators. It seeks out startups built around novel scientific discoveries or unique engineering innovations with strong intellectual property. Their typical initial investment ranges from €500,000 to €1.5 million. They focus on DACH, CEE, and Nordics, with select investments in Europe and the United States
Airstreet Capital
HQ: London, the UK
Investment focus: AI, deeptech
Stages: early stages
Air Street Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in AI-first companies at the earliest stages. The firm works closely with founders from day one, helping shape product, market, and technology strategies. Air Street aims to build enduring companies that create lasting market impact, focusing on transformative technologies powered by AI.
Atlantic Labs
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: deeptech, climate tech, future of work, AI, mobility, fintech
Stages: pre-seed to seed
Atlantic Labs is a Berlin-based early-stage venture capital firm backing mission-driven founders from the beginning of their startup journey. Since 2013, it has led over 150 first-round investments. The firm is particularly interested in startups that combine emerging technologies with transformative potential or social impact. Atlantic Labs offers long-term support to entrepreneurs aiming to become category-defining leaders, with current focus areas including AI, decarbonisation, and automation.
Cambridge Innovation Capital
HQ: Cambridge, the UK
Investment focus: deeptech, life sciences
Stages: seed to series A (via CIC's early-stage funds) and growth capital (via opportunity and growth funds)
Cambridge Innovation Capital is a venture capital firm embedded in the Cambridge science and technology ecosystem, with exclusive access to University of Cambridge spinouts. Since its founding in 2014, CIC has focused on commercialising innovations in life sciences and deeptech, investing in fields such as cancer therapeutics, genomic diagnostics, AI, quantum computing, and surgical robotics. The firm manages both early-stage funds (seed and Series A) and growth-stage funds, supporting companies from the initial research-commercialisation phase through to scale-up.
Chalmers Ventures
HQ: Gothenburg, Sweden
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: multi-stage
Chalmers Ventures is a leading deeptech investor and venture builder in the Nordics. Combining venture creation and tech investment under one roof, the firm specializes in transforming research-based innovations into global growth companies. Their portfolio is rooted in deeptech with global market ambitions, often in collaboration with external VCs.
Creator Fund
HQ: Kensington, UK
Investment Focus: AI, deeptech, life sciences
Stages: pre-seed, seed
Creator Fund invests at the pre-seed and seed stages in startups led by scientific founders. The fund targets businesses where at least one founder is a professor, PhD, student, or recent graduate. It typically invests up to £750,000 as a first check. Creator Fund maintains on-the-ground PhD teams across more than 25 universities in Europe, providing portfolio companies access to specialist talent. The fund is backed by venture capital investors from both Europe and the US and is actively involved in supporting its portfolio companies with follow-on fundraising.
Deeptech Labs
HQ: Cambridge, UK
Investment Focus: deeptech
Stages: seed (with follow-on support for Series A)
Deeptech Labs is a seed-stage venture capital fund and accelerator that supports deeptech startups with established technologies and early teams. It supports portfolio companies through commercialisation and Series A fundraising. The fund invests twice a year in small cohorts of companies, each participating in a structured 10-week accelerator program. This program includes one-on-one mentoring, expert sessions, and concludes with a Demo Day connecting startups to top investors. The firm maintains close ties with leading researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry partners in the Cambridge ecosystem.
Elaia
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: B2B, digital, deeptech
Stages: from pre-seed to Series B
Headquartered in Paris, with offices in Barcelona and Tel Aviv, Elaia specializes in digital and deeptech domains. The firm targets high-potential B2B startups in the digital, deeptech, and biotech sectors, primarily within Europe and Israel. With a strong track record, Elaia's investment thesis spans from supporting startups at pre-seed to Series B, with ticket sizes ranging from €300,000 to €15 million per company.
FORWARD.one
HQ: Amstelveen, the Netherlands
Investment focus: deeptech, industrial tech
Stages: from seed to growth
FORWARD.one is a venture capital firm that invests in smart, defensible innovations with strong commercial potential. The firm targets early seed-stage startups with investments ranging from €1 to €4 million and can follow on with up to €15 million per company. Their value-add lies in deep entrepreneurial expertise, speed, pragmatism, and a strong emphasis on commercialisation.
High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF)
HQ: Bonn, Germany
Investment focus: deeptech startups in various sectors
Stages: seed, early stages
HTGF is a seed investor, seeking high-tech startups with growth potential. With a team of seasoned experts, the fund provides knowledge and support to young companies in various deeptech sectors, including digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences, and chemistry. HTGF specifically selects startups that are less than 3 years old and headquartered in Germany (or with a German base of operations), which can receive investment tickets of up to €1 million in the seed round and €4 million across all financing rounds.
Innovacom
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: from seed to growth
Innovacom is a pioneering French venture capital firm that has been supporting digital and deeptech startups for over 30 years. As a long-term, hands-on investor, Innovacom is deeply embedded in France and Europe's entrepreneurial ecosystems. The firm backs ambitious entrepreneurs from inception through to growth, bringing a collaborative, network-driven approach and strong links to industry and academia.
Innovation Industries
HQ: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: early stages
Innovation Industries is a venture capital fund investing in emerging deeptech with a focus on long-term value creation. It backs companies developing breakthrough technologies in fields like genetics, robotics, AI, and photonics, targeting large, fast-growing markets. The fund exclusively supports ventures with unique, defensible IP and strong technology positions, aiming to build global leaders. Its investment themes align with major societal and environmental challenges, including energy transition, carbon reduction, resource efficiency, health, sustainable food, and infrastructure.
IP Group
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: deeptech, clean tech, life sciences
Stages: from seed to growth
IP Group is a leading UK-based venture capital firm that transforms scientific innovation into impactful, high-growth businesses. With a 20+ year track record, IP Group backs early-stage and scaling companies in life sciences, cleantech, and deeptech, aiming to address the world’s greatest unmet needs. Known for its role in founding Oxford Nanopore Technologies — key in the global COVID-19 response — the firm combines capital investment with deep sector expertise and strategic support.
IQ Capital
HQ: Cambridge, UK
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: pre-seed to Series A
Focusing on sectors like computer science, energy, life sciences, fintech, space, and advanced engineering, IQ Capital has backed over 30 new investments in the past three years. The VC fund is currently investing from their fourth fund on the scale from £500,000 to £10 million per company, targeting disruptive deeptech across sectors like generative AI, advanced engineering, space tech, quantum hardware, cyber security, and synthetic biology. They seek Seed and Series A opportunities with strong deep-tech IP and offer follow-on investments of up to £30 million through their Growth Fund.
Jolt Capital
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: growth
Jolt Capital, based in Paris, is a private equity growth investor specializing in mid-sized deeptech companies. Their strategy focuses on software and hardware, spanning sectors like cybersecurity, sensors, AI, and robotics. By providing growth capital, they enable expansion into new markets, acquisitions, and value creation while managing risks. They are especially focused on companies with revenues between €10 million and €50 million, not only providing them with financial resources but also with an understanding of scaling challenges and strategic guidance.
OTB Ventures
HQ: Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Warsaw, Poland
Investment focus: deeptech, spacetech, AI & automation, fintech, and cybersecurity
Stages: multi-stage
OTB Ventures is a leading European venture capital firm with offices in Warsaw, Poland, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It focuses on startups in the late seed, Series A, and Series B stages, investing in companies that develop deeptech solutions in four key verticals: spacetech, AI & automation, fintech, and cybersecurity.
Oxford Science Enterprises
HQ: Oxford, UK
Investment focus: deeptech, life sciences, health tech
Stages: multi-stage
Oxford Science Enterprises was established in 2015 and now operates as an independent investment firm, uniquely partnered with the University of Oxford. This collaboration grants them unprecedented access to cutting-edge research and the brightest academic minds, allowing them to shape and nurture transformative businesses. Their primary focus lies within three high-growth, high-impact sectors: life sciences, healthtech, and deeptech.
Plural
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: AI, frontier tech, climate and energy, and health and biotech
Stages: early-stage
Plural Platform is an early-stage venture capital firm that has recently closed a new €400 million fund to support ambitious founders on transformative missions. Backed by LPs from both sides of the Atlantic, Plural has invested in 26 companies across six countries in just 18 months. The firm focuses on sectors such as AI, frontier tech, climate and energy, and health and biotech. Led by experienced founders-turned-investors, Plural offers hands-on, deep support, working closely with a select number of startups each year.
Promus Ventures
HQ: Luxembourg
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: from pre-seed to Series B
Promus Ventures is a global venture capital firm investing in early-stage deeptech startups across the U.S. and Europe. With offices in Chicago, San Francisco, and Luxembourg, the firm partners with visionary founders, leveraging transformational technologies to digitize and revolutionize established industries. Promus Ventures adopts a hands-on approach, often leading financing rounds, taking board seats, and actively supporting startups through their growth journeys. In 2020, the firm launched Orbital Ventures, a €120 million fund focused on early-stage space-related companies, underscoring its commitment to sectors like space tech, automation, AI, and robotics.
Quantonation
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: quantum technologies
Stages: from pre-seed to Series A
Quantonation is the first early-stage venture fund exclusively dedicated to Quantum Technologies startups, with a key focus on areas such as deep physics, quantum computing, quantum communication, and post-quantum, as well as quantum sensing. Quantonation is contributing to the harnessing of quantum properties like superposition and entanglement and advancing fields like molecular design, high-performance calculation, and ultra-precise sensing, through strategic support to the most promising entrepreneurs in the field.
Seraphim Space
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: spacetech
Stage: multi-stage
Based in the UK, Seraphim Space is a leading specialist deeptech investor focused on the spacetech sector. It has made an industry impact with a portfolio of over 90 spacetech companies and support from international space agencies.
Silicon Roundabout Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: deeptech, big data
Stage: early stages
Silicon Roundabout Ventures is a community-driven venture capital firm based in London, specializing in early-stage investments in deeptech and big data startups across Europe. The firm operates at the intersection of venture capital, science, and community, aiming to empower technical founding teams to address global-scale challenges. It focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage investments, typically ranging from €100,000 to €1.5 million. The firm targets startups led by technical founders addressing global challenges in sectors such as computing, defence, energy, climate, and health.
Supernova Invest
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: deeptech
Stage: multi-stage
Supernova Invest is a venture capital firm specializing in deeptech investments across Europe, with a focus on sectors such as Industry 4.0, Healthcare, Digital Technologies, and Energy & Environment. The firm’s most recent seed fund aims to invest in approximately 20 high-impact deeptech startups, with initial investments ranging from €1 to €3 million and provisions for follow-on funding in subsequent rounds.
Tensor Ventures
HQ: Senningerberg, Luxembourg
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: seed and Series A
Tensor Ventures is a deeptech venture capital firm investing in early-stage startups pushing the frontiers of innovation. Focused on uncharted technological territories such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotech, and sustainability, Tensor embraces transformative shifts in science and industry. The firm uses proprietary scouting methods, including university referrals and a global VC network, to identify niche, high-potential startups.
UVC Partners
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: deeptech, enterprise software, industrial tech, robotics
Stage: multi-stage
UVC Partners is an early-stage VC firm based in Munich and Berlin, backing European B2B startups in deeptech, enterprise software, industrial tech, and mobility. It typically invests €500,000-€4 million in seed and Series A rounds, with total commitments up to €15 million per company. Managing over €400 million in AUM, its diverse team, ranging from rocket scientists to economists, offers hands-on support and leverages a strong corporate network. The firm is closely tied to UnternehmerTUM, boosting access to top technical talent and research from the Technical University of Munich.
Voima Ventures
HQ: Helsinki, Finland
Investment focus: deeptech
Stages: pre-seed, seed, Series A, and occasionally Series B
Voima Ventures invests in science-backed and deeptech startups that aim to solve meaningful global problems across industries and ecosystems. The firm supports everything from early-stage spin-offs and pre-seed ventures to leading Series A and sometimes Series B rounds. Their dual presence in Helsinki and Stockholm reinforces their Nordic deeptech footprint.
Vsquared Ventures
HQ: Munich, Germany
Investment focus: deeptech
Stage: from pre-seed to early growth stages
Vsquared Ventures is an early-stage backer, investing in deep-tech enterprises that address society's most pivotal challenges, with an emphasis on pioneering quantum and novel computing, sustainable energy solutions, robotics, AI/ML, emerging space technologies, synthetic biology, and healthcare innovation. Its team comprises founders, academics, operators, and innovators, and has nurtured over 30 companies, forming one of Europe's leading deeptech portfolios.
Sector agnostic VCs with substantial deeptech investments:
Atomico
HQ: London, the UK
Investment focus: digital life and play, digital work, empowered individuals, commerce, enterprise data, automation, frontier tech, fintech, future of food, health, industrial automation, internet infrastructure, mobility, impact
Stages: multi-stage
Atomico is dedicated to fueling the growth of tech founders beyond Series A, with a strong European focus. With $4.7 billion in AUM, Atomico leverages its operational expertise to catalyze exponential growth for its portfolio companies. Driven by a mission to cultivate a prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive technology ecosystem, it is focusing on future-forward verticals such as cybersecurity, fintech, digital work, enterprise data automation, mobility, industrial infrastructure, and more.
Balderton
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: multi-stage with a dedicated growth vehicle
Balderton Capital is a venture capital firm based in the UK that specializes in early-stage and growth-stage investments in technology companies. With a history spanning over 22 years, Balderton has raised $4.5 billion to invest in European technology startups, providing them with access to the combined insight, knowledge, and experience of its well-experienced team. They operate out of two funds — for early-stage startups and growth startups — across sectors ranging from reproductive health to deeptech.
b2Venture
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: deeptech, AI & ML, biotech, climate, fintech, consumer, SaaS
Stages: multi-stage
b2venture operates in multiple locations, including St. Gallen, Munich, Luxembourg, Zurich, and Berlin. Through its dedicated funds and direct investment track, b2venture invests in startups in the DACH region and across Europe. Its portfolio includes companies from sectors such as deeptech, AI & ML, biotech, climate, fintech, consumer, and SaaS.
EQT Ventures
HQ: Stockholm, Sweden
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: multi-stage
EQT Ventures operates as a multi-stage venture capital fund, focusing on all stages of a startup’s growth — from early to Series B and beyond, primarily investing in European tech companies. Founded by former founders and entrepreneurs, EQT Ventures positions itself as an accessible, supportive, and committed partner, understanding the challenges and risks founders face. With offices in Stockholm, London, Berlin, Paris, and San Francisco, the fund employs a sector-agnostic approach with investments ranging from €2 million to €50 million.
Earlybird
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: digital, ICT, healthtech, and deeptech
Stages: early
Earlybird is among the top venture capital investors driving European tech innovation. Based in Berlin and covering all startup development stages, it provides not just financial backing but also strategic guidance, global networks, and market access. With four autonomous teams, Earlybird spans geographies and sectors, including early-stage digital technology in the West, ICT investments in the East, health solutions, and deeptech innovation. The firm has a specific fund dedicated to deeptech solutions — Earlybird-X, which seeks out companies developing ventures in robotics, AI, and mobility.
Hoxton Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: early stages
Hoxton Ventures is a European venture fund with a Silicon Valley mindset. It encourages companies to tackle the US market early and prioritize brilliant people and products with massive scale potential. The fund leads pre-seed or seed rounds, typically investing between $500,000 to $5 million, aiming for an ownership position of 10% to 20%. Committed to maximizing value, Hoxton Ventures provides support behind the scenes, including introductions, key hires, market intel, and strategic partnerships.
HV Capital
HQ: Munich, Germany
Investment focus: climate, frontier tech, health, fintech, enterprise, consumer, marketplaces
Stages: multi-stage
HV Capital deploys capital across all growth stages. Its approach involves early-stage rounds ranging from €500,000-10 million, growth-stage investments up to €60 million, and follow-on investments reaching up to €100 million per company. In 2023, HV Capital announced its largest fund, Fund IX, with a size exceeding €710 million, split into two vehicles: Fund IX Venture and Fund IX Growth, to target companies from Seed to Series D and beyond.
Index Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: multi-stage
Index Ventures, headquartered in London, San Francisco, and Geneva, has made over 1000 investments across various companies. Offering strategic guidance and global connections, Index Ventures supports innovation in deeptech, software, e-commerce, fintech, climate, and more. It invests from the earliest and seed stages up to the late stages, working with entrepreneurs and their companies at every stage and across every sector.
Kima Ventures
HQ: Paris, France
Investment focus: sector agnostic, with emphasis on deeptech, software, internet, fintech, AI
Stages: from seed to Series A
Headquartered in Paris with a London office, Kima Ventures is one of the most active early-stage investors, committing to 2-3 global investments per week. The fund provides €150,000 in tickets in 100 new deals annually, with flexibility in stage, deal size, and sector. Operating from seed to Series A, often as a lead investor, Kima Ventures assists startups in team building, learning, focus, and growth strategies.
Lakestar
HQ: Zurich, Switzerland
Investment focus: AI, digitalisation, healthcare, deeptech, fintech, and more
Stages: multi-stage
Lakestar invests in visionary tech entrepreneurs from seed to growth stages, focusing on four key sectors: deeptech, healthcare, fintech, and digitalization. The firm's strategy emphasizes long-term partnerships, leveraging deep sector expertise to provide valuable insights and forward-looking perspectives. Lakestar's selective approach ensures it can offer meaningful support beyond capital, helping portfolio companies shape global modern life through technological innovation.
Lightrock
HQ: London, the UK
Investment focus: impact-focused investing
Stage: multi-stage
Lightrock, headquartered in London, is a global impact tech VC firm. It invests in scalable, deeptech companies aligned with three impact themes: people, planet, and productivity. Its mission is to collaborate with ambitious entrepreneurs for societal benefit. Lightrock offers support in strategy, impact, capability development, and fundraising, leveraging its network for portfolio companies.
Matterwave Ventures
HQ: Munich, Germany
Investment Focus: Industrial technologies
Stages: seed to Series A
Matterwave Ventures backs European industrial tech startups that drive the future of industrial value creation. Sector- and technology-agnostic, the firm invests €1-10 million per company, supporting 5–6 new ventures annually. Matterwave is a long-term partner to startups commercializing breakthrough innovations. The firm plays an active role in shaping industrial transformation through collaborations with key European institutions, including the EIF and ESA, and leveraging a network of corporates, universities, and co-investors.
Molten Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: consumer, digital health and wellness, AI, deeptech, hardware, cloud, enterprise, and SaaS
Stages: Series A and above
With offices in London, Cambridge, and Dublin, Molten Ventures focuses on Series A rounds and beyond, targeting companies tackling significant technological challenges across various sectors. Molten’s latest fund aims to capitalize on its established approach of identifying and nurturing Europe's tech leaders in sectors including deeptech, hardware, software, healthcare, and consumer technology.
Merantix Capital
HQ: Berlin, Germany
Investment focus: applied AI
Stages: pre-seed and Seed
Merantix Capital backs visionary founders building AI-native companies that apply cutting-edge research to real-world challenges. With investment tickets ranging from €500,000 to €4 million, their investment strategy favors teams with deep domain expertise, clear market timing, and innovations that stand out from the crowded AI landscape. Key interest areas include robotics, Gen2 fintech, industrial AI, neuroscience, AI-powered security, and cloud labs for automated research.
Octopus Ventures
HQ: London, UK
Investment focus: B2B software, bio, climate, consumer, deeptech, fintech, health, HRtech
Stages: from pre-seed to Series B
Octopus Ventures is a pan-European investor with a strong presence in the UK and the US and a global approach to investing. It engages across pre-seed, seed, Series A, and beyond stages, actively supporting innovative deeptech solutions. The fund’s pre-seed investments can begin even before product development, with an average investment of £100,000. It also provides seed funding, Series A, and beyond, typically starting at £1 million. In the deeptech field, they are particularly focusing on startups developing tools and technologies that will power the next industrial revolution, such as quantum computing, robotics, drones, and sensory human augmentation.
Speedinvest
HQ: Vienna, Austria
Investment focus: deeptech, fintech, health, techbio, climate tech, industrial tech, marketplaces & consumer, SaaS
Stages: multi-stage
Speedinvest is a pan-European venture capital firm that offers an extensive industry-specific network connecting portfolio companies with other founders and experts at every stage. The fund’s initial ticket size ranges from €300,000 to €2 million for SaaS and from €250,000 to €15 million for fintech, depending on the market segment. Speedinvest primarily invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups.
Singular
HQ: London, the UK
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: seed to Series B
Singular is an early-stage venture capital firm partnering with Europe’s next generation of globally ambitious founders. Operating across all sectors, the firm combines the agility of a small fund with the firepower of a larger platform, enabling it to move quickly and invest flexibly throughout Europe. Singular positions itself as a strategic sparring partner, providing not just capital but hands-on support from both investors and seasoned operators.
SFC Capital
HQ: Northwich, UK
Investment focus: sector agnostic
Stages: early stages
SFC is a UK-based venture capital firm focused on investing in innovative startups through partnerships with universities, spinouts, accelerators, and angel investors. With over £150 million in assets under management, SFC operates the UK’s leading SEIS Fund, investing in 15-20 companies per fund to build diverse portfolios across sectors such as deeptech, B2B software, fintech, medtech, and green tech. Its follow-on All-Star EIS Fund reinvests in 10-15 of the top-performing portfolio companies.
