Michael Schmitt

Michael Schmitt is a Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital and Motu Ventures, focusing on early-stage European technology investments. Before transitioning to venture capital, he spent over a decade at Google from 2000 to 2011, holding technical leadership roles including Engineering Director and Software Engineer. He recently co-launched U2V, a €60 million fund targeting 25 pre-seed and seed-stage deeptech university spinouts, operating independently from his work as a Venture Partner at the fully invested €75 million Earlybird X fund. Schmitt studied computer science at the Technical University of Munich and UC Santa Barbara, and has also made personal angel investments in startups such as Lengoo, omni:us, and futurefactor since 2012. His current investment strategy centers on European deeptech, artificial intelligence, and clean technology companies, leveraging his extensive background as a technical founder, chief executive officer, and operator.