OHB Venture Capital
OHB Venture Capital is the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of OHB SE, a German space-technology group based in Bremen. Founded in 2016, it backs early-stage space and satellite-data startups worldwide. Its one water-linked holding is constellr, whose satellites map crop water stress from orbit. As of 2026, that is 1 water company across 2 deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
OHB Venture Capital is one of the more unusual names you will find in a water portfolio, because it does not really set out to fund water at all. It is the in-house investor of OHB SE, the Bremen space group that builds satellites and launchers, and its remit is to back the next generation of space-technology startups that could one day plug into OHB's own missions.
OHB Venture Capital lands on my radar through a single company: constellr. The German startup flies thermal-infrared microsatellites that read land-surface temperature from orbit, which turns out to be a sharp proxy for crop water stress and irrigation need. That is the whole of OHB's water story, water seen from space rather than water in a pipe, and it is a useful reminder that some of the most interesting water data now comes from companies that would never call themselves water companies.
OHB Venture Capital writes early, usually at seed stage, and it invests the way a strategic corporate arm does: the cheque matters less than the door it opens to OHB's engineers, ground infrastructure, and flight heritage. As a corporate venture capital arm (a CVC, meaning a fund owned by an operating company rather than by outside investors), it favours startups it could eventually fold into the group.
OHB Venture Capital is, for now, a space investor with one foot in water rather than a water fund, and I track it for exactly that edge: the satellites it backs are quietly becoming part of how the world will measure, and ration, its water. If OHB widens its Earth-observation bets, this is a name worth watching from the water side.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 1 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does OHB Venture Capital invest in?
- OHB Venture Capital invests in early-stage space-technology and satellite-data startups worldwide. As the corporate venture arm of OHB SE, it favours companies that fit the space group's strategy and could eventually integrate with its missions. Its single water-linked holding is constellr, an Earth-observation company.
- Is OHB Venture Capital a water investor?
- OHB Venture Capital is a space investor, not a dedicated water fund. Its only water-classified holding is constellr, whose thermal satellites measure crop water stress from orbit. (don't) Waste Water rates its water commitment Occasional, with 1 water company across 2 deals.
- Who runs OHB Venture Capital?
- OHB Venture Capital is led by managing directors Egbert Jan van der Veen, who is also Head of Strategy at OHB SE, and Oliver Salisch, OHB SE's Chief Participation and M&A Officer. Both sit inside the parent space group rather than running an independent fund.
- Where is OHB Venture Capital based?
- OHB Venture Capital is based in Bremen, Germany, the home of its parent company OHB SE, a European space-technology group. Founded in 2016, it invests globally but operates from the OHB group's German base.
- What stage does OHB Venture Capital back?
- OHB Venture Capital backs companies early, typically at seed stage. As a corporate venture arm it brings OHB SE's space engineering, infrastructure, and mission access alongside capital, and prefers startups that could one day be folded into the wider OHB group.