Acton Capital was founded in February 1999 by Christoph Braun, Paul-Bernhard Kallen, Jan-Gisbert Schultze, and Frank Seehaus, becoming one of the first venture capital funds in Europe just as the continent's digital economy was beginning. Its very first investment became legendary: signing a deal with three young founders - the Samwer brothers - behind Alando, an online auction platform eBay acquired within 100 days for $43 million, creating eBay Europe's core and sparking an entire generation of German startups. That founding conviction shaped Acton's continued focus on tech-enabled, unit-economics-driven business models across fintech, SaaS, marketplaces, and mobility, backing more than 100 startups to market leadership including Mambu, Zooplus, AbeBooks, and Clio, with more than €400 million invested across six fund generations since founding.
Alando's acquisition by eBay within 100 days of Acton's first investment in 1999, for $43 million - the deal that sparked a wave of German startups and helped establish Berlin as a European tech hub, alongside Zooplus's 2008 IPO and AbeBooks' sale to Amazon