Uwe Horstmann

Co-Founder & General Partner at Project A Ventures · Joined 2012

Biography

Uwe Horstmann joined Rocket Internet in 2007 as one of the company's earliest staff members, rising to Managing Director before co-founding Project A Ventures in 2012 with five colleagues to build a genuinely different early-stage model - 'operational VC,' combining financial capital with a team of more than 100 in-house experts across product, growth, data, and recruiting, exclusively available to portfolio companies. That model backed companies including Trade Republic, sennder, and WorldRemit, and Horstmann led Project A's early pivot into defense and dual-use technology starting in 2022, becoming one of the earliest investors in Stark, a Berlin-based defense drone maker. In a striking full-circle move in 2026, Horstmann became Stark's CEO himself while remaining active in Project A's investment activities, illustrating the firm's genuinely hands-on, operator-embedded approach to venture building.

Education

BS, Entrepreneurship, WHU-Otto Beisheim School of Management
MS, Business Engineering, University of Stuttgart
PhD, RWTH Aachen University

Previous Experience

Managing Director, Rocket Internet (2009-2011, one of the company's earliest staff members from its 2007 founding)

Notable Investments

Trade RepublicStarksennderQuantum SystemsARX Robotics

Board Seats

ARX (Aerospace and Defense)
Dixa

Career Timeline

2007

Joins Rocket Internet as one of its earliest staff members, eventually becoming Managing Director.

2012

Co-founds Project A Ventures with five colleagues, pioneering an 'operational VC' model combining capital with in-house operational support.

2022

Leads Project A's early shift into defense technology, backing companies including Stark and Quantum Systems.

2026

Becomes CEO of Stark, a Berlin-based defense drone company Project A backed as one of its earliest investors, while remaining active at Project A.

Sources & References

Resilience Media ↗Project A - Uwe Horstmann ↗