Lithos Capital

Michael Linse founded Linse Capital in 2015 after serving as a Kleiner Perkins partner and co-managed it with Bastiaan Janmaat. Both had worked in Goldman SachsGoldman SachsGoldman Sachs is an American financial services group headquartered in New York whose businesses include investment banking, securities trading, asset management, and wealth management. It traces its origins to the commercial paper business Marcus Goldman founded in 1869; it listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999 under the ticker GS and became a bank holding company in 2008. David Solomon serves as chairman and chief executive officer.Open the full entry’ Special Situations Group; the new website dates their first collaboration to 2007.⁠[3][4]

In its 2022 retrospective, the firm described Linse Capital as an early ChargePoint investor and its largest shareholder when the EV-charging company listed in 2021. This describes the listing date rather than the shareholder ranking in subsequent periods.⁠[3]

On December 19, 2022, Linse Capital announced $700 million across Linse Capital Fund I and two co-investment vehicles for Skydio and Verkada. Fund I had $563 million of dedicated commitments. Cumulative committed capital exceeded $1.1 billion, with backing from over 400 family offices, Oppenheimer & Co.Oppenheimer & Co.Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. is an American middle-market investment bank and full-service broker-dealer headquartered in New York, controlled by the New York Stock Exchange-listed Oppenheimer Holdings Inc., with businesses spanning wealth management, institutional sales and trading, investment banking, equity and fixed income research, and asset management. Today’s firm was formed in 2003 by combining two lineages: Fahnestock & Co., founded in 1881, and Oppenheimer & Co., founded in 1950.Open the full entry affiliates, and investment arms of Daimler Truck and Taiwan Mobile.⁠[3]

Fund I’s stated strategy was to select a few businesses annually, invest $100–400 million in each over time and seek a leading shareholding at exit. Its portfolio included ChargePoint, Redaptive, Valens, Skydio and Verkada, spanning charging, energy efficiency, semiconductors, drones and physical security.⁠[3]

On June 3, 2025, legal adviser WilmerHale confirmed Linse Capital led Impulse Space’s $300 million Series C with a $100 million investment and additionally formed and financed an investment SPV. The initial closing occurred on May 9; funding supported expansion of in-space mobility capabilities to meet customer demand.⁠[5]

In October 2026, the firm announced Linse Ignition, combining a $75 million early-stage fund with $75 million in co-investment vehicles. Following fundraising in 2025, the early-stage fund was largely deployed across 14 companies. Examples included Amca, Varda, Fab2, Lace Lithography, Mythic, Thea Energy and Freeform.⁠[2]

The announcement reported more than $1.7 billion raised and $1.5 billion invested in deep tech since inception, with Ignition accounting for roughly 10% of deployment. It had backed nine growth-stage and 14 early-stage businesses. The new strategy extended its established focus on proven technologies and product-market fit. Capital raised and capital deployed are distinct measures.⁠[2]

On October 15, 2026, the firm announced its rebrand from Linse Capital to Lithos Capital. The name derives from the ancient Greek word for stone and represents its long-term, concentrated capital commitment. In a joint website letter, Michael Linse and Bastiaan Janmaat said each partner held no more than three board seats, preserving time for recruitment, customer introductions and operational assistance.⁠[6]

The official portfolio page under the Linse Capital name dates its initial Onodrim IndustriesOnodrim IndustriesOnodrim Industries is an Amsterdam-based European defence and industrial scale-up platform that expands established producers’ capabilities through technology, capital and operational support.Open the full entry investment to 2026. It describes a platform spanning defence manufacturing, multi-domain sensing and networked systems and identifies Aistis Šimaitis and Alexander Blessing as CEO and CTO. It does not disclose Linse’s investment amount or round.⁠[7]

The new website lists Michael Linse as founding partner, Bastiaan Janmaat as partner, Dario Constantine and Alex Gross as principals, Regan Brady as associate, Ryan Heaton as CFO and Frances Graterole as executive assistant. Janmaat co-founded and led DataFox, acquired by OracleOracleOracle (Oracle Corporation) is a U.S. enterprise software and cloud computing company founded in 1977 by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates. Starting with relational databases, it expanded into enterprise applications, cloud infrastructure, hardware, and industry systems, and broadened its product range through acquisitions of companies such as Sun Microsystems, NetSuite, and Cerner.Open the full entry in 2018; Constantine worked on satellite engineering and project management at Maxar Technologies; Heaton held controller roles with XFO Partners-managed funds and worked in BPM’s SECU.S. Securities and Exchange CommissionThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is the federal securities regulator of the United States. Created during the Great Depression by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and led by five commissioners, it has a three-part mission of protecting investors, maintaining fair, orderly and efficient markets, and facilitating capital formation.Open the full entry audit practice.⁠[8][9]

The new official website is https://www.lithos.com/ (opens in a new window), linking to https://www.linkedin.com/company/lithoscap (opens in a new window). The former site, https://www.linsecapital.com/ (opens in a new window), remains readable with earlier branding and team and portfolio information. Connections include the founder’s Kleiner Perkins and Goldman Sachs background, Janmaat’s DataFox experience and investments in Skydio, Verkada, Impulse Space, ChargePoint and Onodrim Industries.⁠[4][9][3][7]