Pawel Chudzinski and Germany: How a Seed Investor Climbed to No. 1 on Forbes' Midas List Europe
What Is This About?
Pawel Chudzinski has been part of Point Nine since the June 2011 rebrand that gave the seed fund its name. Forbes ranked him 23rd on its Midas List Europe in 2019, first in 2024, and third in 2025. This post follows that climb and the firm behind it, using only what Forbes, Point Nine and contemporary reports support.
Introduction
Most profiles of famous investors start with a fortune or a famous bet. This one starts with a ranking, because the ranking is the part that can be checked.
Forbes US reported on 12 December 2024 that Chudzinski "now ranks first" on the Midas List Europe, and traced his path from 23rd in 2019 to 15th in 2021, sixth in 2023 and first in 2024. A year later, Forbes' coverage of the 2025 list placed him third, behind Danny Rimer. Both results came from the same seed fund, which has carried the same name since 2011.
The German thread runs through the Berlin startup scene that Forbes made the setting of its 2024 story, through the master's degree he holds from HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, and through a firm whose partner roster has changed around him. Readers who want the wider picture of who holds power in German startup finance can find it in our coverage of that question, and the capital side is mapped in our overview of the capital behind Germany, Austria, and Switzerland's tech.
Executive Summary
Chudzinski is a partner at Point Nine, one of three partners on the firm's current team page. He was named a Managing Director at the June 2011 rebrand of Team Europe Ventures into Point Nine Capital, and he remains with the firm today. Forbes' Midas List Europe shows a climb to first place in 2024 and a third place in 2025. The fund sizes, the partner changes and the Forbes record together describe a seed investor whose public record sits inside one firm.
Key Takeaways
Forbes ranked Pawel Chudzinski 23rd (2019), 15th (2021), sixth (2023) and first (2024) on the Midas List Europe, and third in 2025.
At the June 2011 rebrand of Team Europe Ventures into Point Nine Capital, TechCrunch named him and Christoph Janz as Managing Directors.
Point Nine's current team page lists three partners: Christoph Janz, Pawel Chudzinski and Ricardo Sequerra Amram. Louis Coppey is listed as a venture partner.
The firm's reported fund sizes run from €40 million for the second fund in 2013 to just under €100 million for the fifth fund in 2020.
The Midas List Europe and Forbes' separate global Midas List of top tech investors are different lists, and he appears on both.
From Team Europe Ventures to Point Nine
The firm's history matters here, because the wording around it is easy to get wrong.
Point Nine did not begin under that name. TechCrunch reported on 9 June 2011 that Team Europe's early-stage fund was becoming Point Nine Capital, with Christoph Janz joining. In that report, Chudzinski and Janz were named Managing Directors, while Lukasz Gadowski and Kolja Hebenstreit stayed on as Venture Partners. Chudzinski is a co-founder of Team Europe Ventures and, from the June 2011 rebrand, a Managing Director, and now a partner, of Point Nine. He did not found Point Nine alone, and no source supports saying so.
The roster has moved since 2011. In September 2020, Point Nine closed its fifth fund, just under €100 million, and made Louis Coppey and Ricardo Sequerra Amram equal partners. That is history, and it should be written as history. Forbes' profile gives a different date for the same expansion, September 2022, but the 2020 announcement is the primary record and this post uses it. As of October 2026, Point Nine's own team page shows three partners, with Coppey listed as a venture partner. Chudzinski is listed as a partner.
What the Fund Sizes Show
Point Nine reported a €40 million second fund in February 2013. The fifth fund, closed in September 2020, came in at €99,999,999, just under €100 million. Press reports in September 2022 said Point Nine had closed a €180 million sixth fund; Point Nine's own announcement for that fund was not located in our research, so treat the figure as reported rather than confirmed.
Read together, the numbers show a firm whose reported fund size grew from €40 million to just under €100 million between 2013 and 2020. They do not say anything about returns, and this post makes no claim about them. Fund size is a statement about what investors were willing to commit, not about what the portfolio earned.
The Midas List Climb
The Midas List Europe is Forbes' annual ranking of Europe's top venture investors. Chudzinski's record on it is the strongest verified fact in his public profile.
Forbes US, in its 12 December 2024 article headlined "Europe's Top VC Bet Big On Berlin's Once 'Poor But Sexy' Startup Scene," reported that he climbed from 23rd in 2019 to 15th in 2021 and sixth in 2023 before ranking first in 2024. On 11 December 2025, Forbes' coverage of the 2025 list placed him third. Danny Rimer ranked first that year.
Two cautions keep this honest. First, a ranking is Forbes' judgment, produced by Forbes' method, and it is not an audited performance figure. Second, Forbes also lists Chudzinski at 35th on its 2026 Midas List of top tech investors. That is a separate, global list with different rules, and it should never be called a Midas List Europe result.
Twenty-third, fifteenth, sixth, first, third. Five Forbes results between 2019 and 2025, all with the same firm.
Per Forbes, he is lead partner on most of Point Nine's crypto, financial-services and marketplace investments. That is Forbes' attribution, and it is not a statement about personal returns.
The Revolut Connection
One company anchors Forbes' account of his record. Point Nine was an investor in Revolut's 2016 seed round, and Forbes credits Chudzinski with the investment. Sources disagree on the size of that round, so this post does not quote one.
The investment is dated 2016 and credited to him by Forbes. Anything stronger, such as a claim about what the stake was worth or how large his role was, is outside what the sources support.
The Partner Who Remained
The pattern across these records is one of continuity, and it is our reading, not a sourced fact: Chudzinski was a Managing Director in 2011, a partner through the fifth-fund expansion of 2020, and a partner today, while Coppey and Sequerra Amram became equal partners in 2020 and the team page now lists three partners.
What he has is a record, and Forbes has ranked that record at or near the top of the continent in consecutive years.
For founders choosing a seed investor in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the practical reading is narrow. A partner at a firm that has raised at least five funds has a visible record, and the record can be checked against public sources, as this post tries to do. It does not tell you how that partner will act in your company's board meetings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Pawel Chudzinski?
Pawel Chudzinski is a partner at Point Nine, an early-stage venture firm. He is a co-founder of Team Europe Ventures and, from the June 2011 rebrand, a Managing Director of Point Nine, now a partner. He holds a master's degree from HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, according to Forbes.
What is Pawel Chudzinski's rank on the Midas List Europe?
Forbes ranked him first on the 2024 Midas List Europe, published on 12 December 2024, and third on the 2025 list, published on 11 December 2025. Before that Forbes had him 23rd in 2019, 15th in 2021 and sixth in 2023.
Did Pawel Chudzinski found Point Nine?
Not on his own. He co-founded Team Europe Ventures, which became Point Nine Capital in June 2011, and TechCrunch named him a Managing Director alongside Christoph Janz at that point. Saying he founded Point Nine alone would be wrong.
How big are Point Nine's funds?
Point Nine reported a €40 million second fund in February 2013 and announced a fifth fund of just under €100 million in September 2020. Press reports in September 2022 said it had closed a €180 million sixth fund, which Point Nine itself has not confirmed in sources we could locate.
Is the Midas List Europe the same as Forbes' Midas List of top tech investors?
No. They are separate lists. Forbes ranked Chudzinski first on the 2024 Midas List Europe, and its profile places him 35th on the 2026 Midas List of top tech investors, which is a global ranking.
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