Alexander Schwartz
Partner at xista-science-ventures
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Vienna-based Partner at XISTA Science Ventures, the deep-tech VC arm of the XISTA ecosystem investing across two funds totaling ~€100M AUM. Focuses on science-driven spin-outs in life sciences (therapeutics, diagnostics, biotech tools) and industrial tech (materials, energy, spectroscopy). Recent named deals: Invisible-Light Labs €1.5M pre-seed (June 2026) and Epitome Therapeutics €2M pre-seed (June 2026).
Background
Alexander Schwartz is a Partner at XISTA Science Ventures, the venture capital arm inside the XISTA ecosystem — an Austrian deep-tech platform anchored in Vienna that combines a science park, entrepreneurship programs, and two venture funds 12. XISTA describes itself as investing in “science-driven companies built on deep research, with a focus on human health and industrial technologies,” with close to €100 million in assets under management across Fund I (fully deployed) and Fund II (actively investing) 1.
XISTA lists Schwartz as a member of the core team 3. In multiple portfolio-company press releases, his role is stated as “Partner at XISTA Science Ventures” and the honorific “Dr.” is used, consistent with a doctorate-level scientific background 45.
Beyond Schwartz, the broader XISTA leadership includes Markus Wanko, Prudence Donovan, Alexander Fischl, Melanie Leisser, Stephan Huber (Venture Partner), and Erich Tauber (Operating Partner) 3.
Stated Thesis
XISTA Science Ventures publicly positions itself as a deep-tech investor across two verticals — life sciences (biomedical, therapeutics, diagnostics) and industrial technology (materials, energy, manufacturing) — with an approach that emphasises long-term engagement from the earliest stages 1.
In the Invisible-Light Labs pre-seed announcement (June 2026), Schwartz articulated what impressed him about the founding team:
“We have been deeply impressed by how the founding team of ILL has translated strong scientific insight into exceptional technology and product via Bruker co-marketing with limited resources, demonstrating their capabilities and focus.” 4
In the Epitome Therapeutics pre-seed launch (June 2026), he described the underlying thesis:
“We were impressed by the breakthrough nature of Epitome Therapeutics’ approach to epigenome editing, especially its focus on targeted upregulation, and by the team’s ambition to translate this science into therapeutically relevant programmes. We are delighted to be amongst the first to support the company as it achieves the first development milestones and as the field continues to gain momentum.” 5
Inferred Thesis
Sample size caveat. Only two deals are directly attributed to Schwartz personally in publicly cited quotes: Invisible-Light Labs and Epitome Therapeutics. XISTA’s overall portfolio of 31 companies is disclosed on the firm’s website 13; assignment of any specific XISTA deal to Schwartz as the lead partner is not made public for most portfolio companies. The observations below are therefore qualitative rather than statistical.
Sector concentration: deep tech. Both of Schwartz’s directly-attributed deals are deep tech: Invisible-Light Labs is a TU Wien spin-off building nanoelectromechanical FTIR spectroscopy for sub-micron particle identification 46; Epitome Therapeutics is an epigenome-editing platform 5. Both target scientific instruments / therapeutics rather than software or consumer sectors — consistent with XISTA’s declared focus on life science and industrial tech 1.
Stage: earliest rounds. Both attributed deals are pre-seed (€1.5M and €2M respectively) and involved co-lead or first-institutional roles for XISTA 45. Both press releases position XISTA as “amongst the first to support” — pointing to a pre-seed / seed sweet spot.
Geography: Austrian and European deep-tech spin-outs. Invisible-Light Labs is Vienna-based (TU Wien spin-off) 6; Epitome Therapeutics is a life-sciences pre-seed positioned alongside other XISTA European portfolio companies 5. XISTA is itself an Austrian science-park anchored fund 1.
Founder profile: scientific/academic founders translating research to product. Both quotes emphasise “translating scientific insight” into product / therapeutic programs — a stated bias for founders coming out of research institutions 45.
Co-investor patterns. In the Invisible-Light Labs pre-seed, XISTA Science Ventures co-led with aws Gründungsfonds (Austrian public tech investment vehicle), with Fund F participating 6. XISTA’s broader portfolio has co-invested with Turbine Capital, Almi Invest GreenTech, Greencode Ventures, and Constructor Capital across other rounds 78.
Portfolio
The table below lists Schwartz’s individually-attributable investments (via named quotes in official round announcements). The broader XISTA Science Ventures portfolio spans 31 companies across two funds; the full list is on the XISTA site 3.
| Company | Year | Stage | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invisible-Light Labs | 2026 | Pre-Seed (co-led €1.5M) | 46 |
| Epitome Therapeutics | 2026 | Pre-Seed (co-led €2M oversubscribed) | 5 |
Broader XISTA portfolio companies (attribution of specific partner not public) 3:
- Life Science (Fund I / Fund II): Solgate, Ribbon Bio, Syntropic Medical, VALANX, Cellectric, Contextflow (acquired by 4DMedical Limited, June 2026), GST Antivirals, Neurolentech, Cutanos, Hephaistos Pharma, Graph Therapeutics, Amplifold 39
- Industrial Tech (Fund I / Fund II): Prewave, ORA Computing, Rivus Batteries, Subdron, VERTUS Energy, NISTA.io, VitreaLab, ReCatalyst, Infrared City, AVES Reality, factorymaker 378
In Their Own Words
On backing scientific founders who ship product quickly with limited resources:
“We have been deeply impressed by how the founding team of ILL has translated strong scientific insight into exceptional technology and product via Bruker co-marketing with limited resources, demonstrating their capabilities and focus.” — Invisible-Light Labs pre-seed announcement, June 2026 4
On investing at the “amongst the first” moment in a therapeutic platform:
“We were impressed by the breakthrough nature of Epitome Therapeutics’ approach to epigenome editing, especially its focus on targeted upregulation, and by the team’s ambition to translate this science into therapeutically relevant programmes. We are delighted to be amongst the first to support the company as it achieves the first development milestones and as the field continues to gain momentum.” — Epitome Therapeutics launch, June 2026 5
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials about Alexander Schwartz’s post-investment support were found. Both Invisible-Light Labs CEO Josiane P. Lafleur and Epitome Therapeutics leadership are quoted in the respective announcements about their own technology, not about Schwartz’s contribution as an investor 456.
Connections
- Partner, XISTA Science Ventures — Vienna, Austria; life sciences and industrial tech deep-tech investing 134
- Co-investor pattern (Austrian public-tech network) — co-led Invisible-Light Labs pre-seed with aws Gründungsfonds (Austria’s federal early-stage tech investment vehicle), with Fund F participating 6
Sources
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XISTA (XISTA Science Ventures) — firm overview, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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XISTA news feed — portfolio and firm activity, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news↩
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XISTA team and portfolio listings — accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/#team↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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“Invisible Light Labs closes €1.5M pre-seed round” — XISTA news, June 9, 2026, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news/invisible-light-labs-closes-eur15m-pre-seed-round↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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“Epitome Therapeutics Launches with €4 Million in Total Funding Following Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round” — XISTA news, June 30, 2026, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news/epitome-therapeutics-launches-eur4-million-total-funding-following-oversubscribed-pre-seed↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Invisible-Light Labs profile, Seedlist, accessed August 2026. /Users/EricRies2/Projects/seedlist/data/startups/invisible-light-labs.md (primary citations therein: EU-Startups and BeBeez, June 9, 2026) ↩↩↩↩↩↩
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“New Funds for Rivus Batteries” — XISTA news, July 13, 2026, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news/new-funds-rivus-batteries↩↩
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“Ora Computing raises €3.5M seed round to build the efficiency layer of the AI stack” — XISTA news, June 24, 2026, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news/ora-computing-raises-eur35m-seed-round-build-efficiency-layer-ai-stack↩↩
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“XISTA portfolio company contextflow acquired by 4DMedical Limited” — XISTA news, June 3, 2026, accessed August 2026. https://xista.com/news/xista-portfolio-company-contextflow-acquired-4dmedical-limited↩