A new venture firm called Leitmotif has been on a quiet blitz for the last 16 months, funding around 20 startups broadly focused on decarbonization. Its portfolio includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups. But the firm has only said its funding is from European industrial interests.Now, Leitmotif has told TechCrunch where the money came from: the Volkswagen Group.The German automotive giant has committed $300 million to Leitmotifs first fund and is its sole limited partner; Leitmotif has deployed roughly one third of that so far.And Leitmotif, according to the young firms managing partners Matt Trevithick and Jens Wiese, wants to spin up successive funds that draw in more European industrial interest beyond Volkswagen. (A spokesperson for Volkswagen Group declined to comment citing the communication blackout period ahead of its annual meeting later today.)Its an ambitious effort. Securing funding for hardware startups, especially ones with a serious manufacturing component, has been tough the last few years. But Trevithick believes its the right time to try to invest in these kinds of companies.Technology has always been a driver of human progress, and I think the United States is about to supercharge that, he told TechCrunch. I think the next several years are about to produce a number of technical capabilities in the United States that the rest of the world will marvel at.Leitmotif is also building a transatlantic fund while the geopolitical environment is being strained by the Trump administration.Despite that turmoil, Wiese who was the head of Volkswagen Groups M&A, Investment Advisory, and Partnerships division before starting Leitmotif said the overarching goal of the new firm is to create a bridge between the European industrial establishment and the US innovation ecosystem.Priority one: make moneyTrevithick and Wiese said Volkswagen had a top priority when it agreed to invest in the fund: make money.First and foremost, this is about setting up a successful venture firm, Wiese said.While Volkswagen Group rakes in hundreds of billions of dollars per year in revenue, Wiese said making money is still important in part because its how the industry keeps score.After that, the VC firm said it plans to invest in category defining companies within our fields of interest, according to Wiese, and also identify new pockets of innovation that could benefit the Volkswagen Group.Wiese said he expects roughly one quarter of Leitmotifs portfolio over time to interact with Volkswagen and its myriad brands.EV truck startup Harbinger is one example. Leitmotif co-led Harbingers $100 million Series B in January, and Wiese said the startup has had discussions about collaborating with Volkswagens trucking division.Geographically, Leitmotifs investment strategy is structured so that roughly 70% of its capital will be deployed in the U.S., with the other 30% being invested in the E.U. The firm will maintain offices in both Palo Alto and in Munich.Trevithick said 70% of Leitmotifs global investments in this first fund will be made in startups that are solving todays known problems and exist in billion dollar plus markets with customers ready to buy the innovation.The other 30% of the fund will be focused on what he called revolutionary innovation that will create billion dollar markets in the 2030s and beyond.So far, this strategy has led to investments in battery recycling company Redwood Materials, reusable rocket company Stoke Space, and even circular polyester startup Syre. Leitmotif has publicly backed 13 startups to date, though there are more in its portfolio that have not been announced.Leitmotif will eventually have other funds; Trevithick and Wiese said theyre particularly eyeing robotics and AI next. Volkswagen will have the right to invest in those if it chooses, but Leitmotif is independent and, for now, focused on finishing out its first fund.Timing is everythingLate 2023 was arguably the worst time for startups in recent memory to lock down large funding rounds, especially ones focused on hardware or deep tech, thanks to high interest rates.Trevithick said that made it a great time to start Leitmotif.Its in down markets when the strong companies separate from the weak. In a bubble, everyone gets funded, he said.That fundraising slowdown caused other firms to take fewer risks outside the startups they were already invested in, Trevithick said.There were less new dollars available to fund good companies that were there, because everyone got myopic about their own portfolio, he said. I think thats why we got a lot of inbound interest to participate in rounds that, in the bubble time, maybe we wouldnt have had access to.That interest came in large part thanks to Wieses and Trevithicks backgrounds.Wiese spent nearly 8 years at Volkswagen Group, where he ran mergers, acquisitions, and investments for the German automaker. During this stint at Volkswagen, Wiese developed what he called quite a deep network into the venture community, both in Europe and in the U.S. That included forging a relationship with battery maker QuantumScape, where Wiese was a board member until 2024.Trevithick, meanwhile, was a partner at Venrock for a decade. There, he focused on making investments in green energy during the original clean tech boom in the early 2010s, with his highest-profile bet being an early one on battery maker Atieva the company that eventually became Lucid Motors.Investing, advising, and guiding companies through the subsequent clean tech bust was valuable experience for navigating the uncertainty currently plaguing the industry, Trevithick said.While many corporate net zero goals are being either hedged or abandoned outright, Trevithick said the clean tech industry is starting in a much better position this time around.Plus, Trevithick said he believes the unpredictability will present more opportunity for firms like Leitmotif and the startups it backs.I think we can all agree its just going to be a highly volatile environment. Which should disproportionately favor entrepreneurs, startups, and venture capitalists, he said.We feel very confident about our portfolio, Wiese added. Yes, [decarbonization] is our overarching theme. At the same time, we invest in companies where we are convinced they have the business case to succeed regardless of what, lets say, the theme of the day is.