Let’s have a look at the July investment rounds closed within the CEE region. We will focus on the most innovative tech companies, which closed the rounds in a form of equity financing, debt financing and convertibles. Among the top areas that attracted investors’ attention this month are fintech, same-day delivery, regtech, traveltech and telemedicine solutions.
ZITICITY
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Launch date: 2017
Funding Round: Seed €2.2M
Funding Source: Nordic Ninja, Startup Wise Guys, Superangel, Practica Capital, Superhero Capital
Total funding received: €2.5M
Lithuania-based ZITICITY offering same-day delivery solution, has secured €2.2M in a July seed round. The startup revolutionizes the last-mile delivery for restaurants, e-commerce and brick&mortar shops and offices by providing an on-demand delivery platform, which is affordable and reliable.
With ZITCITY items can be delivered in less than an hour, within the specified delivery time defined by the user. Currently, the startup operates in Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda), Estonia (Tallinn), France (Paris). The seed round will be allocated to the further expansion of ZITCITY in Europe. Among the seed investors participating in the round, there are well-recognized names in the CEE region like Nordic Ninja, Superangel and Startup Wise Guys.
Veriff
Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Launch date: 2015
Funding Round: convertible note €13.7M
Funding Source: Nordic Ninja VC, Change Ventures, Mosaic Ventures, Y Combinator
Total funding received: €21M
Now, more than ever, the world needs online ID verification solutions like Veriff. The Tallinn-based startup helps businesses to prevent frauds by providing the end-to-end identity verification tool backed by AI. Veriff validates the user’s identity by combining the personal data analysis (ID card, passport etc.) with biometric scanning (photo, video) as well as a number of other behavioural and technological information (e.g. device analytics, liveness check, PEP & sanctions inspection), which could confirm the identity of the user. Especially now, when businesses are moving online and more things can be done remotely, solutions like Veriff seem like a must-have.
The July round of €13.7M was raised by Veriff in a form of a convertible note from the established VCs such as Nordic Ninja, Change Ventures and Y Combinator, Mosaic Ventures. The funds will be allocated to the international expansion of the product.
InoBat Auto
Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Launch date: 2019
Funding Round: debt financing €10M
Funding Source: IPM Group, CEZ Group, Wildcat Discovery Technologies
Total funding received: €15M
Slovakian InoBat is an R&D company innovating the batteries production market with emphasis on the environmental friendly solutions of the future. It was established in January 2019 by big, international conglomerates IPM Group, MSM Group and A.EN. Later on, in October 2019, Slovak InoBat in cooperation with U.S. energy tech company, Wildcat Discovery Technologies formed the InoBat Auto, which focuses on developing green, personalised batteries for the electric vehicles (EV).
InoBat Auto has recently secured the €10M debt financing, which will be spent on R&D centre and 100 MWh production line in Slovakia. According to forecasts, the first batch of batteries will be ready for distribution in 2021. With the government support, big companies from the industry on board and disruptive technology developed, InoBat Auto is on its way to revolutionizing the market and becoming the leader of the field in Europe.
Verestro (formerly uPaid)
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Launch date: 2011
Funding Round: corporate round n/d amount
Funding Source: MasterCard
Total funding received: n/d amount
Formerly known as uPaid, now Verestro is a polish fintech with a global reach (operating on over 20 markets) and offices in Warsaw, Sofia, New York, São Paulo. The startup develops a complex end-to-end API platform (including QR-, NFC-, HCE-, P2P-payments, loyalty programmes, cards management) for banks and financial institutions. Since 2011 it has been cooperating with the U.S. payments company Mastercard, and since 2017 it holds the prestigious title of Mastercard Platinum Partner owned only by the very few companies globally.
Among the other clients, who have already trusted Verestro are big institutions like Raiffeisen Bank, BZ WBK (Santander Group), Orange, DotPay, Societe Generale and many others.
In July 2020, following its fintech expansion strategy, Mastercard made the decision to invest in Verestro. The amount of the corporate round was not disclosed. Besides the funds for further expansion, the startup will get access to the global network of its corporate investor Mastercard.
StethoMe
Location: Poznan, Poland
Launch date: 2015
Funding Round: Seed €1M
Funding Source: Manta Ray, TDJ Pitango Ventures, RTS Ventures for Earth, Movens VC
Total funding received: €4.1M
StethoMe is an AI-backed solution for respiratory system abnormalities detection, combining wireless stethoscope and complex application. It enables patients to perform self-testing at home. Thanks to the number of integrations e.g. with HIS, EDM or telemedicine system, the analysis of the patient’s self-examination can be monitored remotely by a doctor. Additionally, before notifying the doctor about the abnormalities detected in the patient's results, the StethoMe system analyses the outcomes using AI technology. According to the startup, the solution can be 29% more accurate than the specialist’s ears. Combining the StethoMe’s precise technology with the recently raising telemedicine trend, the solution has a great potential for a global success.
Right now the company operates in Poland, France and Spain, whereas the recently secured investment round will be used to further expansion of the solution in the other European markets.
Travel Manager (Hotailors)
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Launch date: 2016
Funding Round: Seed €2.9M*
Funding Source: DialCom24, Alfabeat, Mariusz Kozłowski, Dawid Sukacz, Adam Kwaśniewski
Total funding received: n/d amount
Travel Manager company from Warsaw develops a business travel management software under the brand Hotailors. It is a one-stop-shop for organizing, booking and managing trips within a company. Right now the tool serves clients in Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, UAE and USA. Among the already onboarded users, there are big names like Amadeus, Microsoft, Google, Vodafone and Booksy. Additionally, recently the company has completed the prestigious SAP acceleration programme, which opens the doors for further expansion of the startup.
The pocketed seed round of €2.9M will help Travel Manager with further expansion and acquisition of clients, among others Fortune 500 companies.
*Disclaimer: funding rounds including follow-ons on the span of 2019/2020 finalized and announced in July.
Coinfirm
Location: Warsaw, Poland / London, UK
Launch date: 2016
Funding Round: €2M
Funding Source: Middlegame Ventures
Total funding received: €6M
Polish-British fintech Coinfirm develops a solution for blockchain & cryptocurrencies analytics and AML. It provides the number of regulatory functionalities such as AML risk management for crypto and blockchain assets, AML risk compliance reporting, real-time monitoring of risk patterns of the cryptocurrency transactions, tracking ad investigation of blockchain assets, reclaiming of crypto, securing of digital assets flow. The company is serving global market with office locations in London, Warsaw, Torun and Tokyo. What is more, Coinfirm supports over 1.400 cryptocurrencies and monitors over 10.000 blockchain entities.
In June the company secured a €2M round from the Middlegame Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in financial innovations. It is the second financing pocketed by Coinfirm after the January round of around €4M
Kinderpedia
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Launch date: 2015
Funding Round: equity crowdfunding €400K
Funding Source: Roca X, SeedBlink crowdfunding platform
Total funding received: €535K
Romanian startup Kinderpedia develops a management and communication tool for kindergartens and schools. It is already used by over 2000 institutions on the domestic market and abroad (offices in Romania, Switzerland and UK). The Kinderpedia’s features include among others: class management, virtual class register, video conference module, communication module, documentation, schedules, finance and invoicing management and many others.
On July the startup has closed an equity crowdfunding round of €400K raised via SeedBlink platform and led by the Roca X venture capital, which has committed around €200K. The round followed the funding provided by the EU via the European Investment Project Programme.
Questo
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Launch date: 2017
Funding Round: Seed €300K
Funding Source: Sparking Capital, Early Game Ventures
Total funding received: n/d amount
Bucharest-based Questo combines travelling with the gamification experience in a form of play & explore application powered by local storytellers. After downloading the app, users choose the tour they want to explore and then follow the stories, which include riddles connected to the places they are visiting at the moment. If you solve the riddle correctly, you get points and can further explore the following places with the help of stories in the app. After completing all challenges, you get the final points and can compete with other explorers. Right now the app is available in 70 cities around the world and serves over 50 000 users. The price per game varies between 10€-20€ per group of four people.
The seed round of €300K was led by Sparking Capital and accompanied by Early Game Ventures. With the funds pocketed, Questo plans to revolutionize the post-covid-19 travelling and city exploration habits.
Related Posts:
10 TOP CEE Funding Rounds Closed In May 2020 (by Anna Kazmierczak, Analyst, Next Road Ventures)
10 TOP CEE Funding Rounds Closed In June 2020 (by Anna Kazmierczak, Analyst, Next Road Ventures)
CEE Startup Challenge - Meet The TOP 10 Innovative Companies (by Jakub Kopera, Community Builder, Vestbee)
