New Venture Funds:
- UK-based Kindred Capital announces its third, $130M fund to focus on pre-seed deals. The firm will invest across Europe in both seed and pre-seed deals spanning a diverse set of sectors and industries.
- Swiss venture debt fund Bootstrap Europe raises €130M to invest in Europe yet focuses on DACH/French/UK series A SaaS startups, as well as climate tech, genetic testing, fintech, and life science innovation.
- UK-based Zero Carbon Capital announces a first, £10M close of a £30M fund to back pre-seed/seed decarbonization solutions across Europe.
- Bulgarian VC AlfaStar Ventures debuts an evergreen fund to invest in early-stage startups. The firm will consider opportunities across Climatetech, AgTech, Robotics / Automation, IoT, Personal Wellbeing, and Smart Finance
Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions:
- Ukrainian-found neobank builder for emerging markets Fintech Farm raises $22M series B to reinvest in business development. The round was led by Nordstar and joined by Chrome Capital.
- Polish dog food D2C brand PsiBufet gets acquired by UK's Butternut Box with the goal of expanding in CEE. The size of the transaction remains undisclosed but the acquired company has raised 23M PLN over its lifecycle.
- Polish delivery management solutions company Alsendo acquires Romanian B2X focused parcel services platform Ecolet to consolidate its presence in CEE. The size of the transaction remains undisclosed.
- Estonian water cleaning robotics startup Spacedrip raises €1.5M round to invest in product development and business growth. The round was joined by Eigenkapital OÜ, Vestman Energia AS, Milrem Robotics CEO Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Elering AS Taavi Veskimägi, MSM OÜ and a number of other, undisclosed investors.
- Polish Tar Heel Capital Pathfinder and bValue invest around €1M in German employee edutech Innential. The funding will be used to expand throughout Europe as well as the product development roadmap.
- Slovak messaging resonance analytics platform CulturePulse obtains close to $1M to expand the team. The round was led by Zero Gravity Capital.
- Czech product fulfillment platform supply.do gets a €400k investment to scale the business. The round was led by Nation1.
- Czech text-to-web app platform Contember raises 7.5M Kč to fund its global launch. The round was co-led by Tensor Ventures and the 108 Agency.
- Polish application for people on the autism spectrum Task4EA raises 1M PLN to invest in product development. The round was led by Carlson ASI EVIG Alfa.
- Polish researcher Jakub Dziewulski raises investment to develop a honey-conservation device "Miodajnik". The investment was made by Scanderia Ventures and its size remains undisclosed.
- Polish market analysis platform for the film industry Box Office Lab gets an investment to develop the product. The round was led by Spinaker Alfa.
- Estonian e-learning games platform for children ALPA Kids raises €75K grant to develop the product. The grant was awarded by The Women TechEU program.
Startup Calls:
- Only a few days left to apply for B2B SaaS Accelerator run by Vestbee and AWS Startups. The 4-week program will provide up to $100k in AWS activate credits, training, and networking opportunities as well as the opportunity to raise funding from the partner investors. The program is open to B2B SaaS startups across a broad range of verticals. The applications are open till the 28th of April
- A couple of days left to apply for AWS FinTech Africa Accelerator run by Vestbee and AWS Startup Loft Accelerator. The 10-week program is open for African fintech startups and those accepted will get pre-seed and seed stage startup up to $25k in AWS activate credits, marketing/sales, tech, and product mentorship as well as a chance to pitch the idea to partner VCs. The applications for the program are accepted till the 27th of April.
- Rzesów-based Carpathian Startup Fest calls for pitch competition applicants. The challenge will provide up to 100k PLN in prizes and an entry into the InCredibles program. The applications are open to idea-stage companies, startups, and scaleups until the 30th of April.
- The riga-based TechChill conference is occurring between the 26-28 of April. The event will be a great opportunity for anyone looking to make lasting connections and partnerships. The tickets are available on this website.
- EU-funded Euroclusters have announced two calls: for Thriving Creative and Cultural Industries and PIMAP4Sustainability. The first call for applications accepts those working on diversification of products/services/contents based on digital technologies, especially in the heritage, archives, and libraries CCI sector and supporting the green transition of the audiovisual/multimedia sector and in performing arts. The latter call supports innovation within the photonics, advanced materials, and advanced manufacturing sectors mainly across aerospace, metalworking, and industrial production. The deadline for applications is set on the 2nd of May for the first program and on the 3rd of May for the latter.
- EIT Health Catapult invites healthtech/life science startups from Europe to apply for the program. The program will provide intensive training and finalists of the program will get to pitch at the Bits & Pretzels HealthTech event as well as the opportunity to be displayed on the New York Nasdaq Tower. The applications for the program run until the 2nd of May.
- Endeavor Bulgaria announces the Dare to Scale program for local growth-stage startups. The 4-month non-dilutive accelerator features trainings, workshops, 1:1 mentorships with senior consultants from PwC Bulgaria and with Endeavor Bulgaria's mentors, and networking events. The deadline for applications is set as the 30th of April
- Ukrainian Startup Fund and Glovo team up in launching Glovo Ukraine Startup Lab. The program will provide up to €20k grant and mentorship/networking opportunities from Glovo and GR Capital. The applications are open to pre-seed and seed-stage startups across, mobility, logistics,foodtech, fintech, and lifestyle verticals until the 1st of May.
- Startup Wrocław and Let's Get (c )loud team up for the second meetup to talk about foreign expansion. The event requires registration but participation is free. The event starts on the 26th of April at 17:00.
- One of LitBAN's syndicates is looking to invest €200k - €700k in early-stage startup. The applications are open till the 1st of May.
Related Posts:
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, April 8 - 17, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, April 1 - 7, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, March 25 - 31, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
