VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, April 16-22, 2022

New VC Funds

Amazon announces an opening of a completely new Industrial Innovation Fund. Having a staggering $1B under management, the vehicle aims to target fulfillment and logistics/supply chain startups across geographies and stages.
Japanese insurance company Tokio Marine Holdings launches a $42M CVC (under WiL’s management) to invest in early-stage startups around the globe. In its search for opportunities, Tokio Marine will look within insurtech/fintech, mobility, healthcare, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, automation and climate tech verticals.
Fast-food giant Chipotle announces a $50M early-stage fund to back startups complementary to the company’s business. The fund will target seed to series B restaurant and guest experience tech. You can apply for funding by reaching out to this email address.

GoSolo, Ukrainian fintech for starting and running a company, raises £800k in teams’ first funding. The round was led by Grammarly’s co-founders, SFC Capital and Menlo.
Polish startup for Facebook selling Selmo.io raises 1M PLN to develop its live-commerce offerings. The round was led by Tar Heel Capital Pathfinder.
Czech digital therapy startup Hedepy raises €1.2M to expand its offerings in Ukraine, Greece, and Hungary. The funding was joined by Purple Ventures, Nation1, and RSJ.
DevOps automation for SMEs Bunnyshell raises €3.5M to scale its operations in the US. The funding was led by Early Game Ventures and RocaX.
The alcohol beverages e-commerce Alkohol.cz raises an undisclosed sum from outside investors to expand its offerings across Western markets. The funding was led by Rockaway Capital.
Shipment tracking software for e-commerce Rush picks up another round to further build up a team and product. The €2.5M in funding was co-led by Eleven Ventures and LAUNCHub Ventures.

Estonian accelerator Ajujaht kickstarts its 15th edition. The program is looking for local teams interested in joining a coaching boot camp and obtaining up to €30k in initial funding. Startups can apply here till the 8th of May.
LG announces a Future Home Challenge where teams can pilot a smart hole project and acquire a commercial contract after it. The selection process is done on a rolling basis until the 16th of May. Startups can apply here.

One of the major blockchain ecosystems NEAR Protocol invests in a Balkan hub to facilitate research and innovation in Web3.

VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, April 9-15, 2022 (Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)

VC & Startup News From CEE, April, 2-8 2022 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)