New Venture Funds:
- Salesforce doubles down on its Generative AI Fund and increases its size to $500M.
- firstminute capital announces its third, $100M fund to back early-stage startups across UK and Europe.
- Finnish deep tech VC Voima Ventures makes the first close of a €90M fund to invest in Nordic seed and pre-seed startups.
- London based Creator Fund, the early-stage venture capital fund expands across Europe, backing scientific startups and fueling deep tech innovation. The largest student-focused VC in the world has launched in Estonia, Sweden, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and the UK.
Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions:
- Polish provider of circular rubber / plastic Contec obtains 70M PLN investment to expand its production capabilities and to enter the European market. The investment was made by Vinci, Warsaw Equity Group and Krzysztof Pruszyński
- Polish producer of perovskite-based solar cells Saule Technologies raises 40M PLN investment through the sale of its public shares. The investment was made by DC24.
- Ukrainian-found discovery platform for under-construction properties New Homes Mate raises $5.5M to expand in more US cities. The round was joined by Gaingels, Asymmetry Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, Geek Ventures, Flyer One Ventures, SID Venture Partners, U.Ventures and Pragmatech Ventures.
- French retail payment solution Market Pay acquires Polish fintech software house Novelpay to accelerate the development of a Pan-European payment platform. The size of the transaction remains undisclosed.
- Ukrainian-found data quality platform Masthead raises $1.3M pre-seed round. The round was joined by SMOK Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Monochrome, Alchemist Accelerator, and a number of angel investors.
- Romanian employee community platform Undelucram.ro closes a €1M seed round to continue expansion across CEE, Asia, and Africa. The round was led by Sofia Angels Ventures, joined by Gapminder VC, Head North (200,000), SeedBlink, and an undisclosed business angel.
- Latvian-found lending infrastructure startup Finfra raises a $1M investment to accelerate its product development and expand across Southeast Asia. The round was joined by FirstPick, BADideas.fund, DSX Ventures, Seedstars International Ventures, Cento Ventures, Fintech Nation, and Hustle Fund.
- Polish multichain database RedStone raises $350k. The investors include Stani Kulechov, Sandeep Nailwal, and Alex Gluchovski.
- Czech food waste platform Nesnězeno merges with the Hungarian Munch and raises investment to expand in CEE. The round was joined by Tilia Impact Ventures, Fiedler Capital, BNL Start Partners, and Silicon Gardens
- Tallinn-based green startup Sunly secures €30M funding from EBRD to accelerate renewable energy transition in Estonia and beyond.
- Prague-based fintech 4Trans secured a major pre-series A to expand operations in Poland and Slovakia, the funding round was led by Slovakian based Zero Gravity Capital. Startup allows the customers to easily access cash flow from unpaid invoices.
- PVcase, a Lithuanian solar project design software provider, acquires US-based Anderson Optimization, expanding its capabilities in power system modeling and optimization
Startup Calls:
- Last day to apply for Ukraine's ClimateLaunchpad and 10 more days until deadline in Romania. The startups accepted into the program will go through the boot camp, pitch their ideas on the local challenge, and if selected for the global finals - compete for a €10K grant.
- USAID Competitive Economy Program in Ukraine grant program will award up to $90K grant to local businesses specializing in IT, engineering, manufacturing, creative industries and services. The applications are open till the 25h of June.
- Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation invites participants for the «Anti-Shahеd» Drone Hackathon. The winners will receive $1M for the implementation of the solution across Ukraine's drone defense infrastructure. The event will occur between 24 - 25 June in Kyiv.
- EIT Food is about to hold its annual event in Riga between 27 - 27 of June. You can find out more about the event by reading the agenda and if you want to register, just go fill-in this form.
- Calling all European clean mobility startups to apply to The European Startup Prize for Mobility (EUSP) till 20 June 2023. The EUSP offers 10 awards to accelerate international expansion, including visibility, mentoring, funding opportunities, and strategic consultancy.
- Apply till June 23rd to non-equity and free of charge Warsaw’s city acceleration program for pre-seed/seed startups from CEE region. Warsaw Booster23 provides first hand relationships with 50+ corporations, VC funds, angels and municipal utility providers from Warsaw. 87,500.00 PLN is awaiting the best teams, even before formal incorporation. Startups can participate in #WB23 fully online.
- Call for Female founders and wanna-be-entrepreneurs from Ukraine, Poland, and Hungary. The ENERGEIA Project aims to empower females in making an impact in CEE by developing their skills and ideas. Get a chance to receive mentorship support and cash prizes offered by the Nasdaq Foundation, known for their advocacy of female talent and entrepreneurship. Apply by 23d June.
- Apply till 26th June 2023, at 17:00 (Brussels Time) to the InterConnect Open Call to develop and deploy energy applications that combat the energy crisis. Selected startups will receive financial support grants of up to €100,000, along with a 7-month customized set of technical and business mentoring.
- Apply for the FutureTravel Pitch Competition and showcase your exciting travel startup with the third edition of the FutureTravel Summit in Barcelona on October 27th. This event will gather 400 travel innovators, investors, industry leaders, and influencers from around the world. Apply here: https://form.typeform.com/to/MiKYVVby
Related Posts:
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, June 3 - 9, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor, Vestbee & Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 27 - June 2, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor, Vestbee & Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 20 - 26, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 13 - 19, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 6 - 12, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
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