New Venture Funds:
- Global VC RTP Global closes a $1Bn fund to back North American, European, and Indian / Southeast Asian startups. The firm claims a broad focus yet has a special interest within AI/ML, enterprise software, fintech, e-commerce, and edtech.
- Polish firm Inovo VC closes its third, €105M fund to back early-stage based founders. The fund will invest anywhere from €0.5M to €4M primarily in seed-stage deals.
- Dutch healhtech venture builder NLC announces first, €20M closing of its €100M fund. The firm will fund patent-based startups across Europe.
- US-based alternative proteins VC Joyful Ventures kickstarts its debut, $23M fund investing globally.
- Unshackled Ventures raises $35M to invest in immigrant founders. The firm has invested in 80 companies and provided visa sponsorship and immigration support to over 200 founders.
- Techstars is raising $150 million for a new accelerator fund as it prepares for the end of its third institutionally-backed fund deployment period.
Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions:
- Czech automated network assurance platform IP Fabric raises €23.1M Series B to expand to new markets and invest in product development. The round was led by One Peak, followed by Senovo and Presto Ventures.
- Romanian-found real-time warehouse inventory management platform Dexory gets $19M in its series A to support expansion throughout US and Central / Northern Europe. The round was led by Atomico, joined by existing investors among Lakestar, Kindred, Capnamic, and Maersk Growth.
- Estonian biotech developing a cure for the treatment of chronic and progressive neurodegenerative diseases GENCODE receives a combined €16M in grant and equity funding to continue with its research and further studies. The round was made possible by EIC.
- Estonian startup RAIKU raises €1.1M in pre-seed funding to transform sustainable packaging. Investors include Kaamos, Vestman, Little Green Fund, and private investors from Estonia and Finland.
- Polish CVC Ciech Ventures joins the $13.8M seed round of the Swiss plastics recycling startup DePoly.
- Czech financial crime detection platform Resistant AI receives an $11M extension to its (current) $27M series A. The round was led by Notion Capital.
- Polish STEM edtech Skriware receives an acquisition offer from a Danish producer of modular robots for child education to jointly expand throughout Poland. The purchase is likely to be a combination of shares exchange and cash, with a value of transaction ranging between €5.8M and €6.4M.
- Estonian agtech platform eAgronom raises $5.5M round to scale up its carbon program in Europe and Africa. The investment was made by Icos Capital, Soulmates Ventures and SmartCap Green Fund
- Slovak mobile game growth platform SuperScale announces a $5.4M series A to expand its product lineup and geographic reach. The round was led by Venture to Future Fund, joined by Across Private Investments and Zero One Hundred
- Polish OTT service provider Redge Technologies acquires a majority stake in the local digital watermarking solution platform Vestigit to expand its portfolio. Both the RKKVC and the founders have exited but the size of the transaction remains undisclosed.
- IBM acquires Apptio in a $4.6 billion cash deal, with an office in Poland. The business management software provider has over 120 employees based in Krakow.
- German embedded lending infrastructure for B2B e‑commerce transactions Tilta raises €4M round. The round was joined by Polish-American VC ff Venture Capital, Dreamcraft Ventures, 10x Founders, and a number of business angels.
- Estonian electric carbo bikes producer Vok Bikes receives €3.8M seed investment to expand across Europe. The round was financed by a €300K grant from Enterprise Estonia joined by equity investors among SmartCap, Metaplanet, Specialist VC, Sunly as well as a number of angel investors.
- UK private identity verification platform found by Romanian and Bulgarian gets a $2.5M in a seed round to invest in product and business development. The round was led by Jump Crypto, followed by Superscrypt, and "more than 15 angel investors".
- Estonian AI platform for radiological analysis Better Medicine obtains a €2.5M grant to invest in product research/development. The investment was made by EIC.
- Estonian producer of office phone booths Silen receives €2M to increase production and expand the business. The round was co-led by PKP Holdings OÜ
- Czech platform for collecting sustainability / ESG data SmartHead receives €1M investment to grow the platform. The investment was made by Česká spořitelna Seed Starter program.
- Czech localization platform Localazy raises €1M to expand globally. The round was joined by JIC Ventures, Garage Angels, and 12 Bullets.
- Ukrainian producer of agriculture drones FarmFleet gets $550K investment to enter the US market. The investors remain undisclosed.
- Polish property management platform Fliko receives 1M PLN investment to build up the product. The round was led by Czysta3.VC.
- Croatian bio cookies/bar brand Bite Me Nutrition receives €255K investment to expand on new markets. The round was joined by Feelsgood Capital and a number of angel investors.
- Polish transfer for consumer and B2B transfers OROVERA receives investment to build up its text-to-transfer solution. The investment was made by SPINAKER alfa.
- Slovenian F&B automation platform Muffin receives an undisclosed pre-seed round to build up its product and expand the list of its customers. The round was co-led by Silicon Gardens and DaFUND.
Startup Calls:
- AWS in cooperation with NVIDIA and Vestbee has just launched AWS Global Fintech Accelerator. The program is dedicated to early-stage startups at the pre-seed, seed, and raising Series A stage, who are creating a revolutionary fintech product. Applications are open till August 14th.
- AWS Startup Loft Accelerator and Vestbee have launched the equity-free AWS Climate Tech Accelerator program. The 10-week online program supports climate tech startups in the EMEA region. Apply via Vestbee platform before July 7th, 2023.
- Lithuanian VC firm FIRST PICK launches its 3rd acceleration program, offering up to €100,000 investment per team. The program targets startups with increasing traction, providing support for pre-seed funding and team expansion. Applications are now open
- Google Growth Academy AI for Health calls for applications. The program will provide training and mentorship to Medtech and health tech startups from EMEA that are in their seed to series A stages. The applications for the program run until the 10th of July.
- The Ukrainian Defence Ministry announces the creation of its own accelerator seeking to support any dual-use technology. There aren't yet many more details available outside of an announcement and the application form yet.
Related Posts:
VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, June 17 - 13, 2023 (by Sofia Drobychevskaya, Editor & Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
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VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 13 - 19, 2023 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)
