cee and startup weekly news may by vestbee
23 May 2022·5 min read

Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka

Community Builder, Vestbee

VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 14-20, 2022

New VC Funds

  • UK hedge fund Fasanara Capital opens up a $350M crypto-fintech arm. The firm will invest in seed to series A startups across Europe.
  • Ex-Paypal Ventures VCs start a new $158M Infinity Ventures. The fund wants to back in around 25 pre-seed to series A fintech companies globally with a check ranging from $500k to $8M.
  • More funding for the Polish cleantech: PFR Ventures helps finalize the first close of Accelero Ventures. The firm will invest up to 4M PLN in early-stage CleanTech, BioTech, FMCG and IT / ICT startups.
  • Generation Investment Management closes its $1.7bn fourth sustainability fund. The firm will invest $50M to $150M into growth-stage startups building around the themes of planetary health, human health and financial inclusion.
  • A VC trying to fit into the angel’s shoes: a newly launched Cocoa Ventures raises its first $17M fund. The team aspires to give angel-level support while providing $150k to $500k (for 1%-2% ownership!) to pre-seed - seed stage founders across Europe

CEE Startup Funding Rounds & Acquisitions

  • Data protection startup Cyscale picks up €3M to expand in its home market in Romania and UK. The round was led by Notion Captial Managers and saw participation from Seedcamp, Gapminder and business angels
  • A cloud collaboration startup LucidLink closes its $20M Series B to fuel its further growth and upgrade the engineering team. The round was led by Headline and joined by the startups’ past investors among BrightCap Ventures and Baseline Ventures.
  • A digital cemetery Spiritus raises €400k to build a cloud platform for after-life platform for sharing memories and stories of the deceased. The funding was led by Fil Rouge Capital and joined by Zaka Startups along with two angels.
  • Mobile engagement platform Leanplum co-founded by a Bulgarian was acquired by a retention marketing giant CleverTap. The purchase was made to facilitate further cementing of the CleverTap’s position and the amount of the transaction is yet to be disclosed.
  • Latvian AR and 3D photonics headset producer Lightspace Technologies stacks up another €750k to better finance company’s current production and development plans. The funding was procured through the existing investors, a number of business angels and an investment fund Ardelta.
  • Ukrainian AI investor Roosh Ventures participates in a $50M C round of US fintech and insurtech TheGuarantors.
  • Latvian biotech Alternative Plants receives €500k investment to increase the production capacity and further develop its offerings. The round was led by Buildit accelerator and SOSV.
  • Polish IT quoting startup Apropo raises around 1.1M PLN to develop a product and expand internationally. The investment was made by LT Capital,
  • Polish acoustics and noise management startup KFB Acoustics gets a 3M PLN round to further develop its highly-sought-after product. The round was led by Nunatak Capital.

Startup Calls

  • Poland Prize powered by Kielce Technology Park aims at bringing foreign technological startups to develop their ideas in Poland. Participants have a chance to receive up to 55k EUR financial support, assistance from industry experts and take part in development workshops. Applications are open till May 31.
  • Romania-focused investment readiness program by Techcelerator is in the process of recruiting a new cohort of local startups across various sectors and industries. To participate, startups must have some signs of the initial market traction like users/products and the availability of a quick international expansion. The application deadline is set for the 31st of May
  • EIT Urban Mobility calls up the applicants within the micro-mobility space to apply for its raptor pilot program. The winner will get a prize package for up to €50k and get a chance to pilot its solutions. To qualify for participation startups should develop smart infrastructure solutions, safer infrastructure, solutions for storing micro-mobility tools (bicycles, electric scooters, etc.), and creating a citizen-friendly environment. The application deadline is on the 27th of May.
  • A Polish-Ukrainian Startup Bridge is opening up a program for Ukrainian pre-seed to seed startup. The 15 selected participants will get around 10k PLN in funding & services, mentoring on many aspects of local and international venture building, and pitching opportunities in front of the local VC community on a Demo Day. Any startup in need of relocation from Ukraine is eligible and the deadline for applications is the 6th of June

Other CEE Ecosystem News

  • CEE countries in discussion on how to boost the regional innovation landscape through embracing higher academic mobility and knowledge exchange. Go here to get more insights.

Related Posts:

VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, May 7-13, 2022 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)

VC & Startup Weekly News From CEE, April 30- May 6, 2022 (Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)

VC & Startup News From CEE, April, 23-29 2022 (by Ilya Mikhalchyk-Kananenka, Community Builder, Vestbee)



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