03 August 2022·14 min read

Konrad Koncerewicz

Head of VC & Startups, Vestbee

VC Funding In CEE Report - 2Q 2022

In this report, we have included the disclosed VC rounds made public before the end of 2Q 2022 or provided by our VC & startup community. It does not include grants and transactions below €50k. Additionally, although we’re always happy to see startups operating in CEE, we have decided to focus only on companies that originate from CEE, self-identify as CEE companies, or there is a significant presence of the CEE founder. The report is focused on the common understanding of the CEE region (e.g., Turkey is not included). 

Sources: Vestbee VC & startup community, startup press releases, web & social media monitoring, Crunchbase, PFR (Polish Development Fund).

Startup investment rounds in CEE in 2Q 2022

> Number of funding rounds: 242 (205 fully disclosed in terms of amount, month, investors, and company details) 

> The biggest disclosed investment round: Rimac Group - Series D - €500M (plus additional Venture Round €120M in April), Rohlik - Series D - €220M,  Ataccama - Venture Round - €142M,  Nord Security - Venture Round - €92M, SEON - Series B - €90M.

>Total value of funding closed  in CEE: over €2B*

> Countries with the majority of funding rounds: Poland - 93 rounds, Czech Republic - 37, Estonia - 28 rounds, 

> The most active VC funds: Change Ventures, MITON, Geek Ventures, Hiventures, Movens Capital, Nation 1, Startup Wise Guys, Credo Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Early Game Ventures, EEC Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Presto Ventures, Purple Ventures, SMOK Ventures

> The most appreciated industries: Automotive, Delivery Services, Fintech, E-commerce, AI, Analytics, SaaS, Data analytics. 

*34 rounds undisclosed in terms of transaction value

So far, VC funding in the CEE region is holding on better than in Europe overall. According to Crunchbase, in the second quarter of 2022 VC funding in Europe plummeted to $23.7 billion - down by 38% in comparison to $38 billion in Q2 last year. VC transactions in Central & Eastern Europe however have increased in comparison to those recorded in the previous quarters - this year they exceeded €2B, after reaching €1.6B in Q1 of 2022 and over €1B in Q2 2021

The early-stage market in Central & Eastern Europe is usually a delayed mirror of what’s happening in developed ecosystems and economies. While cumulative external factors like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation, and the specter of recession crushed late-stage valuations and investor sentiment, early-stage investments still seem much less affected. So far, most local and regional early-stage VCs have continued to do business as usual, especially since the massive inflow of capital from recently launched VC funds needs to be deployed. - Ewa Chronowska, CEO at Vestbee and Partner at Next Road Ventures.

Let’s take a look at the CEE startup and VC market overview from 2Q 2022. 

Digging deeper into a VC and startup ecosystem in CEE in 2Q, 242 VC transactions were noted, the recorded numbers remained stable throughout the quarter, with a slight increase in May, during which startups secured more than 70 rounds (in comparison to 60+ in April and June). The amount of investments also was at its height in May - startups raised over €900M, however, it's worth mentioning that a €500M round secured by Croatian Rimac hugely influenced this monthly data. Mega-rounds (worth over €100M) accounted for nearly 50% of total funding secured on the market in the whole quarter. During the remaining months, i.e., in April and June, CEE startups secured over €570M and €530M, respectively. Additionally, the round size is continuously growing in CEE which shows gradual maturation of the regional market.

In regards of the biggest disclosed investment rounds, they were secured by Croatian Rimac Group (Series D - €500M), Czech Rohlik (Series D round - €220M), Czech Ataccama (Venture round - €142M), Lithuanian Nord Security (Venture round - €92M), and Hungarian SEON (Series B - €90M).

In the second quarter, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Estonia accounted for 93, 37, and 28 funding rounds, respectively. But it was Croatia that was leading in terms of the investment volume (over €620M), followed closely by Czechia (over €540M). Polish and Lithuanian startups also attracted a significant part of investors' attention, raising respectively over €230 and over €200M.  

The most popular sectors that grabbed investors’ attention were Automotive, Delivery Services, and E-commerce, however, Financial Services, AI, and Data & Analytics still remained in the investment circle. 

Among the most active investors were Change Ventures, MITON, Geek Ventures, Hiventures, Movens Capital, Nation 1, Startup Wise Guys, Credo Ventures, DEPO Ventures, Early Game Ventures, EEC Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Presto Ventures, Purple Ventures, and SMOK Ventures.

Now let’s move to a monthly overview of the quarter’s results. The summary was based on fully disclosed investment rounds (startup name, month of investment closure, amount, participating investors).

Investment rounds in June

> Number of funding rounds: 64

> The biggest investment rounds: Rohlik - Series D - €220M, Ataccama - Venture round - €142M, Airslate - Series C - €49M

> Total value of funding secured in CEE: over €530M 

> Countries with the majority of funding rounds: Poland - 19, Czech Republic - 13 rounds, Estonia - 8

> The most active VC fund: Movens Capital, Demium Capital, Nation1, SMOK Ventures thanks to a number of investment rounds.

Index Ventures, ORBIT Capital, Sofina thanks to participating in the biggest investment round this month.

> The most appreciated industries: Delivery Services, Financial Services, AI, E-commerce

In June, the amount of funding obtained by CEE startups exceeded €530M raised during 64 funding rounds. Poland was leading with its 19 investment rounds, followed by Czech Republic and Estonia, where startups secured 13 and 8 funding rounds respectively. 

Czechia also stood out in terms of funding volume - startups from this country are responsible for over 75% of all funding raised on the market this month. Still, it has to be noted that these amounts were achieved thanks to the financial rounds of two Czech companies: Rohlik with its Series D of €220M, and Ataccama with its venture round of €142M. Among the most active investors were Movens Capital, Demium Capital, Nation1, and SMOK Ventures, but it’s worth distinguishing also Index Ventures, ORBIT Capital, and Sofina as they participated in the largest investment round of this month. 

Find out more: TOP CEE funding rounds closed in June

Investment rounds in May

> Number of funding rounds: 73

> The biggest investment round: Rimac Group - Series D - €500M, kevin. - Series A - €62M, DoDo - Series B - €60M

> Total value of funding secured this in CEE: over €900M

> Countries with the majority of funding rounds: Poland - 19, Czech Republic - 16 rounds, Estonia - 9

> The most active VC fund: Startup wise guys, LT Capital, Depo Ventures, Presto Ventures, EEC Ventures, MITON, Purple Ventures, Rockaway Ventures thanks to a number of investment rounds.

Goldman Sachs, Ischyros New York, Porsche, SoftBank Vision Fund thanks to participating in the biggest investment round this month.

> The most appreciated industries: Automotive, Financial Services, AI. 

In May, the value of secured funding was the highest in the entire quarter, reaching over €900M raised in 73 funding rounds. The biggest investments were secured by Croatian Rimac Group (Series D of €500M), Lithuanian kevin. (Series A of €62M), and Czech DoDo (Series B of €60M). This month, Poland led with 19 closed funding rounds, followed closely by Czech Republic and Estonia (16 and 9 rounds, respectively). However, it was Croatia who was leading in terms of funding volume (by attracting over 50% of total funding this month)  as Rimac secured the biggest investment rounds in the whole quarter. Among the most active investors were Startup wise guys, LT Capital, Depo Ventures, Presto Ventures, EEC Ventures, MITON, Purple Ventures, and Rockaway Ventures thanks to a number of investment rounds. Among the most appreciated industries were Automotive, Financial Services, and Artificial Intelligence.

Find out more: TOP CEE funding rounds closed in May

Investment rounds in April

> Number of funding rounds: 68

> The biggest investment round: Rimac Group - Venture Round - €120M, Nord Security - Venture Round - €92M, SEON - Series B - €90M.

> Total value of funding secured in CEE: over €570M

> Countries with the majority of funding rounds: Poland - 18, Estonia - 11 rounds, Czech Republic - 8

> The most active VC fund: Market One Capital, Portfolion, Khosla Ventures, Innovation Nest, Movens Capital, Hiventures, Geek Ventures, Startup Wise Guys in terms of number of funding rounds secured

> The most appreciated industries: Cybersecurity, E-commerce, Healthcare, AI. 

In April, startups secured 68 funding rounds, with the total amount reaching over €570M. The most active countries this month were Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic, where startups secured 18, 11, and 8 rounds respectively. But when it comes to total funding secured, it was Croatia (over €120M), Lithuania (over €130M), and Hungary (over €90M) that were leading. The biggest investment rounds this month were raised by Croatian Rimac Group (Venture Round - €120M), Lithuanian Nord Security (Venture Round - €92M), and Hungarian SEON (Series B - €90M). Taking a look at industries, Cybersecurity, E-commerce, Healthcare, and AI were the most popular courses of investments in April, while among investors that are worth distinguishing were Market One Capital, Portfolion, Khosla Ventures, Innovation Nest, Movens Capital, Hiventures, Geek Ventures, and Startup Wise Guys.

Find out more: TOP CEE funding rounds closed in April

Now, let’s check the selected, newly raised VC funds from CEE worth your attention. 

Notable VC Funds raised in CEE in 2Q 2022:

  • Superangel - a well-recognized Estonian VC fund has announced its new €50M fund, planning to invest in deep tech startups in the Baltics and Nordics.
  • AIP Seed - Polish, €25M fund with a goal to support rapidly growing, young companies from Poland and Central Europe (Every year, 30 startups are to be funded).
  • Blackpeak Capital - Bulgarian VC firm has recently raised a  €126M Southeast Europe Growth Equity Fund to support companies across industries:  IT, healthcare, niche manufacturing, consumer, and business services.
  • Presto Ventures - Czech VC fund has raised its second, €30M fund aimed at seed and pre-seed B2B startups from the CEE region.
  • UiPath - a Romanian RPA leader (currently based in New York), has launched its first fund - UiPath Ventures with a goal to invest in disruptive, high-growth enterprise software companies, especially in the enterprise automation field.

Want to explore funded startups? Let’s take a look at a quick overview of the Top 50 CEE startups that had their funding rounds closed between April and June!

Top 50 CEE startup funding rounds closed in 2Q 2022:

  • Rimac Group - Croatian hypercars and high-performance electrification technologies producer.
  • Rohlik - Czech grocery delivery company that offers a 90-minute same-day delivery service.
  • Ataccama - Czech software company delivering data quality, master data management, data governance, and big data technologies.
  • Nord Security - Lithuanian provider of cybersecurity tools prepared for private users as well as companies.
  • SEON - Hungarian online fraud prevention platform that detects and stops fraud in real time.
  • kevin. - Lithuanian fintech that provides an account-to-account payment infrastructure.
  • DoDo - Czech same-day delivery marketplace.
  • Airslate - Ukrainian startup providing no-code business process automation, e-signature, and document management solutions.
  • Preply - Ukrainian online language learning marketplace connecting tutors and students.
  • Eurora - Estonian e-commerce suite of customs compliance tools.
  • ZenithChain - Lithuanian blockchain technology company that allows crypto-market participants to trade directly with one another.
  • Manta - Czech ​​data lineage platform to transform assets and to gain full visibility and control over data pipelines.
  • NFTPort - Estonian one-stop and developer-friendly NFT infrastructure and APIs for developers.
  • Tidio - Polish live-chat app.
  • Hotailors - Polish enterprise solution that grants access to real-time offers from hotels, airlines, trains, buses, taxis, and insurance worldwide.
  • Synerise - Polish headless, customizable & scalable, real-time interaction management, low code platform.
  • Nomagic - Polish provider of smart pick and place robotic solutions for order fulfillment.
  • Lucidlink - Bulgarian cloud storage and data streaming platform.
  • Talkin' Things - Polish IoT ecosystem for bringing trillions of off-line things on-line.
  • Symmetrical - Polish payroll platform.
  • Enso - Polish open-source platform that makes it possible to conduct advanced data analysis simply by connecting visual components.
  • DRUID - Romanian conversational AI platform for enterprise companies.
  • Zowie - Polish AI chatbot startup that improves customer interactions.
  • Lemonero - Czech embedded financing platform for e-commerce.
  • GA Drilling - Slovakian company working on drilling technology PLASMABIT that enables a revolution in geothermal energy, and massive cost savings.
  • Montonio - Estonian full checkout solution for e-commerce stores.
  • Aerones - Latvian  Wind Turbine Blade Inspection and Maintenance company.
  • Supernova - Czech design system platform for developers and designers.
  • The Batteries - Polish producer of advanced batteries.
  • Neptune - Polish experiment management tool that fits any workflow.
  • Mindgram - Polish science-based platform and mobile app for complete mental wellness.
  • Flip - Romanian second-hand devices marketplace reimagining the way people buy and sell second-hand devices.
  • TrustMate - Polish SaaS tool allowing customers to collect and manage customers’ reviews online, increase web traffic, attract more clients and increase conversion.
  • Leafood - Lithuanian vertical farming company which produces sustainable and highest quality leafy greens.
  • Cachet - Estonian financial services marketplace on a mission to create a better, healthier platform economy.
  • SwitchBoard - Slovakian error monitoring and incident response platform for Zapier and Make.
  • Bunnyshell - Romanian cloud-agnostic DevOps automation platform to deploy, scale, and optimize applications.
  • 4Trans Factoring - Czech provider of financing solutions for logistics and transportation sectors.
  • Recart - Hungarian startup that assists online stores in full marketing automation.
  • Rush - Bulgarian Order Tracking & Notifier in a software-as-a-service model.
  • Alphamoon - Polish automated document processing and AI-based platform.
  • EyeVi Technologies - Estonian provider of road network intelligence with AI-powered on-demand mapping technologies.
  • Kwota - Estonian provider of digital validation and trading services for recycled material CO₂ emissions.
  • Sloneek - Slovakian simple online solution for a complex HR agenda.
  • Instant Space - Romanian booking platform for event facilities.
  • Stretchme - Polish online stretching platform for training.
  • Heroify - Polish skill testing platform for jobs.
  • Spiritius - Croatian platform that specializes in creating digital memorials powered by blockchain.
  • Quantee - Polish SaaS Platform bringing the power of AI and startup agility to insurance pricing.
  • Hunch - Serbian automated creative production and media buying platform.

If you have some insights about the report, drop me a line!

Want to get a more detailed view of the CEE Startup & VC Scene in 2Q 2022?

Discover our monthly, quarterly and yearly reports:

Sources: Vestbee VC & startup community, startup press releases, web & social media monitoring, Crunchbase, PFR (Polish Development Fund)



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