By Olha Dub, PR writer at F1V
VCs are now finishing their holiday breaks, so it’s time for startups to plan their fundraising activities.
We’ve put together a list of 20 VC firms investing in startups from Central and Eastern Europe to support our community. The list details their ticket sizes, focus industries, investments, and more.
I sourced most of the figures from Crunchbase, as well as Dealroom, fund websites, and LinkedIn pages. Crunchbase served as the primary source.
Inovo (Poland)
Inovo focuses on CEE. They invest in developer tools, AI, machine learning, data science, healthcare, SaaS-enabled marketplaces, B2C/B2B2C, and B2B enterprise.
Six companies in Inovo’s portfolio are worth more than €100M: Booksy, Infermedica, Packhelp, Preply, Spacelift, and Tidio.
In 2024, the fund made eight investments.
Founded date: 2012.
Investments: 57 (30 as a lead investor).
Stage: seed, with occasional pre-seed and Series A investments.
Exits: 3 (Brand24, ECC Games, and Allset).
Ticket size: €500k–€4M.
ff Venture Capital (US)
ff VC’s first CEE investment was in Ukrainian startup Respeecher in 2019. Later in 2020, the firm launched its first CEE-focused fund.
ff VC backs emerging industries, focusing on AI, automation, fintech, enterprise software, sustainability, robotics, and drones.
It has five unicorns in its portfolio: Addepar, Surf Air Mobility, Movable Ink, Socure, and Owlet Baby Care.
In 2024, the firm made six investments.
Founded date: 2008.
Investments: 374 (64 as a lead investor).
Stage: seed, with occasional pre-seed and Series A investments.
Exits: 34 (Cornerstone OnDemand, Lithium Technologies, and Plated are among the most notable).
Ticket size: $300k–$700k.
Credo Ventures (Czech Republic)
Credo Ventures is CEE-centric but industry agnostic. Many of its portfolio startups operate in enterprise software, media, security, fintech, marketing, and healthcare.
Its team invested in three unicorns — robot process automation platform UiPath, product management platform Productboard, and voice cloning tool ElevenLabs.
In 2024, the firm made 12 investments from its latest €75M fund.
Founded date: 2009.
Investments: 123 (47 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed to Series A, with occasional Series B investments.
Exits: 14 (UiPath, Displate, and GAMEE are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €100k–€5M.
ZAKA VC (Czech Republic)
ZAKA VC, a family office-turned-VC fund, backs tech startups from the U.S., the U.K., the Baltics, and Central Europe.
Currently raising its first €15M fund, the firm has secured €10.5M in July 2024 and plans to invest in 40-50 companies.
ZAKA VC primarily looks at B2B software, AI applications in B2B, biotech, healthtech, and deeptech.
In 2024, the firm made four investments.
Founded date: 2019.
Investments: 55 (9 as a lead investor).
Stage: mostly pre-seed and seed investments.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: €250k–€300k.
Hoxton Ventures (UK)
Hoxton Ventures backs European early-stage startups, helping them break into the U.S. market. To date, the firm has invested in seven CEE companies, including Ukrainian edtech startup Preply.
Hoxton Ventures focuses on deep tech, digital health, enterprise, fintech, biotech, and consumer startups.
In 2024, the fund made 10 investments.
Founded date: 2013.
Investments: 110 (49 as a lead investor).
Stage: seed and pre-seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 16 (Deliveroo, Darktrace, and Babylon are among the most notable).
Ticket size: $500k–$5M.
Startup Wise Guys (Estonia)
Startup Wise Guys is one of the most active investors in CEE. It’s not just a fund but also an accelerator for early-stage B2B startups in fintech, SaaS, proptech, sustainability, cyber, defence, and web3.
The accelerator’s three- or four-month programs are designed for teams looking to validate their MVP, grow their product, or scale to new markets.
In 2024, the firm made 58 investments.
Founded date: 2012.
Investments: 594 (130 as a lead investor).
Stage: seed, with occasional pre-seed investments.
Exits: 10 (Investory, Elai.io, and CallPage are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €100k.
VentureFriends (Greece)
VentureFriends backs scalable B2C and B2B startups from Europe with strong defensibility. It focuses on marketplaces, SaaS, property tech, and fintech.
One of VentureFriends’ startups, fintech company Jeeves, has unicorn status.
In 2024, the fund made eight investments.
Founded date: 2016.
Investments: 104 (43 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A and Series B investments.
Exits: 6 (Tabas, factory14, and Viral Loops are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €500k–€2.5M.
500 Emerging Europe (Turkey)
In 2022, 500 Istanbul rebranded into 500 Emerging Europe and raised more than €50M for its second fund to invest in CEE startups and help them scale globally.
500 Emerging Europe is industry agnostic but prefers businesses that follow global trends, such as gaming or machine learning. It has three unicorns in its portfolio: Carbon Health, Insider, and BillionToOne.
In 2024, the firm made nine investments.
Founded date: 2016.
Investments: 60 (16 as a lead investor).
Stage: mostly pre-seed and seed.
Exits: 7 (Arf, DataPad, and Ango AI are among the most notable).
Ticket size: up to €1M.
Presto Ventures (Czech Republic)
Presto Ventures invests in fast-growing CEE startups to "create a safer, more secure future." True to this vision, the fund chose to back startups in security, defense, aerospace, and companies (both software and hardware) that solve global challenges.
They focus on businesses founded or operated in NATO countries, their allies, and Israel.
The fund promises to help founders prepare for follow-up rounds in Western Europe and the U.S. In 2024, it made 13 investments.
Founded date: 2016.
Investments: 72 (37 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 2 (Inventoro and Persoo).
Ticket size: €500k–€5M.
SMOK Ventures (Poland)
SMOK Ventures is a team of entrepreneurs that supports startups in Poland and the rest of CEE. They invest in software startups, primarily targeting dev tools, gamedev, AI, AR, VR, marketing tech, and fintech.
The fund says 80% of follow-on funding for their startups comes from Western Europe, Silicon Valley, and Asia.
In 2024, the firm made six investments.
Founded date: 2019.
Investments: 41 (22 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: $100k–$1M.
Underline Ventures (Romania)
Underline Ventures is a relatively new fund: Entrepreneur Bogdan Iordache launched it in 2022.
The fund partners with founders from Eastern Europe and can help them find other investors. It doesn’t specify industry preferences; its recent deals include gaming, B2B SaaS, sales automation, and dev tools.
In 2024, the firm made five investments.
Founded date: 2022.
Investments: 12 (3 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed, seed, and late seed.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: €500k.
Earlybird Venture Capital (Germany)
Earlybird VC has been backing European and CEE tech innovators for 28 years. It has eight unicorns in its portfolio.
The fund runs two strategies: one invests in fintech, insurtech, enterprise software, and deep tech (food, energy, and space), while Earlybird Health aims to improve patient care.
It also leads a pro-bono initiative, Vision Lab, which pursues socially responsible and sustainable investing.
One of the firm’s branches, Earlybird Digital East Fund, rebranded as Bek Ventures in November 2024 and launched a $250M fund to invest in early-stage CEE companies.
In 2024, the firm made 36 investments.
Founded date: 1997.
Investments: 292 (115 as a lead investor).
Stage: early- and late-stage investments.
Exits: 58 (Lilium, UiPath, and Oculis are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €500k-–$10M.
Redseed (UK)
Redseed was launched in 2015 by tech entrepreneurs and former partners of DST, a global firm known for its investments in internet companies.
To date, they have invested over $100M in tech startups from the U.S., Israel, and Europe.
The fund doesn't highlight its industry preferences. They show interest in high-growth sectors such as AI, healthtech, and fintech, while also investing in software, data analytics, and education.
In 2024, the firm made five investments.
Founded date: 2015.
Investments: 16 (9 as a lead investor).
Stage: mostly seed and Series A investments.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: N/A.
KAYA VC (Czech Republic)
KAYA VC invests in CEE and European founders but isn’t tied to a specific geography or industry. It prefers companies in personal health, energy transition, and next-gen consumer experiences.
Two of its portfolio startups are unicorns: healthcare platform DocPlanner and grocery delivery platform Rohlik.
The firm doesn’t require a specific product stage or traction. Even if you’re at the idea stage, you can still talk to them.
In June 2024, KAYA VC raised its fifth fund to support Slovak, Czech, and Polish startups. Over the last year, they made four investments.
Founded date: 2010.
Investments: 64 (15 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed to Series A investments.
Exits: 9 (Eversports, Twisto, and Finiata are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €100k–€3M.
Market One Capital (Luxembourg)
Market One Capital unites a team of ex-founders backing European entrepreneurs who build tech companies with network effects.
They target vertical SaaS, platforms, infrastructure software, marketplaces, communities, and protocols. Most of the firm’s portfolio companies fall into the first two categories.
TIER Mobility, their startup providing electric vehicles for urban transportation, achieved unicorn status. In 2024, the firm made five investments.
Founded date: 2017.
Investments: 55 (20 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 5 (Eversports, CallPage, and Kitch are among the most notable).
Ticket size: up to €2M.
Iron Wolf Capital (Lithuania)
Iron Wolf Capital invests in European startups with a global mindset, focusing on those from the Baltics and CEE. The firm also bridges the gap between the European and the U.S. markets, helping companies expand across both regions.
Iron Wolf Capital follows the principle of responsible investing, integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors into its investment strategy.
Their main investor is ILTE, a national promotional bank established by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania and financed by EU funds.
In 2024, the firm made four deals.
Founded date: 2018.
Investments: 30 (18 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: €500k–€2M.
SMRK (Ukraine)
SMRK backs IT startups targeting global markets, closely looking at apps and online tools for business and everyday use.
The firm’s portfolio companies are based in Ukraine, the U.S., and Germany. They’ve invested in innovative companies like Esper Bionics, Competera, Ajax Systems, and Preply.
SMRK is also part of Techosystem, a civic union that promotes Ukraine’s tech industry worldwide and works to improve local business conditions.
In 2024, the firm made three investments.
Founded date: 2013.
Investments: 36 (22 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed to Series A, with occasional late-stage investments.
Exits: 2 (Apostera and Allset).
Ticket size: $500k–$1.5M.
PortfoLion (Hungary)
PortfoLion Ventures is the venture capital and private equity arm of OTP Bank.
The firm backs CEE startups at all stages, seeking to partner with companies that have an MVP and proven signs of early traction.
PortfoLion Ventures is sector agnostic, with previous investments in fintech, edtech, cybersecurity, agtech, dev tools, IT infrastructure, e-commerce, and supply chain tech. It strives to be a lead investor and participate in multiple consecutive rounds.
In 2024, the firm made eight investments.
Founded date: 2010.
Investments: 65 (26 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed to Series A, with occasional late-stage investments.
Exits: 8 (AImotive, Tresorit, and Statzup are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €500k–€3M.
Tera Ventures (Estonia)
Tera Ventures backs exceptional founders from the Baltics, CEE, and Scandinavia.
The firm is led by investors and advisors with experience in building digital tech companies, from founding to acquisition or IPO. Eamonn Carey, previously the managing director at Techstars London, joined Tera Ventures as a general partner in 2022.
The team doesn’t stick to one industry but likes to invest in fintech and automation, where it has solid expertise. Plus, they’ve been backing AI/ML startups for over a decade.
Their portfolio includes one unicorn: Neon, a digital bank in Brazil.
In 2024, Tera Ventures made six investments.
Founded date: 2016.
Investments: 57 (40 as a lead investor).
Stage: pre-seed and seed, with occasional Series A investments.
Exits: 8 (GrabCAD, Modesat, VitalFields are among the most notable).
Ticket size: €200k–€1.5M.
Movens Capital (Poland)
Movens Capital invests in Polish and CEE tech companies with its two funds: early-stage VC and growth equity.
The early-stage fund focuses on scaling startups for U.S. and European markets, particularly those automating conservative industries with AI and machine learning. Key sectors include AI, fintech, SaaS, platforms, marketplaces, deep tech, and industry 4.0.
The growth equity fund invests in digital and consumer businesses in CEE, targeting sectors related to a balanced lifestyle, such as nutrition, healthcare, and fitness.
In 2024, the firm made two investments.
Founded date: 2018.
Investments: 33 (14 as a lead investor).
Stage: mostly seed and Series A investments.
Exits: 0.
Ticket size: €200k–€1.5M for an early stage; €2–€6M for a growth stage.
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