About Fintech Farm

• Fintech Farm was founded by three Ukrainians Dmytro Dubilet, Oleksandr Vityaz, and Mykola Bezkrovny in 2020. It is a platform for launching neobanks in partnership with traditional banks around the world.
• The first Fintech Farm project was Leobank, which the company launched in Azerbaijan with the local bank Unibank. In March 2023, the startup launched Liobank in Vietnam. The third market for Fintech Farm was Nigeria, where Fibo was launched in the beta stage, which so far only works in Lagos.
• Dmytro Dubilet and Oleh Horohovskyi (as well as several other co-founders) jointly launched Fintech Band and monobank. Subsequently, Dubilet left the Fintech Band team. Fintech Farm is one of his new projects.
• In January 2022, Fintech Farm raised $7.4 million in an investment round led by the Ukrainian venture fund Flyer One Ventures and Solid. African marketplace Jiji and funds TA Ventures, u.ventures, AVentures Capital also participated. Additionally, a year ago, Fintech Farm secured another $22 million round led by the Nordstar fund.

• The fresh investment was led by the London Stock Exchange-listed Bank of Georgia, a UK incorporated financial services holding company. The group comprises a retail banking and payments business, and a corporate banking and investment banking business.

Fintech Farm plans to use it on building out its fintech product and expand its operations to India.

• Founded in 2020 by Marco Lobba, Ph.D., Geo Guillen, and Matthew Francis and spun out of the laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, CatenaBio has developed a platform, that allows the creation of novel biomolecules and further synthesizes them in any structure, combination, or orientation. Using naturally occurring amino acids, the startup’s technology allows coupling proteins to create novel therapeutics in autoimmune diseases, oncology, and vaccine development.
• LongeVC is a venture company with offices in Riga and Lugano. It was established in 2016 by Garri Zmudze, Sergey Jakimov, and Ilya Suharenko. A €35 million fund supports biotech and longevity-focused startups at the early and seed stages across the US and Europe.

CatenaBio is rapidly escalating the effectiveness and usefulness of antibody-drug conjugates. ADCs are one of the most dynamic fields when it comes to fighting age-related diseases and are being actively explored across multiple vectors, including for oncology treatments,

Sergey Jakimov, founding partner at LongeVC, said.

• The seed round was backed by existing investors California Innovation Fund, Civilization Ventures, and Pioneer Fund, and brought in new investors, Freeflow Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, and BrightEdge.

With the seed extension, Catena plans to accelerate development of its lead asset while launching scale-up activities with leading CROs and continuing efforts in support of its existing BD partnerships with Biotech and Pharma collaborators. The startup also aims to raise its next Series A later this year.

In 2023, 72% of the transactions in Poland were financed by VCs with Polish public LPs (PFR Ventures, NCBR Bridge Alfa, and BGK). It shows how important public funds still are for the Polish startup ecosystem.

General data of Polish VC market in Q1 2024:

• 30 Polish startups received funding;
• €43 million is the value of investments;
• 35 funds were involved;
• over 80% of transactions remained seed rounds, with 5 investments recorded at the A and B rounds;
• the median transaction size rose from PLN 1 million to PLN 3 million;
• 36% of the capital was provided by international funds.

The Polish startup ecosystem in Q1 2024 decreased by 76% YoY in the number of transactions
decreased by 55% YoY in capital invested (for comparison, global VC activity in value has decreased by 5% YoY according to Dealroom).

Activity of Polish funds:

In the first quarter of 2024, Polish VC funds made 10 investments in foreign startups, totaling €16 million. In recent years, the professionalization of Polish investors was observed, enabling access to a global network of contacts and participation in attractive financing rounds for foreign companies.

Two of the most significant transactions included the Saleor Commerce (PLN 32 million) and Vasa Therapeutics (PLN 24 million) rounds, both of which were seed rounds and attracted foreign investment. Furthermore, an additional five companies secured funding ranging from PLN 10 million to PLN 20 million.

Public funding in Poland:

By the end of 2023, the number of active Polish VC funds had decreased by over 80% from its peak in 2022, and most teams/GPs won’t be able to raise a new fund without the support of Polish public LPs.

Additionally, there was a decrease in the share of transactions involving solely Polish teams and an increase in the share of foreign capital, with co-investments rising from 21% to 26%. The substantial (> €60 million) private funds raised recently (OTB, Inovo, bValue) have already started to have an impact on Polish ecosystem.

I anticipate this trend to persist, with Polish teams able to offer larger investment tickets and the launch of new funds under the FENG programme. Over the long term, this is expected to systematically increase the proportion of transactions in which Polish funds play at least a partial role,

Radosław Kuchar, Investment Manager at PFR Ventures, predicts.

• Founded in 2021, Menken develops an AI to automate and improve the monitoring of clinical trials. The startup claims it makes them faster, more accurate, and efficient. By automating monitoring in clinical trials with real-time compliance checks and error detection, its solutions aim to fill a critical gap in the market.

We believe that our success comes from changing the way clinical trial operations are viewed and carried out. By focusing on improving workflows, we aim to make clinical trials more efficient and compliant, —  Anna-Liisa Parts, one of the co-founders, commented.

• Recently, Menken Trials has entered Tenity, a Swiss-backed early-stage investing and accelerating program now operating in Estonia, as part of their growth efforts. The startup added that this partnership will help us expand in Central Europe, reaching more hospitals and biopharmas over the next 12 months.
• The grant was provided by the Tallinn-based EASi ja KredExi ühendasutus, the joint organisation, supporting entrepreneurship and the improvement of living conditions in Estonia, increase its international competitiveness, visibility and attractiveness as a place for business, living and studies. Estonian Business and Innovation Agency projects are co-funded from the European Regional Development Fund.

The fresh grant will help the startup to expand into Eastern Europe and Africa and to support its mission to improve clinical trial processes worldwide.

• Founded in 2018 by Andreas Tsetinis and Sasan Hashemi, Tset offers cloud-based SaaS solutions that provide real-time insights into product costs and emissions. This technology helps businesses optimize their processes from development to production, improving margins and transparency regarding carbon emissions.

• The startup claims its software uses secondary data to deliver accurate analyses, minimizing the need for primary data. The platform is used across various industries, including automotive and aerospace, and has a team of 100 members.

Investment details

The fresh round was led by a number of prominent DACH investors. The lists includes:

• Brose Ventures, a corporate VC from Germany, specializing in mechatronics and manufacturing systems for vehicle doors, lids, and seats, as well as electric motors for various applications.
• Ingenics Holding, an international firm focusing on operational and digital transformation.
• Carbon Removal Partners, a Zurich-based VC firm dedicated to the Carbon Removal industry.

With this investment, Tset aims to enhance its technological offerings and expand its reach, driving innovation in cost and carbon management for the manufacturing sector.

• Leanpay was founded in 2016 by Janko Medja, Misa Zivic, and Tilen Zugwitz, has over 120,000 users and 1,500 merchant partners. It develops Buy Now Pay Later 3.0, providing instalment payment solutions for vendors and consumers.
• The startup employs a team of 70, serves more than 120,000 customers and 1,500 merchants, and has issued around €103 million in loans across Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary.

Investment details

• The investment was led by BlackPeak Capital, a Bulgarian private equity firm that invests in Southeast European startups like Bianor Holding, GenePlanet, and Pick&Pack.
• The firm currently manages two funds with a total of €150 million in assets. The round was also co-led by Catalyst Romania, a private equity and venture capital fund platform from Bucharest.

• BlackPeak Capital’s Managing Partner, Niklas Pichler, will join Leanpay’s board to guide the company in reaching its growth goals. 

The shift in consumer behavior towards flexible payment methods like BNPL is increasingly influencing daily life for all generations as well as reshaping the e-commerce landscape, being pivotal for both businesses and customers alike. We are excited to partner with Leanpay, a Slovenian leader in responsible lending and a pioneer in the 3rd generation BNPL solutions in our region operating an asset-light model, — Niklas Pichler said.

This funding will allow Leanpay to expand its operations, launch new services, and recruit new talents to strengthen its market position.

• OIG is a retailer and a distributor on the Romanian optical market. The group provides a large variety of eyecare products and services. The group has almost 100 stores operating mostly in shopping malls in Bucharest and main cities in Romania.
• Optical Investment Group was established in 2019 in cooperation with Innova Capital by combining two Romanian optical retail chains OPTIblu and Optiplaza. The company operates under three banners: OPTIblu, Optiplaza, and O51.
• Innova Capital is an independent private equity adviser operating from Poland and investing in majority buyouts in mid-sized enterprises across Central and Eastern Europe. Since its inception in 1994, Innova Capital has invested close to €1.4 billion in almost 70 companies across 10 countries.

The fresh deal details:

The companies claim that the agreement will help to elevate the optical market in Romania for the
benefit of all industry players. It will allow EssilorLuxottica to grow appreciation for eyewear and eyecare solutions among consumers and continuing to deliver its solutions to over 1,800 customers and partners.

Joining the EssilorLuxottica family not only marks a milestone in our journey but also highlights our
collective dedication to excellence and innovation in vision care. It is a privilege to lead a team that is now
joining a global leader like EssilorLuxottica. Together, we are poised to elevate the optical sector to
unprecedented levels, ensuring quality care and exceptional service for our customers across Romania, —Alina Bistreanu, CEO at Optical Investment Group, said.

The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2024, pending regulatory approvals and other customary
closing conditions.

Moreover, production in Slovakia helps to cope with another problem. Because of the martial law, Raybird cannot export their products, and the final price is limited in markup to 25%. Besides, including development costs in price is impossible.

The factory in Slovakia allows the company to avoid these restrictions. It gives more opportunities in the global market so that countries of the European Union and NATO can buy their UAVs.

The Slovakian factory can build 25 reconnaissance systems per year. Their output will be increased 4 times after closing the round. Skyeton is currently raising $15 million in investments for this expansion.

Apart from the drone factory, Stepura duplicated another of his businesses in Slovakia – the production of modular houses Homers.

What is known about Raybird made by Skyeton

Skyeton has been producing ultralight planes and UAVs for over 17 years. Among the developments of Skyeton, there is the unmanned aircraft system Raybird-3 for long-term intelligence missions of civil and special forces.

• The price of the one system is $1,2 million. It includes three planes, portable ground control stations, an antenna system, a launcher, video and photo cameras, and radars.
• The most expensive camera on the plane costs €300,000. Aside from expensive details, 60-70% of the prime price goes on the development and engineers’ salaries.
• The drone can fly up to 28 hours and cover up to 2,500 kilometers at a height of up to 4,500 meters which makes the drone almost invisible for electronic warfare.
• Only 5 global companies have similar ratios of weight and durability of stay in the air drones yet foreign samples are much more expensive.
• The Defence Forces of Ukraine had ordered over 75 intelligence systems in the period from February of 2022 to May of 2024.

About Oinride

• Oinride develops robotic solutions aimed at revolutionizing underground mining operations. The robots are equipped with sensors, navigation systems, and AI capabilities, allowing to navigate hazardous environments such as underground mines. In addition, these robots can communicate with other systems to enhance coordination and productivity.
• Oinride’s technology is also suitable for various rough terrain environments, including security and defense, nuclear waste management, and other challenging conditions.
• Recently, the company participated in the Startupbootcamp Renewable Energy & Net-Zero 2023 accelerator in Amsterdam. During the accelerator, Oinride has been supported by Fleur Engelberts, Joey Moreau, Aref Ghazvini, Natasha Amaral, Jeroen van der Lugt, Zahira R., and Tessa Landkroon.

Investment details

The fresh €345,000 pre-seed round also includes a €200,000 from Berlin-based EIT RawMaterials, an Innovation Community within the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This financial boost will enable Oinride to accelerate the development and deployment of its mobile robotics designed to enhance safety and productivity in the mining industry’s harsh environments.

“This is a massive leap forward for us, propelling our mission to innovate and enhance the mining industry with our state-of-the-art mobile robotics solutions. This incredible achievement marks the beginning of an exciting journey ahead,” Oinride’s team commented.

Oinride also plans to launch a pilot project in the USA, expand its team, and refine their products for a broader market launch.

About Myriad AI

• Founded by Jan Špidlen who has previous worked at Google, Nvidia and Airbnb, Myriad AI aims to transform compliance by revolutionizing access to regulations. Their platform provides insights, with the objective to speed up decisions and improve business outcomes. 
• Myriad establishes a sales and marketing center in the U.S. while maintaining its technological base in Prague. Špidlen is now recruiting Prague-based programmers and IT specialists to develop Myriad’s software prototype into a full-fledged service.

Investment details

The investment was led by by Nation 1, a Prague-based venture capital firm focused on investing in seed-stage startups that operate in Czechia. In April 2023, it provided a €400,000 for a Сzech supply chain management facilitator Supply. Now, the fund has rebranded as N1, bringing in new partners, and raising capital for a second fund, aiming to make its first investment next year.

“This year confirmed our belief that our strategy is correct. The companies we invested in through N1 are performing very well, and we intend to close approximately four more investments by the end of the year. Throughout the fund’s existence, we have managed to invest approximately 600 million crowns. This progress has led to the establishment of our second fund and the appointment of two existing colleagues as new partners, who will be strong reinforcements for our team in the long term,”

Marek Moravec commented.

The Prague-based investment company BD Partners, Plug and Play Tech Center, an American venture capital firm headquartered in Sunnyvale, and Preston-Werner VC, led by Tom Preston-Werner (GitHub co-founder), investing in early-stage technology companies, also participated in the round.

This investment will help Myriad’s team to revolutionize compliance for banks and fintech companies using its AI technology.

• Founded in 2018 by former Bigbank Group CEO Kaido Saar, Mifundo develops an AI-based cross-border data platform to enable the portability of credit profiles throughout the European Union. The company’s goal is to create a truly unified credit market in the EU, reducing financial inequality and providing better access to financial services for all European citizens.

• The startup also claims that its technology, combining cross-border data from credit bureaus, open banking and other sources helps to reduce the credit risk of foreigners up to 7 times and to increase bank’s business volumes by 15% while offering seamless UX both for banks and consumers. Additionally, in November 2022, Mifundo raised a €1.2 million in a pre-seed funding.

About the fresh financing:

• The grant funing was provided by EIC. In total it will invest 411 million in 68 companies that develop technology of strategic importance to Europe and have disruptive potential on a global scale. These were selected in a highly competitive process from nearly 1,000 candidates.
• Typically, the EIC invests in the deep tech sectors such as quantum computing, space technology, biotech and medicine. However, for the first time in the history, a fintech company has been chosen for the full scale investment.

With the new funding, Mifundo plans to integrate additional countries into its platform, further develop the pan-European data model and expand data service coverage within the EU.

About Onego Bio

• Founded in 2022 as a spinoff from VTT (Technical Research Center of Finland), by Maija Itkonen (CEO) and Christopher Landowski (CTO). Onego Bio develops and commercializes Bioalbumen, an animal-free egg-white. The production process equals a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 95% decrease in land use (Nature Food 2021).
• Now, Onego works with major food companies on product formulation in a wide range of products, from baked goods, confectionery, snacks, sauces, pasta, meat alternatives, and more. As a US-Finnish company, Onego is commercializing in North America, where the regulatory landscape allows a faster market entry.

The new funding and immense support from our investors demonstrates their confidence in our vision and the potential of innovations like Bioalbumen® to build a more sustainable system. It also shows that the EU recognizes precision fermentation as a solution to address sustainability issues and enhance food security in Europe and worldwide. However, to remain competitive and fully capture the potential of exceptional European research and innovation, the regulatory approval process must be accelerated, as the EU currently lags behind other regions in this area, — Maija Itkonen, CEO & co-founder of Onego Bio said.

The fresh investment:

Onego Bio was selected for EIC funding from a competitive pool of 969 applicants, of which 347 companies were interviewed by juries of investors and entrepreneurs, with only 68 receiving funding. EIC Accelerator offers startups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5 million combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund ranging from €0.5 to €15 million or more. In addition to financial support, all projects benefit from a wide range of Business Acceleration Services that provide access to expertise, corporates, investors, and ecosystem actors.

The company aims to submit a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notice to the FDA this year, with hope of receiving a “no questions” letter from the FDA in 2025. The newly received EIC funding will fuel its go-to-market plan also in the EU, including securing regulatory approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). 

• ecop is a high-tech company that manufactures rotation heat pumps for industrial use. The company claims that it supports companies in recovering energy, protecting the environment, and saving costs, with direct output temperatures up to 200 °C.
• The design is based on a rotating system that uses a 100 percent climate friendly, non-toxic and non-flammable working medium and can change speed to accommodate different heat source temperatures, enabling a high degree of flexibility in operation, according to the company’s data.
• ecop is located in Vienna and in Neuhofen an der Krems. The development centre is located in Vienna, while production takes place in Upper Austria.

“The EU’s innovation ecosystem has been an integral source of support as ecop has developed our technology and our business. 

This funding will enable us to finalise the development of our new rotor design and take the next step in scaling up, making our heat pump solution more broadly available, and ultimately enabling more companies and municipalities to generate affordable and CO2-free heat to sustainably power their operations,”

Fabian Sacharowitz, CEO of ecop, commented.

The fresh funding includes €2.5 million in grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator, as well as up to €6 million in equity investment. EIC Accelerator awards grants of up to €2.5 million, alongside equity investments, to deep-tech start-ups and small companies in a highly competitive process.

The company will spend the freshly acquired funding to increase the production capacity of its rotation heat pump.

• Founded in 2017, Finbee is a Vilnus-based online p2p lending platform led by CEO Tomas Mačiulaitis. The company specialises in providing financial solutions to small and medium enterprises.
• Finbee has supported nearly 3000 customers for the last 5 years, and 2000 of them are currently active, and has seen a consistent annual growth of 60% in loan originations over the last five years.

“First of all, we will be able to pay out business loans much faster. Until now, it used to take over a week to crowdfund larger loans, while now it will take just a few hours from signing the contract to the money being in the account,”

Tomas Mačiulaitis, CEO of Finbee Verslui, comments.

• The round was led by Pollen Street Capital, the service from London. Tomas Mačiulaitis says that the company financed more than €27 million in loans last year alone, and with the new investment, they are set to maintain this growth momentum, projecting over €40 million in new loan originations this year.

The fresh investments will help to cover a funding gap which occurred owing to increased customer requests, and to work with larger businesses which was limited until now.

In the second quarter of 2024, a little over €209 million (PLN 896 million) flowed through the Polish VC market. This is the total value of capital that Polish and foreign funds invested in 38 transactions in domestic innovative enterprises.

Thus, in the first half of this year, the value of VC investments in Poland amounted to nearly €250 million PLN 1.07 billion, adding onto the results of Q1 2024.

General numbers

• 38 companies secured financing.
• €209 million was invested.
• 47 funds participated in various investment rounds.
• 12 Series A+ provided 80% of the total investment value.
• ICEYE’s $93 million growth round is the biggest transaction in the Polish market in 2024 yet.
• Kontakt.io $48 million had the second biggest transaction and Smart Lunch $15 million — the third.

12 out of 38 transactions are investments with the participation of PFR Ventures funds. They provided 16% of capital for innovative enterprises. Most of the transactions were carried out with the significant participation of private Polish funds and business angels. 46% of the capital was provided by international funds.

The state of the Polish market

According to the report, Q2 of 2024 has showcased a significant decline in the number of companies that obtained financing. This trend has been continuing since the first quarter and is related to the end of the investment period of EU funds from the Smart Growth Operational Program.

“The increase in the number of A+ rounds translated into a much better result of the Polish VC market in the second quarter compared to the beginning of the year. However, it is worth noting that the number of transactions itself remains relatively low. This means that the market for financing early-stage companies has temporarily slowed down. We are working on implementing measures from FENG that will significantly improve this situation,”

Aleksander Mokrzycki, vice-president of PFR Ventures, commented.

By the end of June 2024, only 51 seed rounds and 18 Series A+ transactions were recorded.

• Launched in 2022 and based in Zielona Góra, Sportano has already expanded into 12 countries, including Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Italy. The company achieved revenues of PLN 52.1 million (around €12 million) in 2022, which surged to PLN 188 million (around €44 million) in 2023.

“Sportano aligns perfectly with our investment strategy. By collaborating with the company’s ambitious management team, we are providing the capital needed to realize their bold vision of becoming Europe’s leading sports e-commerce platform,”

Michał Bartosz, Partner at bValue, commented on the investment.

• bValue stated that Sportano’s strategy focuses on an underserved segment of sports enthusiasts who actively engage in various sports and seek branded products. This approach provides Sportano with stable revenue throughout the year and fosters a loyal customer base that consistently returns for new products.

“We are thrilled that bValue shares our vision for growth in the branded sports products market. With their support, we aim to surpass PLN 300 million in sales in 2024. Despite challenging market conditions, we continue to grow rapidly and execute our plans successfully,”

Marcin Grzymkowski, founder of Sportano, stated.

Thanks to the funds, Sportano aims to exceed PLN 300 million (€70 million) in revenue this year, maintaining a year-over-year growth rate of 90%. The business is approaching profitability and expects to achieve a net profit by 2025.

The details of the deal

• As stated in the press release, the Companies combine an innovative, scalable, and flexible cloud-based platform with banking services based on Aion’s ECB licence to enable fully end-to-end Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) for both financial and non-financial companies across Europe.
• Aion Bank/Vodeno are able to embed financial solutions, including accounts, deposits, lending and payment propositions, directly into the customer journeys of retailers, e-Commerce marketplaces, fintechs, financial technology providers and banks.

“This investment enables us to leverage Vodeno’s technology and talent to further develop their proprietary technology using it as a sandbox to develop, test and innovate for the benefit of our broader group. The combination of Aion Bank with the integrated technology provides the route to enter targeted client segments and entire markets across Europe, providing additional opportunities to attractively deploy our excess capital,”

Andrea Orcel, Chief Executive Officer of UniCredit, said.

The combined purchase price for the 100% acquisition of the companies is around €370 million.

About Vodeno

Founded in 2018, Vodeno is a leading European Banking-as-a-Service provider that combines its proprietary platform with services based on the ECB banking licence of its partner, Aion Bank.

The Vodeno Cloud Platform is a state-of-the-art, cloud-native core banking system built with smart contracts technology and API-based, integrated with the processes and procedures of a fully-fledged bank.

• Investors include Outlier Ventures (the leading web3 accelerator), Web3.com Ventures, Moonhill Capital, Contango, as well as a number of angel investors from Zero Gravity, Aethir, EigenLayer, Bagel, SwissBorg, and Particle Network.
• The Assisterr platform helps users build their own niche AI models. Registered users can add their own data to the AI model of their choice, making it more accurate and monetizing their knowledge and intellectual property.
• Crowdsourcing of data collection, data ownership, and decentralized coordination of community efforts is based on the Solana blockchain.

Assisterr uses small language models which, unlike large language models, require less data and can run on phones, laptops, and small servers. The main component of the success of small models is a significantly higher quality data set and a focus on narrow tasks.

Crowdsourcing data collection for small models is the basis of the solution offered by the Assisterr team.

The startup has already won several international competitions such as AI x Crypto organized by BeWater, OKX and Binance Labs. Assisterr also made it to the Google for AI Startups program with $350,000 in funding for the startup’s GPU/CPU and cloud infrastructure needs.

About Valo.ai

• Founded in 2023 in San Francisco by veterans of Salesforce and cybersecurity, Valo.ai is a software development company developing an AI-native tool for Salesforce that uses automation in SaaS services to identify and remedy misconfigurations at their root.
• Valo.ai aims to help CIOs, IT teams, and business owners to optimize their business needs, while maintaining security and monitoring connected applications.

Investment details

• The funding round was led by Inventure, a venture capital with offices in Helsinki and Stockholm that focuses on investments across Nordics and Baltics. Spintop Ventures from Stockholm, and cybersecurity experts Mikko Hypponen and Henri Lindberf also participated in the financing.

“Many SaaS security posture management solutions are broad in scope, but Valo is purpose-built for Salesforce, allowing administrators to adopt a proactive and automated approach. Tasks that typically take weeks for Salesforce administrators can now be accomplished in minutes with Valo,”

Jari Salomaa, CEO and co-founder of Valo, said.

• Although neither the startup nor the investors disclosed the deal’s amount, Inventure’s average ticket size ranges from €1 million to €3 million, while the lowest ticket is at least €300,000. And according to Spintop Ventures, its ticket size ranges from €500,000 to €1,5 million.
• Thanks to the fresh funding, Valo will be able to achieve its goal of significantly enhancing Salesforce administrators’ productivity while mitigating risks.

This is the second investment by Inventure announced this month. In July 2024, Inventure co-led a €4 million seed round for the Swedish startup Steep.

About RobosizeME

• Founded in 2022 with headquarters in Czechia and the US, RobosizeME is a process automation specialist for the global hospitality industry. The company leverages extensive industry knowledge and technical expertise to help hotel chains and large hospitality management companies enhance efficiencies in all areas of hotel operations.
• Its “digital workers” have already been introduced to multiple reputable hotel chains and hotel management companies, including Kempinski Hotels and Resorts, Louvre Hotels Group, Global Hotel Alliance, Design Hotels, Dorchester Collection, H World Hotels, MCR Hotels, Story Hospitality, and many more.

Investment details

Although the deal’s amount is undisclosed, it follows the two-week announcement of BrightCap’s successor Fund II. Earlier, AIN reported on the fund’s first close of the €60 million target. The fund’s ticket size was stated to range between €400,000 and €3 million. Thus, the investment in RobosizeME is expected to be at least €400,000.

“This is the second time we are backing visionary founder Stephen Burke, following our Fund I investment in Kardi AI—a medical-grade long-term ECG heart monitoring startup. Stephen’s track record in the hospitality technology sector spans over 22 years and includes a successful previous exit. This time, he is teaming up with co-founders Linda Girrbach, a seasoned hospitality and revenue management expert, and Ivo Brabec, a CFO and finance entrepreneur,”

BrightCap’s representatives commented on the deal.

Apart from the lead investor BrightCap, other investors in this round include hospitality-focused Czech – Indonesian newly forming Botanique Hospitality Management Group.

The fresh capital will enable the RobosizeME to grow and reach the milestone of signing 6,000 hotels within 18 months.

The letter from the bank states that the decision is related to recent changes in the bank’s policy, which prohibits opening and maintaining accounts for citizens of seven countries, which, for some reasons, includes Ukraine.

Mercury will also stop supporting accounts of companies whose founders have passports from Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela. The accounts are scheduled to shut down on August 13, 2024.

Mercury’s comments

In a comment to the post, the bank’s representatives explained that the changes apply to founders of companies living directly in Ukraine, not to Ukrainians doing business in the United States.

They acknowledged the error in their help center, which previously incorrectly stated that they refused to work with all clients with Ukrainian passports. Mercury assured that it will continue to work with Ukrainians doing business in the United States, but is currently unable to serve companies with founders based in Ukraine. The bank apologized for any confusion caused by the error.

“To give more context about the policy change: while Ukraine is not comprehensively sanctioned, several regions of Ukraine are sanctioned. We previously applied a region-based model to support as many customers in Ukraine as possible; however supporting this policy while also upholding our rigorous standards on compliance has become increasingly complex. We will continue to revisit this policy and hope that we can change this in the future,”

the bank explains.

Mercury promised to review this policy in the future and hopes to be able to change it.

This is not the first time that Ukrainian entrepreneurs have faced similar problems with the American financial system, Azhnyuk pointed out.

Earlier this year, Chase Bank refused to transfer money to Ukraine from its clients’ American accounts. In January 2021, before Russia’s full-scale invasion, the financial service Robinhood blocked access to its website for users with Ukrainian IP addresses.

Since the Russian war started, many American websites have also begun blocking traffic from Ukraine, making them accessible only through VPNs.

About Phyron

• Founded in 2019, Swedish video tech pioneer Phyron is developing the world’s first fully automated AI-enhanced video solution. Using Artificial Intelligence, the software identifies the best and most relevant selling points of each individual car and combines still images from a data feed, facts and figures about the car, brand imagery and retailer services into relevant, highly effective videos.

• Phyron currently counts over 3,000 car dealers as customers across 30 countries. Just last month the company set up new offices in Brighton, UK, in addition to its existing HQ in Stockholm, Sweden.

Investment details

Round2 Capital provided both an additional revenue-based financing investment as well as an equity investment as part of the company’s Series B. The automotive retail giant Peter Vardy and existing shareholders also joined the funding round.

“Since we met the Phyron team and decided to make our first investment, the company’s development has been very positive. We value the relationship we have built and look forward to supporting the next phase of the company’s growth. We believe that Phyron is planning the right next steps to take advantage of opportunities in a dynamic market environment,”

Jan Hillered, co-founder and managing partner of Round2 Capital, commented on the investment.

This is not the first time the fund invested in the company. In June 2023, Round2 made an undisclosed seven-figure investment in the Stockholm-based AI-powered video content creation platform. At the time, the investment was directed towards technology development and team growth.

The Series B funding will enable Phyron to accelerate development of its AI and automation technology, grow the team with top industry talent, and expand its operations in new markets – namely the United States.

About FoxEducation

• Founded in Vienna in 2016, FoxEducation offers digital solutions to simplify communication and administrative tasks in the education sector. In addition to the SchoolFox app for schools, the company later introduced the KidsFox platform for daycare centers and kindergartens, and TeamFox for clubs. According to the company, today, over 9,000 institutions in the DACH region use FoxApps.

• In the summer of 2021, FoxEducation became part of the Austrian company GoStudent. After the deal, it grew by over 70 percent while several apps were continuously developed since then — including the innovative payment management tool FoxPay. FoxEducation has been part of the Sdui Group since July 2024.

Acquisition details

With the acquisition of FoxEducation, the Sdui Group intends to establish itself as a market-leading edtech provider in the field of communication and messaging for schools and daycare centers in German-speaking countries.

Following the acquisition of FoxEducation, the Sdui Group serves a customer base of 22,000 educational institutions across Europe.

“The acquisition of FoxEducation by the Sdui Group is a significant win for our customers. We are delighted to join forces to further improve everyday life in schools and daycare centers. Our combined expertise will create an even stronger foundation for innovative educational solutions. This partnership will ensure that our customers receive the best possible tools for their educational needs. By combining our resources, we will offer even more comprehensive and effective solutions than before, from which students, teachers, and parents will benefit equally,”

Philipp Fendt, Co-CEO of FoxEducation, shared.

At the same time, Sdui received an additional €21 million from investors, raising a total of €46 million in a Series A round. Summiteer and HV Capital are the lead investors, joined by new and existing investors like Haniel, Brighteye, Michael Hinderer, and HTGF. The company is investing part of this sum in the acquisition of FoxEducation.

About Digital First AI

• Founded by Michał Tokarski, Grzegorz Gracz, Rafał Tromczyński in 2021, Digital First AI develops a Future-proof marketing platform. The company offers SaaS (software-as-a-service) solutions that leverage AI to select marketing strategies and create advertising content, thereby saving time and optimizing budgets.
  

• Digital First AI’s current solutions represent a milestone towards fully autonomous marketing, where AI creates, manages, and optimizes online advertising campaigns without human intervention. The company currently serves over 900 clients from 60 countries, with more than 50% of its revenue coming from the USA, as well as significant markets in Poland, the UK, the UAE, and India.

Investment details

• The current seed round was executed through Digital First AI Holding Inc. registered in the USA, that is responsible for the startup’s international structure.
• The funding round was spearheaded by 4growth VC, with notable participation from Plug&Play and Sher Ventures (USA), Hub71 (UAE) and the owners of creative agency McCANN Poland, founders of 45Avenue Group.

“We invested in Digital First AI due to the innovative nature of its marketing campaign automation product, which fits perfectly into the current AI revolution. The scaling potential is immense. The motivated and dynamic team, with extensive industry experience, understands the market’s needs well. The company has been global from the outset, serving clients from 60 countries. Moreover, the strategic partnership with McCANN Poland and the involvement of renowned international investors strengthen Digital First AI’s position,”
Marcin Jaszczuk, Managing Partner at 4growth VC, commented.

This investment will bolster the company’s international presence and facilitate the deployment of its solutions for large enterprises and corporations.

About Metis Ventures:

• Metis Ventures is a data-driven early-stage investment platform focusing on Central Eastern Europe, the Baltics, and Turkey. The team behind Metis Ventures has been investing in tech companies for over a decade and deployed $2 billion in public and private markets in total.
• Since 2020, the team has been investing together through three early-stage funds: TechOne Ventures, LogoVentures, and TwoZero Ventures. These funds are backed by private investors. In 2024, the team gathered its efforts under Metis Ventures.
• Their portfolio contains more than 55 companies across 27 countries, co-investing with over 100 global investors. They invested in Miros AI, Quin AI, Brand Defense, Kamion, Getmobil, and Cognitive, among others. Within 4 years, the portfolio has realized 4 exits, including BluTV’s acquisition by Warner Bros and Tridi’s acquisition by Xeometry.

Plans of Metis Ventures for the CEE:

Metis Ventures aims to focuses on 5 key AI-enabled areas:

• AI apps driving productivity;
• cybersecurity;
• fintech;
• climatetech;
• digital health.

To lead their CEE entering, Metis Ventures has recruited Mircea Ghita, SeedBlink’s ex-Country Manager in Romania. Ghita has been working in the startup investing field since 2018, and worked at Amsterdam-based VC henQ.

I joined Metis Ventures because I believe that together with this team we can achieve great things. I was drawn to the challenge of expanding and leading our presence in CEE and supporting the best tech entrepreneurs firsthand. My role will be to find top founders to partner with and support while establishing Metis Ventures as the top choice for early-stage rounds in CEE. We invest in entrepreneurs who are fun to work with, are on their way to dominating or creating their markets and who we can genuinely help, — says Mircea Ghita, the newly appointed Principal for CEE at Metis Ventures.

In addition, the fund will target seed and late-seed (early Series A) stages, with initial investments ranging from €500,000 to €3 million. Half of their funds are reserved for follow-on rounds to ensure continued support for portfolio companies.In CEE, the firm is looking to make 8-10 investments in 1 year.

• Founded in 2018, NitroPack has an installed base of over 219,000 websites. NitroPack aims to boost site speed scores and pass Core Web Vitals with caching, CDN, image optimization, critical CSS, and more. Their clients include Tiffany & Co, Stanford University, Instacart, and Reuters.
• NitroPack also claims that since its launch, Page Speed Boost adoption has consistently grown with customers seeing significant improvements in Google Lighthouse scores, which measure Core Web Vitals. These include a 34% average improvement in desktop scores and a 132% average improvement in mobile scores.
• WP Engine is a global technology company thatprovide solutions, tools, and services, including specialized platforms for Managed WordPress and Headless WordPress, industry tailored eCommerce and agency solution suites, and developer-centric tools like Local, Advanced Custom Fields, and more. It serves about 1.5 million customers across over 150 countries.

Plans via the aquisition:

NitroPack was previously introduced to WP Engine customers with the launch of Page Speed Boost, which leverages NitroPack’s proprietary WordPress optimization technology. According to both companies,the acquisition will further strengthen WP Engine’s website performance capabilities, providing customers with innovative features and flexibility for site optimization.

Having sold companies before, we’re highly selective about who we do business with, and our journey with WP Engine has reaffirmed that they’re the right fit for our team, our technology, and our customers. This acquisition is more than a business transaction, it’s the culmination of a relationship built on trust, shared goals, and a mutual commitment to innovation, — said NitroPack co-founder and CEO Georgi Petrov.

Additionally, NitroPack’s Sofia office will become WP Engine’s seventh global office hub. The founders are on the path to launch a new company, focusing on user optimization, business analytics, and performance after their new Navigation AI was featured on Google IO 2024.

• Founded by Cornel Amariei, .lumen is a startup dedicated to enhancing pedestrian mobility through itsflagship product, .lumen Glasses, and the underlying PAD AItechnology. According to the startup, these products were designed to provide visually impaired individuals with unprecedented levels of independence and safety.
• On July 16, Cornel Amariei, CEO and founder of .lumen, presented the company’s vision and technology to over 600 investors. According to him, .lumen’s Glasses for the Blind leverages Pedestrian Autonomous Driving (PAD AI) technology to replicate the functionalities of a guide dog.

This record round on SeedBlink is a testament to the potential for innovation in Romania. Despite being ranked as the least innovative country in the EU by the official Innovation Scoreboard, we believe Romania can deliver life-changing innovations to the world. Thank you for sharing this belief, — Cornel Amariei, CEO & founder of .lumen, stated.

Details of the investment:

The investment was led by the European private investors via the Romanian SeedBlink, an all-in-one equity and investment platform that provides the infrastructure, financial services, and network coverage for European tech companies.

.lumen’s was also supported by key co-investors, including the European Innovation Council and Venture to Future Fund, which have contributed €4 million to the €5 million funding round. The funding round will support .lumen’s strategic goal, including the limited-series launch in Q4 2024 and the entry into the US market in Q4 2025. The company aims to sell 10,000 units by the end of 2026.

About the startup:

• MaPanda offers an approach to learning and therapy using animated characters guided by trained teachers or psychologists in real time. This format immerses children in the cartoon world, which reduces the stress of interacting with adults and increases the level of trust and involvement.
• According to the founder of MaPanda, Michael Goncharov-Goryanskiy, this technology solves two key problems: mobile games, which are interesting but do not provide system knowledge, and Zoom-learning, which has a hard time holding the child’s attention. In this way, MaPanda combines the gaming world with quality education or therapy.
• The MaPanda platform is used to teach subjects such as foreign languages, school preparation, development of soft skills, logic, mathematics, emotional intelligence and.creativity. Additionally,the startup cooperates with schools, educational initiatives, public organizations, teachers and psychologists.

The fresh funding was provided by Michael Goncharov-Goryanskiy, the founder of Bini Games. The investments enables to develop an MVP and test it with partners. Currently, the team is focused on the development of technology in the Ukrainian market, and later in the USA.

• Adaptive Media was founded in Latvia in 2014 and operates in export markets throughout the world, including the United Arab Emirates, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Brazil, and Mexico. It creates digital content marketing projects and assists consumers world-wide in purchasing products online.
• Tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Amazon are Adaptive Media‘s partners. Adaptive Media had a turnover of over €4 million, with €1 million profit in 2023.

• In September 2023, Merito Partners launched a new €30 million real estate Merito Self Storage Fund to develop pan-Baltic network of self storage facilities. Additionally, in May 2023, Merito Partners acquired a majority stake in AIOO, retailer of mobile device accessories and used smartphones. The amount of the deal was €3 million.

Adaptive Media is local success story– in ten years, expanding from local projects and an office in the attic of the founder’s home, into a global business. Latvian investors’ capital and confidence in the company’s management team, will allow the Adaptive Media to expand more rapidly. This investment is an important addition to Merito Partners portfolio, alongside Box Storage, the largest self storage network in the Baltics, which is actively continuing to fundraise, as well as portfolio of solar parks Latvia and a number of other companies,

says Mikus Janvars, co-founder and Managing Partner of Merito Partners.

Merito Partners, in collaboration with the founders of Adaptive Media, will invest in the further development of the company, including technology and the team strengthening. The sell-side financial advisers were Superia and legal adviser – VILGERTS.

• Founded by Nathan King and Tiya Gordon, itselectric aims to pave the way for sustainable transportation with its approach to EV charging stations in cities by revenue sharing with building partners which install charging stations. Recently, itselectric won a $1.5 million federal grant from the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation as part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Reduction Act, bringing its pre-seed funding to $3.7 million.

• The fresh round was led by Uber and Failup Ventures, a Finnish-American venture capital fund based in New York and Helsinki. Its typical initial investment is $200,000-$1 million with the capability to follow up with larger tickets. Recently, Failup also led a €1.5 million in a pre-seed funding for the Finnish AI startup ConfidentialMind.

Halogen Ventures, Partnership for New York City, Pulse Fund, Newlab, Gratitude Railroad, Tale Venture Partners, The Equity Alliance, Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) Impact Fund, and The Helm, also participated.

itselectric has designed an innovative public charging solution that addresses the infrastructural barriers that cities face in the deployment of electric vehicle curbside charging. Their thoughtfully designed chargers are a highly scalable solution that will rapidly bring curbside charging to the millions of city drivers who park on the street and contribute to the nationwide adoption of electric vehicles,

Topias Soininen, general partner at Failup Ventures, said.

itselectric will use the investment to support its deployments across seven cities in the United States in 2024, including Boston, Los Angeles, Detroit, Jersey City, and San Francisco. It will also help itselectric’s curbside charging infrastructure will also help support Uber’s goal of helping rideshare drivers go electric

About Jeff

• Jeff is a data-driven marketplace for financial services in some of the world’s biggest emerging economies in Asia. With a customer analysis via a collection of digital data footprint the platform provides people with access to services suited to their needs, while bringing new market and growth opportunities for financial service providers. 
• Since its 2020 launch in Vietnam, Jeff has expanded into other Southeast Asian markets, such as Philippines and Indonesia, and has grown to $10 million in revenue. Additionally, the startup claims its marketplace has given more than 6 million people access to apply for over 60 million financial products.

The investment was led by the Czech-based VC fund Presto Ventures with participation from the specialist data and AI fund J12, a group of angel investors, and industry veterans and executives Jean Pascal Duvieusart, Ladislav Bartonicek, and the founder of Printify, James Berdigans.

At Presto, we’re strong advocates of and big believers in the use of AI, machine learning, and alternative data science – especially in markets where the traditional financial data landscape poses challenges. Once the Jeff team launches in India, they’ll have a footprint in 5 of the 20 largest countries in terms of population around the world. In these countries, the segments of underbanked and financially underserved consumers are significant, and many similarities can be drawn among their systemic problems. The Jeff team has already proven their success in Vietnam was not a one-hit-wonder, and we’re excited to see their blueprint for entering new countries and product categories in action,

Roman Novacek, Partner at Presto Ventures, commented.

The money will be used on Jeff`s commercial expansion into emerging markets throughout Asia and beyond, accelerating the recruitment process, and building out the suite of financial services and products, such as credit, on their marketplace.

• Aspichi was co-founded by Viktor Samoilenko and Maksym Goncharuk, as VR technology company specializing in psychological rehabilitation. Their flagship product, Luminify, offers immersive VR therapy solutions designed to treat various psychological disorders, enhancing the quality of life for patients and residents in care facilities.

• The startup is incorporated in Delaware, but its R&D is in Kyiv. Its founders both have more than 15 years of experience working in international companies around the world. In March 2023, Aspichi secured $500,000 from the SMRK fund.

• Rocky Mountain Care, a US-based provider of post-acute and long-term care services. Recently, the company conducted a study within their recreational activities program to evaluate the effectiveness of Aspichi’s Luminify VR therapy in treating psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

Key highlights of the study:

• A considerable reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms among residents who used the Luminify VR therapy as part of their recreational activities.
• The overall well-being of residents improved significantly, with many reporting increased feelings of calm, relaxation, and general happiness.
• The inclusion of Luminify VR therapy as a recreational activity not only provided entertainment but also served as an effective behavioral therapy tool, enhancing the overall recreational program.

We are proud to partner with Rocky Mountain Care to bring cutting-edge VR therapy to those in need. Our mission is to harness the power of technology to improve mental health outcomes, and this collaboration is a significant step forward in achieving that goal,

said Viktor Samoilenko, CEO of Aspichi.

After the study, Rocky Mountain Care has become a customer of Aspichi with the intention to expand the VR therapy solution to additional RMC post-acute care and assisted living facilities.

• Preply was founded in 2012 by Ukrainians Serhii Lukyanov, Dmytro Voloshyn, and Kyrylo Bigai. It develops an online language learning platform that connects teachers with students using a machine learning algorithm.
• The startup team consists of 500 employees of 60 different nationalities in 30 countries. In 2023, the startup opened its first office in the United States. Preply’s valuation at that time could be $500 million. In July last year, Preply received $70 million from Horizon Capital, an Ukraine-focused venture fund, Reach Capital, and Hoxton Ventures.

Our new London hub will enable us to foster closer connections, enhance collaboration, and tap into the city’s rich talent pool. A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated teams for making this possible and for continuing to build the unique Preply culture we cherish,

the company’s post in LinkedIn.

The new London office will allow Preply to establish closer cooperation between teams, as well as take advantage of the city’s strong human resource potential.

• Founded in 2005 in Western Pomerania by Boris Pavlov, Renters.pl is the largest vacation property operator in CEE, with a portfolio of over 4,000 apartments. Enterprise Investors purchased a majority stake in the company in early 2023 and increased its capital, aiming to consolidate the market through acquisitions of local operators.
• Since 2018, the company has been providing its services to apartments in dozens of locations on the coast and in the larger cities. Additionally, in April 2023, Renters.pl acquired 100% shares in Rent Like Home.

Renters.pl acquires 100% shares in Rent Like Home

• Flat Manager was founded in 2016, and manages nearly 600 apartments across 14 Bulgarian cities and resorts, primarily for short-term rentals. Kamen Manev was appointed the company’s CEO at the beginning of 2023 following the spin-off of accommodation platform Flataway.
• Flat Manager’s business travel and corporate accommodation services are utilized by international consulting, IT, and financial companies, embassies, and other organizations.

With this transaction, we not only increase our portfolio, but also receive valuable know-how, experience from the Bulgarian market and fantastic partners. Our approach is based on synergies, we strive to use the good practices of both organizations without imposing our methods and operational processes. We believe that by combining the skills and unique experience of both companies, we will be able to create and impose future trends in our industry in the Central and Eastern Europe region,

says Kamil Kzhizhanovski, CEO director of Renters.pl.

The fresh deal is Renters.pl’s first international acquisition, as the company aims to consolidate the Central and Eastern European (CEE) market, with the support of Polish private equity fund Enterprise Investors. Flat Manager also continue to develop its services while retaining its brand and team.

• Adam was founded by Roman Sysel and Jakub Dvorak in 2020, and now operates in 11 European countries: UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Greece. Its platform focuses on providing customers with easy online access to reliable contractor services. It uses a transparent online calculator, which provides customers with an estimated job cost and enables them to request home-improvement services.
• To date, the company focuses on painting services and apartment renovations. According to the company’s data, Adam boasts more than 15,000 completed jobs. At the end of 2022, Adam received a €1 million seed round from Presto Ventures.

Undoubtedly, traditional craftsmanship is in need of modernisation. That said, no one has yet managed to solve all three decisive factors – quality, availability, and price – simultaneously. We decided to tackle this complex situation one trade at a time. Our vision is that one day you will be able to build an entire house through Adam,

Adam’s co-founder, Roman Sysel, commented.

The fresh funding was led by Brighteye. It was founded in 2017 as a VC that backs European edtech entrepreneurs at seed & series A stages. Brighteye claims, it invests in companies that help people learn and grow.

The new investment will be used to strengthen their position in markets where the service is already successful. Additionally, Adam plans to expand into new cities and countries outside of Europe, broaden its offerings to new trades, and build a development team to enhance automation and further improve the customer experience.

About Helsing:

• Co-founded by Niklas Köhler, Torsten Reil, and Gundbert Scherf in 2021, Helsing develops a platform uses AI to analyze live data and improve the decision-making for defense, intelligence, and national security systems. The company employs 250 people. In September 2023, it raised a €209 million Series B  funding round led by General Catalyst, following a €103 million Series A fundraise led by Daniel Ek and Shakil Khan’s investment firm Prima Materia in November 2021.

• Helsing has been active in Ukraine since 2022 and recently established the Defence Manufacturers Alliance, a joint initiative with the Ukrainian government. Since its founding, the company has secured a series of government contracts, including the German Eurofighter Electronic Warfare upgrade, the AI infrastructure for the Future Combat Air System, and a number of classified contracts in the maritime and land domain.

The fresh Series C round:

• General Catalyst, the leading investor in the round, was founded in 2000 in San Francisco. The firm prefers to make investments in companies operating in consumer, enterprise, fintech, crypto, and health assurance sectors
• Elad Gil, an entrepreneur and investor from US, Accel, a global venture capital firm, Saab, a Stokholm-based defence and security company, Lightspeed, an US-based multi-stage venture capital firm, Plural, the Tallinn-based VC firm focusing on early-stage rounds between €1 million and €10 million, and Greenoaks, an investment firm based in San Francisco, also joined the investment.

European security is at a crossroads and Helsing will play a significant role in giving democratic societies the ability to deter and defend. But speed is of the essence. This new funding round allows us to further up the tempo and invest in large-scale R&D and capabilities across all domains,

the company’s three founders said in a joint statement.

According to company, the funding will be used for product development and R&D, a particular focus will be on bolster its work in the Baltics, as russia’s war in Ukraine goes on. 

About the program:

Huge Thing is part of the SpeedUp Venture Capital Group, a group of venture capital funds in Poland. As a group, it invests in enterprises at the early stages of development.

Now, the Huge Thing team has prepared three specialized tracks for the Startup Booster program, according to the different stages of startup development and the so-called TRL, or Technology Readiness Levels:

While preparing the Huge Thing Startup Booster program, we decided to divide it into three tracks, perfectly tailored to startups at different stages of development. This way, the invited mentors, partners, and the prepared content will perfectly address their current situations and needs,

Maria Tyka-Majewska, Senior Program Manager at Huge Thing, commented.

Industry Test (corporate) (TRL 6-9):

The corporate track designed for startups with an already functioning product or service. Participants will receive grants of up to €80,000 and have the opportunity to collaborate with project partners, including Veolia, the City of Zduńska Wola, Saint Gobain, PKO Bank Polski, Rossmann, PZU, Alior Bank, Żabka, and Legimi. The goal of this track is to provide startups with the opportunity to test their solutions in a real business environment.

Go Global (TRL 8-9):

This track is designed for startups that have reached a higher level of technology readiness and have completed their initial market implementations. The program offers grants of up to €80,000 and focuses on supporting companies in their international expansion, particularly in Asian, American, and German markets. Participants will receive assistance with market entry strategies, establishing business contacts, and adapting their products and services to the specifics of local markets.

Sector Agnostic (TRL 5):

This track focuses on startups at an earlier stage of development, specifically at TRL 5. The program is designed to support the refinement of their product or service and prepare them for market entry. Participants can receive grants of up to €40,000 and will have the opportunity to collaborate with mentors and Huge Thing partners. Additionally, the initiative facilitates the establishment long-term partnerships.

Recruitment for Startup Booster program has already started and will be open until July 28th, here.

• Doctor.One was established in 2021 by Tomasz Rudolf and Maciej Malenda. It develops an application, a secure medical messenger replacing informal communication via text messages, e-mails and social media, allowing doctors to be in contact only with their regular patients whom they know from stationary visits. The startup claims that application also enables doctors to organize communication with patients, and gives patients the opportunity to contact the doctor and get help, remunerating the doctor in a subscription model.
• In May 2022, Doctor.One secured a €2.1 million in funding led by Atlantic Labs. Earlier, in 2021 the startup raised a €440,000 pre-seed investment from Movens Capital.

• The fresh round was led by Smartlink Partners, a Warsaw-based venture capital fund that invests in early-stage e-commerce, fintech, AI and ML, medtech, and hardware startups. The fund’s average ticket size ranges from €433,000 to €1,733 million (PLN 2 million to PLN 8 million). It’s most recent investment was HRtech OstendiHR which secured €433,000 in October 2023.
• Smartlink Partners is currently joining the company using the CLA instrument (convertible loan) with a commitment of €500,000. In addition to Smartlink Partners, the company is also joined by the Vesna Capital, an investment fund created by Andriy Fedoriv, Viacheslav Klymov, and Volodymyr Popereshniuk.

The fresh round will help Doctor.One intends to introduce further software features, such as: care teams (the ability to manage the patient by a group of specialists), integration with external systems and diagnostic service providers, as well as the introduction of elements of artificial intelligence and automation to support doctors in more effective patient support.

About Granta Autonomy and its work in Ukraine:

• Granta Autonomy was founded in 2015 by former military engineers Gediminas Guoba and Laurynas Litvinas. The company has developed reconnaissance remote-controlled aircraft, lightweight gimbals, and its Datalink software. Now, Granta Autonomy supplies NATO forces across Europe with its range of Hornet UAVs, while also supplying several partners with its lightweight micro-gimbals.
• After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion Ukraine in February 2022, a Vilnius-based Granta Autonomy started supplying its UAVs to the Ukrainian front. Today, the Ukrainian army operates a battery of Granta Autonomy UAVs funded by the Lithuanian and other European defence ministries.

However, our focus goes beyond just numbers; our team works directly with soldiers on the battlefield, testing our products and software in combat zones and collaborating on solutions that excel in the toughest conditions. This battlefield experience, valued by our Western partners, fuels our mission to revolutionize drone reconnaissance for global militaries,

said Gediminas Guoba, founder and CEO of Granta Autonomy.

Granta Autonomy’s latest UAV, the Hornet XR’s key features’ include:

• 3-hour electric flight duration;
• 160 km (99.4 mi) range;
• 1.6 m (62.9 in) wingspan;
• 2.9 kg (6.3 lb) weight;
• Hand-launched capability;
• Autonomous operation in radio silence or GNSS-denied environments.

The round was led by the Lithuanian ScaleWolf. The fund invests in companies that have already developed products or services and are looking to improve their products and expand into other markets. The managing partner of the fund is Edvinas Kerza. The Lithuanian Brolis Defense and the US-based HFL Holdings also participated in the deal.

The startup will use the costs to accelerate the development and production of its surveillance technology.

• Founded in 2019 by Estonian entrepreneurs Martin Rand, Kaspar Korjus, and Kristjan Korjus, Pactum develops a solution using advanced mathematical models, cognitive science, negotiation techniques, and intelligent bots to digitally engage third parties and negotiate mutually-benefiting contracts, leading to better pricing, payment terms, and supply continuity.
• The company is based in Mountain View with engineering and operations in Estonia. Pactum also claims that its autonomous bots can contact thousands of suppliers simultaneously seeking the best pricing and terms for routine corporate purchases in logistics and a wide range of other sectors. Among its clients are Maersk, Walmart, Vodafone, and Veritiv.

Who supported the investment?

• The fresh round was led by Tallinn-based Karma Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, specialised in late seed and A round investments in Europe’s deep-tech software startups.
• An existing Vienna-based venture capital group 3VC also participated in the round, together with Atomico, a European Venture Capital firm headquartered in London, with offices in Paris, Berlin, and Stockholm, Project A, an early-stage tech investor with offices in Berlin and London, an Estonian VC fund SuperAngel, and a Budapest-based Portfolion, the venture capital and private equity arm of OTP Bank Pactum.

The investment round brings its total fundraising to $55 million. In December 2022, Pactum raised €19 million.

Pactum will use the funding round to accelerate additional research and development into autonomous negotiations, refine autonomous negotiation tools specifically for procurement teams, and develop initiatives to help upskill procurement professionals.

• Aboard is a Toronto-based B2B SaaS platform for healthcare institutions that helps them implement HR programs. Specifically, the service automates manual workflows such as onboarding, offboarding, credential expirations, employment anniversaries, and more.
• It also automates tasks (e.g., calendar bookings, emails, notifications) and the work of employees. The company was founded in 2020 by Lee MacDonald.

• The round was led by US-based East Post Road Ventures, with participation from Estonian Startup Wise Guys, an accelerator that invests in early-stage startups from the Baltic, Central European, and African regions. It has invested in over 350 startups and had 13 exits.
• Startup Wise Guys typically invests up to €500,000 per startup through multiple funds that manage €45 million and are backed by more than 150 investors. The CEO of Startup Wise Guys is Cristobal Alonso. Recently, the fund announced its investments of €100,000 in 15 startups.

This funding will empower us to accelerate the development of our HR solutions tailored for healthcare, ultimately driving efficiency, reducing administrative burdens, and enhancing employee satisfaction within healthcare organizations,

said Lee MacDonald, CEO of Aboard.

This investment will drive Aboard’s expansion into the US healthcare sector. Its amount was undisclosed.

• Mission Possibleis a transformative offline venture-building program, launched with the support of the Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund in September 2023, aimed at building and scaling Ukrainian startups. The first batch wrapped up with 20 entrepreneurs on board. The fresh batch will last from September 2024 to February 2025.
• Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund (UMAEF) is a regional fund with $285 million in capital, operating in Ukraine and Moldova over 29 years focusing on investment in small and medium-sized businesses.

Mission Possible has managed to bring together a community of over 100 people — experts and founders keen on startup growth. The program addresses key early-stage entrepreneurial challenges, providing participants with essential knowledge, access to global markets, and capital through networking and partnerships with international organizations,

Anton Waschuk, Director of Innovation, Education, and Entrepreneurship at Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund.

Who can participate:

• Founders with technical and engineering backgrounds, tech and particularly AI enthusiasts;
• Entrepreneurs looking to transition into tech;
• Bright students and scholars;
• Individuals who have worked in startups in various roles and are ready for their journey;
• Experienced professionals with strong domain expertise and insight;
• Repeat founders.

The program offers:

• Connections with advanced international ecosystems in Europe, the UK, and the USA;
• Access to investments within the program;
• A community of like-minded individuals and learning from successful founders and mentors from 100+ leading tech companies and startups.

Learn more about participation conditions, selection stages, and program opportunities via the link. Applications are open until August 12, 2024, inclusive.

• Based in Helsinki, Finland, with operations in Europe and North America, Silo AI specializes in end-to-end AI-driven solutions that help customers integrate AI into their products, services and operations. Their work spans diverse markets, with customers including Allianz, Philips, Rolls-Royce and Unilever. Silo AI also creates state-of-the-art open source multilingual LLMs, such as Poro and Viking, on AMD platforms in addition to its SiloGen model platform.

Silo AI has been a pioneer in scaling large language model training on LUMI, Europe’s fastest supercomputer powered by over 12,000 AMD Instinct MI250X GPUs. Together with university collaborators, they have trained state-of-the-art open-source models for EU languages, such as the Nordic Poro and Viking models. We have collaborated extensively with the team in optimizing the software layer, allowing for efficient training of AI models on LUMI,

said Dr. Pekka Manninen, Director of Science and Technology at CSC-IT Center for Science, Finland. “

• Founded in 1969 as a Silicon Valley startup, AMD works on high-performance computing, graphics and visualization technologies. The acquisition marks the latest step from AMD in a series of moves aimed at expanding its footprint in the AI landscape. Last year, the company acquired AI software firms Mipsology and Nod.ai and has invested more than $125 million across a dozen AI companies over the last 12 months.

Silo AI’s CEO and co-founder Peter Sarlin will continue to lead the unit as part of the AMD Artificial Intelligence Group, AMD said. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024.

Registration will continue until August 1, via the registration form. The final will be held on August 10, the winners will receive grants for the further launch and development of projects. The result of the team’s work can be a presentation of ideas, own technological solutions, demo-prototypes, entire services, applications or platforms.

Who can participate?

Both individual specialists and whole teams are invited to join, including:

• developers, engineers, and network architects;
• cyber security specialists, researchers and scientists;
• students, graduates, and young specialists in the technological and cyber security fields;
• specialists with experience in the energy sector;
• startup founders, project and product managers.

Participants are encouraged to start with new ideas and projects, but you can also join with existing ones.

About Cybersecurity Innovations Hackathon:

The Cybersecurity Innovation Hackathon will be held in a hybrid format with an online part for teamwork and an offline final on August 10 in Kyiv.

The hackathon implements the largest European IT competition DEV Challenge with the assistance of the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the support of the USAID Project “Cybersecurity of Critically Important Infrastructure of Ukraine”. The Hackathon supports the Ukrainian Startup Fund and the first innovation park UNIT.City.

Additionally, in June 2024, Open Data Hackathon was held in Kyiv with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the “Support for Digital Transformation” project with the support of USAID and UK Dev, as well as the executive partner SocialBoost. Winners received a prize of $143,000.

• Scaler was co-founded in 2021 by Zlatan Menkovic and Luc van de Boom in 2021, and specializes in ESG decision-making. Its platform provides real estate investors and asset managers with machine learning, ESG monitoring and reporting tools to decarbonise the industry at scale. Customers can model the impact of decisions and their overall portfolio to asset-level footprint, and generate reports for different disclosure and regulatory requirements.

• It’s also been designed for specialists and non-specialist teams so anyone can use the tool, from CFOs to sustainability leads and property managers. In addition, Scaler helps clients create roadmaps and order work such as retrofitting or installing heat pumps and solar panels. 
• Currently, the company is working with 30 customers, which have over $350 billion under management. The startup also claims it reduced their carbon output by 15 million kgs – equivalent to the electricity use of over 10,000 homes a year. 

The funding details:

• Plural, the lead investor in the fresh round, is an early-stage investment fund that backs founders on a mission to change the world through technology. Based in Tallinn and London, Plural aims to have a GDP-level impact on Europe, address systemic risks, and reduce the opportunity gap worldwide through the companies it backs. Recently, the fund also joined €6 million round in Feather, a German insurtech startup.
• Base10, an early stage venture capital firm from San Francisco joined the round.

Solving the real estate industry’s carbon problem is complex, when north of 60% of carbon emissions in major cities come from buildings and energy use is only increasing. In only a few years, Scaler has built the most compelling software solution in the market to rapidly appraise investors’ ESG scores across their properties and outline concrete strategies to meet net-zero targets. We’re excited to work with them to transform the real estate industry,

Khaled Helioui, Partner at Plural, said.

The company will use the funds to further develop the product, grow the engineering team, and expand to new markets beyond Europe.

• Bear Room develops an app to provide stress relief using techniques like EMDR, vocal practices, tapping, and breathwork. Since its soft launch, the app has garnered over 10,000 downloads. Bear Room’s unique approach stands out in the digital mental health space.
• The app offers various exercises that users can complete in just 3-5 minutes via its interface where users can select comforting objects in a virtual room to begin their stress-relief exercises. The startup claims this approach provides an immediate and personalized sanctuary during stressful moment.
• Bear Room added that it has a 31% monthly growth rate and a substantial increase in organic traffic. In the past month, Bear Room has observed a six-fold increase in users reporting severe psycho-emotional states during onboarding.

DŌBRA, the Lithuanian Impact Venture Studio, focuses on developing solutions for mental health being. Bear Room is the flagship product of DŌBRA’s mental health bunch, which includes other projects currently in the soft launch stage.

More than half of respondents of our surveys aren’t aware or use any self-help tools. And when people feel under pressure, stress piles up, leading to bigger crises and major life challenges. That’s why we decided to work with this topic of instant stress relief: to help people right here, right now.

says Jane Makarevich, product owner and co-founder of Bear Room at DŌBRA.

DŌBRA has raised over €500,000 for the development of its mental health startups, with Bear Room receiving a part of this investment. Bear Room currently focuses on coping, to help those with daily/chronic stress avoid further damage.

In the coming months, Bear Room plans to enhance its preventive aspects by encouraging users to integrate stress-relief exercises into their daily routines. Additionally, the app will introduce customization features, allowing users to personalize their virtual safe spaces to better suit their preferences and needs.

• Swedfund is a financial institution established by the Kingdom of Sweden. Their mission is to fight poverty by investing in developing countries. Investments are made in energy and climate, healthcare and to reach small and medium-sized companies.
• As a public company, Swedfund is managed by the Swedish Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The operations are financed in part by an injection of capital, which is the responsibility of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and by the return of funds from the own portfolio.
• Swedfund was founded in 1979 and has made more than 240 investments in more than 60 countries since its inception. In addition, it plays a key role in Ukraine’s reconstruction and resilience by providing long-term support, taking risks, and mobilising private capital.

Work assignments of the head of the investment office:

• Head of office and country representative;
• Generating local pipeline;
• Focus on networking, deal sourcing and deal preparation;
• Supporting transactions in due diligence processes and commercial discussions in cooperation with the sector teams in Stockholm;
• Follow up and evaluate existing portfolio companies in the country;
• Market Swedfund and participate in high-level meetings and interactions;
• Ambassador for Swedfund values and culture;
• Establishing relationships with other DFIs, MDBs and other relevant stakeholders;
• Monitor development and report to headquarters.

Requirements include:

• Relevant academic background, MBA, MSc or the equivalent advanced degree;
• Full proficiency in Ukrainian and English;
• Investment background, including with an international company/organisation with a least 10-15 years of relevant experience;
• Deep understanding of the local business environment and a broad local network;
• Experience in sourcing direct investment opportunities (equity and loans).

Applications are accepted until August 5, 2024. Applicants must be eligible to live and work in Kyiv. More details via the link.

• Tiings was co-founded by Indrė Viltrakytė, Robertas Kalinkinas, Tadas Maslauskas, and Laimis Lomonosovas in 2023, Tiings is a digital-first repairs marketplace aiming to simplify fashion repairs process and turn it into a sustainable habit.
• Clients need to upload a one-minute video and then them get pay it, drop off the item to a PUDO or get it picked up by a courier, and get the item back, repaired. Currently, the startup have an MVP working product version, and plans to do a test in the UK soon.

After 15 years in the fashion industry, I’ve seen the problems of overproduction and overconsumption. Each year, around 130 billion new fashion items are produced, most discarded after a few seasons. I believed that if maintaining possessions were easier, more people would do it. Ten years ago, secondhand fashion was niche, but now it’s popular, highlighting the growing trend towards sustainability. However, repairing items remains cumbersome and time-consuming. You have to find a specialist, commute, and spend hours on one repair. There had to be a better way. So, we created a seamless platform where you can show what needs fixing via video, and get quotes, payments, and shipping all in one place,

Indrė Viltrakytė, CEO and co-founder, commented.

The investment was supported by FIRSTPICK, the Vilnius-based high-speed VC fund and an accelerator for tech startups in the Baltics, BADideas.fund, investing €50,000-€250,000 tickets in early-stage startups from CEE with global ambitions, and PurposeTech, the Prague-based pre-seed fund that backs purpose-driven founders across Central and Eastern Europe. The amount of funding was undisclosed.

Tiing will use the fresh funding to launch its Service Providers Gateway so that any provider can join the platform and start offering their services. The startup also plans a beta launch in a foreign market.

AIN.Business has gathered information about Ukrainian businesses that are helping Kyiv residents deal with the consequences of the shelling.

Dnipro-M distributes gloves and tools to clear rubble in hospital

Dnipro-M, a Ukrainian company specialising in construction tools, is providing equipment to the people who are clearing the rubble of the hospital. Gloves are also being delivered to the nearest wards and to the site itself.

Social media user X @IamKrus has shared this in his post:

Socially responsible business is best manifested in times like these. There is @dnipro_m next to the Ohmadyt hospital. I ran in and said: give me all the gloves you have, we’ll sort out the money. They gave them to me, and after a while I ran back for more tools – they said that I didn’t have to pay for everything I took and that they were bringing more gloves from the nearest wards.

Water vending machines near Okhmatdyt are now free of charge

People can get free drinking water into their own containers at the following locations:

• Fora, 27 Vyacheslav Chornovil Street, BWT Aqua. Drinking water aquabox No. 4025;
• Fora, 16 Sholudenko Street, BWT Aqua. Drinking water aquabox No. 383.

Ukrainian business transfers money to Okhmatdyt’s account

Nova Post transferred UAH 1 million to the Children’s Hospital Charitable Foundation. The A-BA-BA-GA-LA-MA-GA and Vihola publishing houses donated UAH 400 thousand and UAH 20 thousand, respectively.

PrivatBank is allocating UAH 3 million to purchase the necessary equipment to restore the hospital’s destroyed building, as well as to purchase the necessary medicines and medical supplies.

Ruslan Shostak, co-owner of VARUS and EVA, also joined the fundraising campaign and donated UAH 1 million to the hospital.

ATLAS UNITED 2024, together with the Good Donations Children’s Charity Foundation, will donate funds to restore medical equipment. The fundraising was launched in June to buy medical equipment for the hospital, and now the funds will be used to restore it.

Ukrainian IT company Intellias has launched an internal fundraising campaign for UAH 400 thousand, and the company’s CEO will add another UAH 500 thousand.

Food and water from Ukrainian supermarkets for the victims

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Danylo Hetmantsev, thanked the Ukrainian chains ATB, Silpo, Novus, Auchan, Varus, and Kolo, which responded to the request to provide water and food to the victims. “An hour and a half later, the trucks were on the spot,” Hetmantsev wrote.

Cafe Maria collects food for children’s hospital

Fruits, fruit puree, pastries, and biscuits for children can be delivered to the cafe at 26/41 Pavlovska Street.

Kyiv bakery Bakehouse to donate 50% of its proceeds to Okhmatdyt patients’ needs

More than UAH 150,000 will be donated to children under the care of the Tabletochki Charitable Foundation. The Kyiv bar BGRNY will also donate 50% of its profits to the Tabletochki fundraiser.

Dobrobut provides free assistance to victims of the attack on Okhmatdyt

All Dobrobut ambulance crews are working at the scene. Those who were injured in the shelling of the Okhmatdyt and need medical assistance can contact the reception departments at the following addresses

• 3, Simi Idzykovski str;
• 12A Mykola Bazhana Ave.

Accounts to help the patients and staff of the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital can be found here. As of 15:00, the hospital’s CF has already raised over UAH 19 million.

• Ailand Systems is a Ukrainian defense startup specializing in the development of smart autonomous drones for detecting mines and explosive devices. Before to the full-scale invasion, the team was developing a drone for phytosanitary control of agricultural pests with the aim of reducing the use of toxic pesticides. However, with the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, they adapted their work for humanitarian demining purposes.
• The company’s main product is the ST1 unmanned minesweeper, capable of quickly surveying large areas with detection accuracy comparable to human performance. Ailand Systems claims its drones could significantly accelerate this process, making it cheaper and safer for sappers.

Unbroken is an Ukrainian investment fund created by Uklon co-founders Dmytro Dubrovsky, Viktoriia Dubrovska, Serhii Smus, and Vitalii Diatlenko. The fund focuses on seed round projects that develop the defense tech industry. The total volume of the fund is $2 million. A month ago, they also invested $200,000 in Buntar Aerospace.

The current investment will help to improve the technology and set up production of ST1, which is being prepared for state certification.